Questions about Ford model t.

Ford model t Ford model t; Commonly known as Tin Lizzie or Flivver) is an automobile product launched by Ford Motor Company founded by Henry Ford in the United States from 1908 to 1927. The first model T car was born in1September 27th, 908, located in Picot factory in Detroit, Michigan. Its appearance made 1908 an important year in industrial history: Model T made the car enter the homes of ordinary people as a practical tool with its low price, and the United States became a "country on wheels" from then on. The great success of the car comes from several innovations of Henry Ford, including replacing the traditional manual production with large-scale operation of assembly line, paying higher salaries to employees to stimulate market demand and other measures. Ford also launched an installment plan supplemented by sales, similar to the strategy adopted by Volkswagen's "KdF-Wagen" (the predecessor of Volkswagen Beetle), but this plan was considered unsuccessful.

As early as 1903, when Henry Ford founded Ford Motor Company, several models and prototypes had been made before Model T came out. Although the starting number is type A, there is no type 19 from type A to type T. Ford Model S (the upgraded version Model S(Model N) immediately precedes Model T, but for some reasons, the next generation Model T is not a U-shaped car. 1927, Ford introduced Model A, which was interpreted as saying goodbye to the past. A means a new beginning, and Henry Ford hopes it will be a turning point. At this time, Ford's competitor Chrysler's first Plymouth car (1928) was named U-car.

From the appearance of the first model T to the suspension of production, a total of150,000 vehicles were sold. Its production was a model of advanced industrial production technology and management at that time, and made great contributions to the development of automobile industry and manufacturing industry. In the global voting of the most influential car in the 20th century, Ford Model T topped the list.

characteristic

The Ford Model T was designed by julia Childe Harold Weil and two Hungarian immigrants, Joseph A. Gram and Eugene farkas, while C. J. Smith, Garth Degener and Peter E. Martin.

Application of assembly line

The revolutionary and groundbreaking assembly line of Ford Model T was introduced to Ford Motor Company by William C. Klein after visiting a slaughterhouse in Chicago for animal dismemberment and conveyor belt transmission. The efficient work of a single worker repeatedly slicing attracted his attention. Later, he reported the concept of assembly line to Peter e Martin. Although Martin expressed doubts about it, he encouraged him to continue. Although others claimed to have reported the idea to Henry Ford. However, the archives of Henry Ford Museum well preserved the documents inspired by william klein's visit to the slaughterhouse, and he became the father of modern assembly line. After that, under the leadership of the factory director Peter E Martin, his assistant Charies E Sorensen, skilled workers Harold Will, Clarence W Avery and Charies Lewis, we tried and explored. When the first Model T car manufactured by the assembly line was completed, PA Klein proudly drove it off the production line under the watchful eyes of many onlookers and media, including Henry Ford.

Engine and start mode

Model T has a four-cylinder integrated engine with a front 177 in3(2.9 L), which can provide 20 horsepower (15 kW) and 45 mph (72 km/h). The engine has a side valve and three main bearings and is powered by gasoline or alcohol. The latter stopped with the decline of gasoline price and the introduction of fuel ban. The default fuel consumption of T car is about 25 to 30 mpg(7.8-9.4 L/ 100 km).

Before starting the T-car with a hand crank, the ignition must be delayed, otherwise the starting device may be damaged or injured by the flying crank. Most T-cars control the choke valve through the wire at the bottom of the cooler, so that you can use the crank with your right hand and operate it with your left hand. Model T cars sold after 1926 are basically equipped with electronic starting devices.

The engine of Ford Model T has a unique electromagnetic ignition system, but the ignition coil needs to be strengthened because of the low voltage. In order to start more conveniently, you can also switch to the independent dry battery system for manual ignition and switch back to the electromagnetic ignition system at high speed. The advantage of this design is that it can continue to run even if the battery pack is exhausted. Spark is generated by a low-voltage "timer" installed at the end of the front camshaft of the engine. This "timer" is the predecessor of the modern distributor. It leads the current to four vibrating coils installed in a box at the front of the cab, and realizes the timing adjustment of ignition by manually turning the timer with the help of the lever device on the steering column. Under different load and speed conditions, how to make the best choice between electromagnetic ignition and battery ignition, as well as the best timing method, requires considerable skill. In order to maintain the goal of high reliability and simplicity, after the automobile is equipped with the electronic starting system of generator and battery pack, this system is still retained.

The car's 10 gallon fuel tank is placed on the frame under the front seat. Another design considering the needs of American farmers is equipped with an improved carburetor, which can use ethanol as fuel. Because the fuel flows from the fuel tank to the carburetor by gravity, the T-car can't climb the steep slope with little fuel. The usual solution is to drive the car upside down. After 1926, most cars moved the fuel tank to the front under the hood.

