Tuesday, January 3, 2012

History of theModel A Ford

Henry Ford (1863 – 1947) His first two starts
in the automobile industry were the Detroit
Automobile Company (1899) and Henry Ford
Automobile Company (1902) both of which failed.
 His third start was the Ford Motor Company (1903)
capitalized at $150,000 with him retaining 25-1/2%
of the company. His first car was the Model A (1903).
By 1906 he had acquired over 50% and became
president of the company. In 1919 he obtained
complete ownership of the company at a cost of
$126,633,000. By the 1920’s Henry had also
acquired the Lincoln car company. In 1908 the
Model T was selected as the only car Ford would
produce. Focusing on one model would lower costs
to both Ford and the car buyer. He standardized the
color of all cars to be black in 1915 or 1916. The
black paint only required two coats which dried
faster and, therefore, speeded up the production line.
Colored paints took seven coats including a varnish c
oat. Ford settled on using only the 4-cylinder engine
after experimenting with the 2-, 4- and 6-cylinder
in-line engine blocks and an 8-cylinder “X” engine block


In 1915, Henry decided to cut the work shifts back
to a 6-hour day and raise the workers pay to $5 per
day (twice the industry standard pay), then to $6
per day in 1919 and  finally to $7 per day in 1930.
This allowed him to run the assembly lines 24-hours
per day.Workers had to stay at their work station
until relieved for lunch and bathroom breaks, and
 then again during shift changes. All workers were
on a mandatory 2-week rotating schedule.
  
In 1924, car sales for Ford were at 49.0% while
Chevrolet was at 7.7%. By 1926 Ford had
slipped to 36.2% while Chevrolet had climbed
to 16.2%. The Model T had become out of date
with the other car manufacturers in body style
and colors, engine power and ease of use. Henry’s
son, Edsel, and other executives spent several
years convincing Henry that a new Ford model
needed to be developed before he finally caved
into them. The new model was to be neither an
update nor a restyling of the Model T. The new
Model A Ford (1928-1930) was being designed
while still finishing out production of the Model T
in 1927.

The 15th million Ford was produced in 1927. Ford
estimated the cost of retooling the factories and car
sales losses at $100 million, while others estimated
costs closer to $250 million.

Ford started a newspaper campaign talking about
the new Model A Ford months before the first car
 was ever produced. Millions of people awaited its
unveiling in December of 1927 and over 500,000
orders for the new model were written. An average
of 20 cars per day were being produced by October
1927, and the number had risen to 8,000 cars per
day by the end of 1928. Over 5 million Model A
Fords were eventually produced in the US between
October 21, 1927 and April 30, 1932.

The first Model A produced was a Tudor model
with engine number A1. This car eventually had the
body changed over to a Phaeton body and was given
by Henry Ford to Thomas A. Edison in 1928. The
new Model A Fords looked a lot like the Lincoln cars
and were also call “the baby Lincoln” car. Car bodies
were now to be painted in a variety of colors with
complimenting pin stripping. Some car bodies had a
single color while others could be painted in two colors.
The fenders were always painted black.

The early 1928 (E28) Fords had a sliding gear 3-speed
transmission attached to a multi-disc clutch, a 203 cubic
inch engine rated at 40 HP at 2200 rpm, a Zenith
carburetor, an Abell starter with ½” shaft, a laminated
Safety glass windshield, four wheel mechanical brakes,
a safety/parking brake setup that used the same main
brake shoes, a five brush Powerhouse generator,
expensive Houdaille double acting shock absorbers
and a red colored steering wheel.

Henry liked using cast metal parts since they indicated
a quality product, in such places as the fender and
running board brackets, the carburetor body, the exhaust
manifold clamp and wheel hubs.

Cars produced by Ford contained lots of metal whereas
the Fordor models produced by Briggs and Murray still
used a lot of wood.

Several states would not accept this common brake
shoe safety/parking brake setup causing Ford to
redesign the complete braking system. The safety/parking
brake handle was moved from the left hand side of the
car frame to in front of the transmission shifter. A new
design for the rear hubs, drums, backing plate and wheels
were required due to the adding of a separate safety/parking
brake shoe in these rear drums. To allow use of the same
kind of wheels on the front of the cars required a redesign of the
front assembly.

The original “A” wheels were made obsolete (renamed “AR”)
and a new “B” wheel was developed. The A/AR wheels and
assemblies are not interchangeable with the B wheel parts.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

The year is 1910 one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1910:
**************************************************************************************************************
The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.

Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower !

The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.

The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.

Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard.'

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

The Five leading causes of death were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas , Nevada , was only 30!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores.

Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health'.
( Shocking? DUH! ) (Kinda like smoking...first almost everyone did and now it's "almost" a crime...that will happen soon)
Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U. S. A. !

I am now going to forward this to someone else without typing it myself. From there, it will be sent to others all over the WORLD -- all in a matter of seconds!

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.





Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Model "T" Station Wagon


Thought this might be of interest
May 31, 1927, the last Ford Model T rolled off the assembly line. It was the first affordable automobile, due in part to the assembly line process developed by Henry Ford. It had a 2.9-liter, 20-horsepower engine and could travel at speeds up to 45 miles per hour. It had a 10-gallon fuel tank and could run on kerosene, petrol, or ethanol, but it couldn't drive uphill if the tank was low, because there was no fuel pump; people got around this design flaw by driving up hills in reverse.
Ford believed that "the man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed." The Model T cost $850 in 1909, and as efficiency in production increased, the price dropped. By 1927, you could get a Model T for $290.
"I will build a car for the great multitude," said Ford. "It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one - and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces."

Friday, February 12, 2010

Speaking of new cars

Ron Smith is a new member of our club and he just bought this car and these are his plans for it



I purchased this 1936 Dodge D2 from a fellow in Colville, Washington the weekend before Thanksgiving. We hauled it home the following Wednesday.

I happened to find it while chasing a rumored '37 Ford pickup. The pickup was a wasted trip, too far gone for restoring, but this was sitting in an adjacent shed. The wife actually liked it, which was unusual, most of my ideal finds are "Ugly" and a source of comment.
The motor, transmission and running gear were all there, but had not been run in years. We drained the oil, flushed the system, installed a new water pump, distributor cap, points, plugs, condenser, rebuilt the carburetor, installed a new master cylinder and got it running.We need to find a new carburetor, but it runs well, smooth and no problems other than acceleration, all carb problems.

The tires are toast, weathered but available from Les Schwab, and will be put on prior to summer.We will need to rewire the complete car, whoever tried restoring it before had clipped all wires close to the lights and engine. The only body work to be done, is to reseal the top, this was the first year that had metal roof, and not a soft top, and the metal is inserted into the original soft top opening this year, needless to say, it leaks pretty good right now, but once fixed, will look good. There were creases in the grilles guard where it had been backed into, but those were taken care of by the body man.I have located working headlights, the taillights are complete and only need wired in. We have new glass and gaskets, and will be repairing the drivers door, which had been disassembled for some reason, but is all there. Lubrication seems all needed for the regulators, and all hardware is in the car. The windshield is frozen in place, so we will have to work on getting it loose and fixed so opens properly.

My plans are to have it to Larry to remove the headliner by February, fix the roof leaks, and then install the glass and seals, so Larry can redo the interior. We will do all bodywork this spring or sooner, but only prime the repaired spots, so we can enjoy the car this summer for functions with the club, then paint it over the winter.








Looks like he has his hands full for now. If you want to help call him.







Wednesday, February 10, 2010

We have a friend

My little Ford was very excited the other day because we thought we were going to have a playmate in the form of an other 1941 Ford. She looks to be in pretty good shape.

She's not really, she need quite a bit of TLC.


But guess what, Jack Yale, the owner, isn't going to let us play, he is going to lock her up and hide her away because some one told him she is worth more money if she is kept original.

How dumb is that!!


Oh well so our love will be unrequited.

THANKS JACK!!!





Monday, February 8, 2010

Transmission update

Some of you might remember some of the early Volkswagen commercials back in the mid to late 50's. They were very simple. One of my favorites was a very simple one extolling the abilities of the bug. Here is my version of that commercial in the form of an update on the work on my Ford. Don't forget to turn on your speakers.

Friday, January 1, 2010

The saga of the Kaput Transmission

For those of you who remember from the last post, My police cruiser was not in the parade and this is the reason. The Tranny is kaput (means broken).
It seems I did a little damage to the syncro gears, well not a little but a lot. This turned out to be quite a learning experience for me, not only about how the tranny works, but about the stuff people are made of.
The first person to offer to help was Jack Yale who didn't hesitate and when the word got out that I needed help, people came out of the woodwork. Everybody had a suggestion as to what I should do, some of the suggestions I couldn't put in print.

Here are some of the parts after they were sandblasted with the help of a fellow by the name of Mike Bughi, who I didn't even know. But he insisted that the work be done in his garage which was heated and very organized as you can see from these pictures.


He,Mike Bughi, said I was to do the work and he would over see, well that didn't last long. He first sandblasted the parts then painted them, and ended up doing quite a bit of the actual work.

