c1915 Ford Model T Tourer

Description

When Henry Ford began building automobiles in 1903, few could have imagined the impact his cars would have on the motor industry nor the enduring legacy of his most famous product, the legendary Model T. Ford's earliest car, the original Model A, was a simple, twin-cylinder affair with the engine mounted under the seat and basic two-seater bodywork known as a runabout but the range rapidly expanded and diversified to include both four and six-cylinder cars by 1906. The Model T, affectionately known around world as the Tin Lizzie, was introduced in October 1908. The rugged mechanicals, strong performance and great value made the Model T a runaway sales success, putting motoring in reach of millions of Americans for the first time. Powered by an L-head four-cylinder unit of 176.7-cid displacement developing 22 horsepower, the Ford employed a foot-operated planetary-type gear change with two forward speeds plus reverse. Suspension consisted of a transverse semi-elliptic leaf spring at each corner and the wooden-spoked wheels were shod with pneumatic tyres. Braking was by expanding bands on the transmission and hand-operated brakes acting on the rear wheels. With prices ranging from $850 to $1000 in 1909, the Model T offered fantastic value for money and demand soon threatened to outstrip supply. Although the Model T is regularly credited with being the earliest mass-produced automobile, Ford's revolutionary moving production line wasn't introduced until 1913, with earlier Model Ts built in the traditional labour-intensive manner. Building more cars cheaper enabled Ford to pass on savings to their customers and in 1915 the cheapest Model T, the runabout, was listed at just $440. By 1915 the Model T was only available in black and came equipped with three oil lamps, an upright windscreen, brass headlamps, bulb horn and top as standard. Customers could choose between a touring, runabout, town car, sedan or coupe bodywork from Ford's catalogue and all 1915 models featured a curved metal cowl that curved between the bonnet and wooden firewall. More than 15 million Model Ts were built between 1908 and 1927, helping transform American society and the Ford is rightly regarded as the most influential automobile of the era. With relatively few survivors, brass-era Model Ts - like the example on offer here - are highly prized by collectors today.