Model "T" was the most suitable for restless people,
seeking to populate the continent. Hugely addicted to her
the number of farmers. The machine was equipped with a rather elastic
cushioning, making it ideal for driving on the then bumpy
gravel roads.
After the First World War, Ford's position in the automobile market
will become so dominant that the "T" model will make up half of the cars
traveling all over the earth.
However, on September 15, 1909, just before the first birthday
Model T, Ford lost a patent infringement case. This
the case was related to the patent of George Baldwin Sedden,
legal inventor.
In the late 1870s, he focused his attention on the
while engine development internal combustion and set out to
develop a clearly articulated patent that grants him
the exclusive right to license all work on the design of future
cars in America.
In 1899, Selden entered into partnership with a group of investors. When
the syndicate he created decided in practice to try the effect of a patent
against some of the biggest automakers of the time, this
the attempt met with unexpected success. Instead of giving
Seldsn resistance, automakers, among whom was
Alexander Winton, decided to join him.
They did this because such an alliance saved them from a costly
litigation and gave them the opportunity in the future to keep under
control of all its commercial competitors. So in March
1903, a few weeks before the official registration of the automobile
Ford, ALAM was born - an association of licensed
car manufacturers.
Ford's first reaction to the creation of ALAM was to join the
her. However, having received a sharp rebuff, he continued to work on the production
machines. The president of ALAM warned him: "This Selden company may
ruin you, and they will achieve it.
“Just let them try,” said Henry Ford. When a few days
later ALAM officially declared war, Ford already had
statement to the Detroit Free Press.
“To all sellers, importers, sales agents and car owners!
the Ford Motor Company said in a statement. “We will protect you from any
allegations of so-called patent infringement.
Ford's statement boldly and openly rejected Selden's encroachments and
reported on what car designers and even members of ALAM itself
knew well without him: “The Selden patent does not apply to
manufactured cars, not a single manufactured car has been or has ever been
will be created under this patent.
Ford fought ALAM for nearly six years. But in September 1909
litigation ended favorably for Selden's patent
conclusion, according to which ALAM was owed millions of dollars.
The Ford Automobile Company suddenly found itself alone. Those
automakers who egged Ford on to win and
exemption from payments under the patent, were suddenly silenced, and within
a few months, 30 independent automakers relented and agreed
pay tribute to ALAM. But Henry Ford held firm. "On this judicial
the lawsuit does not end,” he said, promising, if necessary,
take the case to the Supreme Court.
"Here's a sample of a real man, a man with an unbending will,"
wrote the Detroit Free Press March 1, 1910, in an editorial
Ford Fighter.
Finally, on January 9, 1911, his perseverance was rewarded.
The Court of Appeal decided the case in his favor so clearly that
there was simply no reason for Selden's people to keep fighting. ALAM was
disbanded, and it was only thanks to Henry Ford that the American automobile
industry was saved from a daring encroachment on its freedom.
Like other cars of the beginning of the century, the first Ford cars were originally
were assembled according to a very logical scheme, allowing to reduce as much as possible
expenses from the start. Everything went according to the pattern that Henry observed in
automobile workshops in 1880 - 90 years: a sequence of stages with
high labor discipline, which saves time and money.
Innovators such as Isaac Singer, Cyrus Hall McCormick and Samuel Colt,
released their goods in large quantities, using a phased
manufacturing process. Sewing machines, reapers or small arms
collected in parts, moving them from one workplace to another
step by step.
In the case of cars, teams of mechanics assembled engines on
stationary stands in one of the workshops, and then they were transported to
another, where workers assembled the drive axle and wheels. Then ready
the undercarriage was sent to the finishing shop. The advantage of such
the production process was strictly phased, clearly planned
work, but it lacked continuity.
To make the car accessible to everyone, Henry Ford needed
only the largest, but also the best factory in the world. Purchased for her
new site: it was Highland Park with an area of 24 hectares on the outskirts of Detroit.