See what I mean about neat and organized. This is a layout of all the parts, new ones and the old ones cleaned and painted ready for reassembly.

Here is Wayne Williams (one of our senior club members) hard at work getting ready to start putting the tranny back together.

Here is Jack again trying to confuse Wayne.

This young gentleman is the fellow I told you abut, Mike Bughi and camera hog Jack Yale, with the finished tranny.
There she is, I hope she works as good as she looks.
We had help from another fellow not pictured here, but equally as helpful, John Trumbo.
Thanks very much to every one who helped.
I don't want you to think that we over worked ourselves, we took time out to play some games such as " I can't find the tool I was just using" and " where are the bolts that go here" and last but not least " where does this part go".
All in all it was a life enriching experience, thanks again.
In my next post I will share the experience of putting it back in the car and whether it worked or not.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Veteran's Day Parade


First order of business is the presentation of candy and flowers to Bob and Delores McClary for all their efforts on our last tour.
We did show up for the Veteran's Day Parade even though it was very cold and windy.
Martha's car and John's screenside let the pack.
Click on this picture to enlarge and see what john is carrying in the back of his screen side. I guess since there is a Doctor in his family, he can claim it is for medicinal use.


This is one of Bill Huchin's 46 merc coupes

Here is Duane Rabe's 61 Ford Falcon that he has recently restored.

Here we are again, doing what we do best, standing around waiting. Notice this picture is taken from inside the car, my mother did not raise a fool ,it's cold out there.

If you enlarge this picture you will see my son (Bryan) standing in front of the pole with his wife (Sarah) on his right and flanked by my two grand kids Zach and Ellie. They were looking for me in my police cruiser, but alas I broke my car a couple of days before. That is a story for another time.

Monday, November 9, 2009

I think we ,or should i say the McClarys, got in over their head this time. we put together a little garage tour with the Model A club and invited every one to the McClarys for breakfast. I stopped counting at 34, and that didn't count spouses. But Delores got them all fed.

The street was a little crowded with old cars by the time every one showed up.

I don't know about other clubs, but with ours, when there is free food there is always a very good turn out.

I think if one more person showed up they would have had to eat in the bathroom.

Our first stop was at Jim Stafford's He has some really neat cars as you can see. the one I really like is the woodie pictured below.

Jim has a lot old cars and signs and tools and "junk, plenty to look at.

His fascination seems to lie in early 30's trucks.

I don't think these roses among thorns belong here.

Our next stop was at Dave Underwood's garage.
Dave is into Packards primarily, like this some what rare coupe pictured below that is very restorable and if I am not mistaken for sale, but he has others also

This is my favorite. I think it is a 32 dual cowl Packard.

Well no we are off tho garage if one of the Model "A" members, Bill Schaeppi.

That is going to be one good looking 31 model a coupe. But, what is with the clean and organized garage. Check out the floor , you can see your face in it
But he is doing a great job with this restoration.

This little truck is a work in progress for another person who gives most of us an inferiority complex by keeping his garage so clean. SO CUT IT OUT!
This is Dean Hinkson's 31 "A" PU.
Next we went to Pete Jackson's for a little presentation put on by John Trumbo about restoration techniques. We also had our lunch catered by the McClary's again. GREAT JOB BOB AND DELORES! Last but not least, we stopped at John Trumbo's to see his work in progress.

well that wasn't really our last stop, We went next door to Jack Yale's but by then I had run out of batteries and energy. I will take you and a private tour of Jack's garage at some later date.



More pictures of this tour can be seen in the slide show on the side bar.



Tuesday, November 3, 2009

We went to Bickelton

Bickelton is a pretty Small town. it is known for it's large number of Blue bird bird houses and the now defunct hoop-n-holler museum, but for a small town just look at number of cars that showed up for the car show. Speaking of blue birds,the fellow that rode down with me was showing us all of the bird houses along the road, then he pointed out a burnt post and said that the birds must have been smoking in bed.
Some of the PT Cruiser people really got into spirit of the show.

They had a really cool carousel museum


And a pioneer setting in the building.


My Grandson, "Cole", really enjoyed the barbed wire display.

Here is another of the PT Cruiser people with
a very extensive Garfield collection.

Have you ever seen so many Garfield dolls and stuff?

I took this picture for a buddy in the club that has a truck like this.


A of course we had to come home with a couple of awards.One went to Pete Jackson and his Model "A". The other went to Jack Jale and his 40 Merc. Pte's is on the left and Jack's is on the right next to my cop car.

For more pictures see the slide show on the side bar.