One disadvantage of Model T, which is often polluted by later generations, is that there is no water pump, and the cooling of the engine is realized by natural circulation according to the thermosyphon principle. Because of its light weight, hot water rises to the top of the engine and enters the cooler. When the temperature drops, it goes back to the bottom and the engine. This was the cooling process of most cars at that time, even after the water pump was equipped, until the invention of cross-flow cooler. The water pump is sold as an optional component independent of the Model T..

Transmission system

T-type rear wheel drive, planetary gear transmission, 3-speed. By today's standards, it can't be called 3-speed, because one of them is reverse. Ironically, the driving style of cars can be called art today. It has no clutch pedal, and the shift is completed by three pedals on the cockpit floor. The middle pedal is reverse, the pedals on both sides are high and low respectively, and the throttle is controlled by a handle behind the steering wheel. This is very different from the control of modern cars.

Suspension system and wheels

The front and rear axles of the T-car are transversely equipped with non-independent suspension systems with elliptical springs, and the front axle of the car is made into a whole by drop forging. Ford has demonstrated it many times and sent it to dealers to show its superiority. The foot brake of this car is different from that of a modern car. Its right pedal stops the rear axle through the ferrule of the brake drum on the transmission system, and the hand brake is realized through the external action of the brake drum.

The wheels of this car are wooden "cannon wheels", and the steel welded spokes are changed from 1926 to 1927. The tire is pneumatic, with a diameter of 30 inches, a front wheel width of 3 inches, a rear wheel width of 3.5 inches, a wheelbase of 99 inches and a standard track of 56 feet. Some have been changed to 60 inches to meet the needs of South Road.

Vehicle manufacturing

In the production process of this car, it has undergone several major changes. Early models of coolers, lamps and many small parts were made of brass with a single style. Most cars are open-top station wagons with no doors. Later, the models were gradually enriched, and cars, sports cars and pickup trucks were developed under the original chassis. Headlights developed from acetylene lamps to electric lamps. Model T adopted many advanced technologies at that time, such as vanadium steel, which made its durability excellent. Today, 80 years later, many parts can still be used normally.

Production and sales

The production capacity of the Piguet factory of Ford Motor Company can't meet the sharp market demand, and only 1 1 car was assembled in the first month of production. 19 10 years, after producing 12000 Model T cars, Henry Ford moved the company to Highland Park Factory. Model T is the world's first automobile with a large number of general parts for large-scale assembly line operation, and its target market is the middle class in American society. Most Model T cars produced by Ford are black. Henry Ford once famously said that "any customer can paint this car in any color he wants, as long as it is black". In fact, from 1908 to 19 14, Ford also produced other cars with different colors, but from 19 15 to 1925, in order to improve productivity, Ford only used cheap and fast-drying Japanese black.

A T-car parked in front of Geelong Library in Australia, from 19 15 to 19 14, the optimized assembly line can already produce a car within 93 minutes, while the production capacity of all other automobile manufacturers is not as good as this. This year, his10 millionth car came out. At this time, nine out of ten cars in the world were made by Ford Motor Company. This model is very successful. There are no advertisements between 19 17 and 1923. Until 1927 stopped production, more than150,000 Model T vehicles were produced in the world, which remained a record for nearly a century.

The initial price of Model T is $850, while the competing models in the same period usually cost $2,000 to $3,000. At 1920s, due to the improvement of production efficiency and the expansion of production capacity, the price dropped to $300 (about $3,300 today if inflation is taken into account). Henry used the method of industrial vertical integration to optimize automobile production. He specially specified how parts suppliers should make crates for transporting parts, so that the dismantled crates could be used as prefabricated parts in the automobile body. He even saved the processed corner wood and sawdust to make a kind of charcoal called "Kingsford", which has also become a leading brand in the market.

But looking at the whole production process of Model T, there are few major innovations. Henry thinks that Model T is what everyone needs and pursues, and refuses other people's suggestions for improvement. At this time, his competitors are producing more comfortable and novel-looking cars at lower prices, and Model T keeps losing market share, and finally its sales volume is surpassed by Chevrolet at 1927. Ford Motor Company had to stop the production of Model T on May 26th, 1927, and put all its efforts into the production of Model A ... The production of Model T engine continued until August 4th, and the 194 1, 17000 engine was still in production after the car was stopped.

automobile club

19 19 cars produced before are called classic cars, and later cars are called classic cars. Today, two major clubs still keep and maintain these cars: the International Ford Model T Club (modelt.org) and the American Ford Model T Club (mtfca.com). Many steel parts and even FRP bodies of Model T are still produced and used in high-speed horsepower vehicles modified from Model T up to now.