Ford and his architect Albert Kahn were truly related
souls, and the result of their cooperation was a spacious building,
lit by 4500 sq. meters.
But shortly after production began in 1910, the company
was no longer able to cope with orders, which doubled in a year
increased. There had to be some way to speed up the process.
The world's first moving assembly line appeared in the spring of 1913 in a workshop
designed to assemble a magneto. Prior to this, the magneto assembler worked for
table, where there was a complete set of magnets, terminals and bolts, from
which he could collect about forty full magnetos in a 9-hour
working day. Now each assembler needed to execute only one
or two of the many different operations in the build process: install
a magnet or a few nuts before the knot passes to a neighbor.
At old system it took about 20 minutes to assemble one
magneto. Now the assembly time has been reduced to 13 minutes and 10 seconds.
When the low assembly table in front of each worker was replaced by
higher raised moving belt adjusting speed, mounting time
reduced to five minutes.
Ford has already created a consistent manufacturing process. And now he
put the engines on the conveyor belt. Gearbox production was
organized in the same way. The last to be installed was a moving
assembly line for chassis assembly. When all this was debugged, the time
required for the manufacture of the undercarriage, was reduced to 93 minutes from
12.5 hours, as it was before.
In just a few months, Highland Park spun in an intricate and never-ending mechanical ballet.
In 1911 - 12, 78,440 models "T" were produced with a number of
workers 6867 people. The following year, production increased by more than
than doubled, but the number of employees doubled. But, when in 1913-14
years, production almost doubled again, the number of workers did not increase.
Glory came to Henry Ford (1863-1947) thanks to the nondescript car model "T", jokingly nicknamed in America the car of losers. For 19 years, this model was produced in almost unchanged form, and more such cars drove on the roads of the globe than all the others.
Why was the Model T called a loser's car? According to the Americans, the lucky one earns thousands or millions of dollars. This guy won't buy a Model T, he'll buy a Cadillac or a Packard. Everyone else is a "loser". But Ford was counting on them. After all, there are far more of them than millionaires.
Young Ford's activity as an inventor-designer took a backseat in 1899 when he founded the Detroit car company. To develop a cheap mass machine, to introduce mass production he was inspired not so much by creative ideas as by business.
Ford set a small (up to $1,000) price for the Model T, but produced tens of thousands, then millions of cars a year, becoming one of the richest people in the world. Ford's idea was to divide the work of manufacturing a car into many operations, entrust each operation to one or two workers, free them from the delivery from the warehouse, sorting and fitting parts. Manufactured parts and assembled mechanisms must move past the workers on chains, tapes, roller tables. So the conveyor was born.
Now he is known to everyone. If you release a lot of the same, standard cars, then you can use the most complex expensive machine tools and other production equipment that will replace manual labor. Equipment costs are gradually spread out over the thousands of machines produced. With the individual production of each car, as was done by all factories at the beginning of the 20th century, mechanization is not justified, it places a heavy burden on the sale price of the car. However, any technical improvement, invention, discovery can be turned to the detriment of a person. It is enough to start the conveyor a little faster - almost imperceptibly for the worker, in order to extract the necessary profit. And after a while - even a little faster ... And the result is a "scientific system of squeezing sweat", subjected to sharp criticism by V. I. Lenin.
Ford model "T" device
Model "T" had everything necessary, according to the concepts of its time, for safe movement, it was free from excesses. The simplicity of the device plus durable materials provided the machine with a mass of 550 kg, i.e. 3-5 times less than that of big machines. A 20-horsepower engine was enough to reach speeds of up to 70 km / h on the Ford.
A mass-produced car could no longer be specially adapted to individual needs, it had to become universal. "Ford-T" in terms of the number of seats (five) approached large cars, and in terms of simplicity of design and decoration - to "vouaturettes".
