Betcha y’all didn’t know 224

[953 nut 67,781]

August 12, 1908 Ford Motor Company builds its first Model T car, which Henry Ford himself tests on a hunting trip to Wisconsin and northern Michigan.

[ri702bill 12,605]

Hands on Proof of Concept. 

I wonder if he encountered any long steep hills on the way?? My Dad told me years ago when he was 18 and just graduated from High School, that he & 3 friends took a similar Model T camping. A 200 mile or so trip each way, from RI to northern New Hampshire. The Model T was like a lot of early 1960's Wheel Horse tractors in that the carburetor was gravity fed from the fuel tank mounted Higher than the Carburetor.... That was fine until they got to the White Mountains - they had to travel up in reverse to keep the carb bowl full....

[Handy Don 17,076]

1 hour ago, ri702bill said:

he & 3 friends took a similar Model T camping.

My grandfather had many stories of him and his brothers repairing and tweaking and driving their Model T. He backed them up by showing me his grease-smudged full set of illustrated technical books with their notes. The leather-surfaced, “press down to go” cone clutch was the biggest surprise. 

[953 nut 67,781]

5 hours ago, ri702bill said:

they had to travel up in reverse to keep the carb bowl full..

The cowl mounted gas tank continued on the Model A, 1928 to 1931. For over two decades Ford and many other automobile manufacturers put the gas tank inches away from your lap.  

[ri702bill 12,605]

...and... if you had one of those (now banned) accessory add-on gasoline heaters, the burning fuel was even closer!

[Handy Don 17,076]

25 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

and many other automobile manufacturers

VW rear-engine Beetles

[c-series don 12,202]

Henry Ford and family had an amazing estate here in Southampton called Fordune, it was right on the ocean, behind the dunes comprising approximately 250 acres. He was also a member of Shinnecock Golf Club, where the US Open was just played in June. 
 Years ago an old timer named Gene in my fire department told me a story. As I kid he was a caddy at Shinnecock and was walking home when a gentleman stopped his car and asked if he needed a ride. Gene said yes and hopped in. The gentleman drove him right to his house, and when Gene thanked him, he asked his name. The guy said my name is Henry Ford!! I can still see the smile on ole Gene’s face when he told me that story! 

[953 nut 67,781]

3 hours ago, Handy Don said:

VW rear-engine Beetles

At least VW provided a fire wall. 

Model T (1908–1925), the fuel tank sat directly under the front seat inside the passenger compartment, meaning no firewall separated it from the occupants. For the final 1926–1927 model years, Ford moved the tank into the cowl dash directly ahead of the driver, but it remained unseparated by firewall.

Edited 4 hours ago by 953 nut

[ri702bill 12,605]

[953 nut 67,781]

We have always heard the phrase attributed to Henry Ford that “you can buy a Model T in any color as long as its BLACK”     well     not at the beginning.

In the first years of production from 1908 to 1913, the Model T was not available in black, but rather only in gray, green, blue, and red. Green was available for the touring cars, town cars, coupes, and Landaulets. Gray was available for the town cars only and red only for the touring cars. By 1912, all cars were being painted midnight blue with black fenders. In 1914 the "any color so long as it is black" policy was implemented.

Also, Henry Ford was an early environmentalist (or tightwad). To save space and lower shipping costs—especially for international destinations like Australia and New Zealand—Ford shipped Model T cars disassembled inside large wooden packing cases.  According to historical lore, Henry Ford instructed his component suppliers to build these shipping crates using exact dimensions, specific wood types, and pre-spaced measurements so the boards could double as Model T floorboards once unpacked.

[8ntruck 9,117]

The gas tank in my '72 Chevy C10 is right behind the seat.  There is a piece of fiberboard between the seat and gas tank.