The simplicity of its design begins with an engine with four cylinders cast in one block (instead of separate or twin cylinders). Fuel is supplied to the engine by gravity from a tank installed under the seat; no need to pressurize the tank with a hand pump or exhaust gases. There are only two gears in the box, which is enough for a light car. Instead of four longitudinal springs - two transverse ones. There is no battery on the car, the headlights are powered by the magneto of the ignition system.
When buying a Ford-T, future owners did not think that they would later have to pay for its cheapness and simplicity. On steep climbs, the tank was lower than the engine, and fuel did not flow to the carburetor. In this regard, it is said that a certain farmer told the seller that he would buy a car if it could overcome the rise to his house. The seller didn't hesitate. During the demonstration, he famously drove into the alley in the middle of the ascent, turned the wheels sharply, the rest of the way moved in reverse and said to the buyer: “You see, this hill is mere trifles for your future car, it even takes it in reverse!” To fill the tank, the passenger had to vacate the seat. The headlights shone dimly and blinked if the engine was running at low speeds. Therefore, in the dark, drivers deliberately increased speed, moving to low gear. When starting the car in cold weather, the frozen oil blocked the gearbox, the engine was connected directly to the rear wheels (the clutch was in the gearbox). Rotating the crank, the driver turned not only the engine shaft, but also ... the wheels. They started to roll, and you had to dodge the car, jump on the seat on the move to quickly press the gas pedal, otherwise the engine would stall. Other drivers, before starting the car, raised the rear wheel with a jack, which was removed after the oil was warmed up. In a cold engine, all cylinders did not immediately begin to act, and it worked in jolts, shaking the car.
However, during the day in warm weather, the car worked confidently, which completely satisfied the then motorists. They put up with the need for frequent maintenance of mechanisms; there was even a special interest in this, especially since a set of tools useful in any household was attached to the car. They put up with the fact that almost all Fords were painted black. (Ford jokingly said, "You can buy a car from us in any color, as long as that color is black.") In general, Ford pleased the then "average American."
Although cartoonists liked to mock Model T's modest appearance, she was beautiful in her own way. Its beauty is in its simplicity. It looks like you can't take anything away or add anything. But the moment came when motorists saw the wretchedness in the simplicity of the Ford. What seemed simple now appeared to be insufficiently strict, angular. Nevertheless, the Ford example shows that it is the simple form of the car that can “live” for a relatively long time.
Conveyor production of cars
The conveyor method of production and the reliability of automobiles, however, could become a reality only after the cooperation of enterprises (or the creation of such a gigantic complex of factories as Ford's), the achievement of machining accuracy, the interchangeability of parts, and the use of new materials in the construction of a car.
The car combined three complex elements - crew, engine and transmission. Crew factories, which have now become automotive, did not do everything themselves, but bought springs, seat cushions, and forgings on the side. There were special factories for automobile engines, power supplies and ignition devices. The internal structure of enterprises and their external relations became more complicated.
Since cars were serviced and repaired often in conditions where there were no mechanical workshops nearby, it was necessary to replace damaged parts with others that could be easily bought. At first, it never occurred to car builders that a complex car could be made in any other way than individual production and fitting details. Can you compare a car with a rifle bolt, which was already made from interchangeable parts? Yes, and the skill of autobuilders has not yet been compared with the qualifications of gunsmiths.
In 1907, the American designer and technologist, the head of the Cadillac company, Henry Leland (1843-1932), built three cars from carefully crafted parts. To demonstrate the interchangeability of their parts, the machines were dismantled and turned into a pile of metal objects. In front of hundreds of spectators (it happened at the stadium), the mechanics, choosing random parts from a pile, again assembled three cars. Then, these machines were made 800-kilometer run without a single breakdown, which for that time was a great achievement.
The high precision in the manufacture of parts and assembly of the engine has led, for example, to the fact that its power has doubled. Another step towards the mass production of cars was taken.
The next step - the use of strong and light steel alloys - prompted the designers of racing cars. Based on their experience, high-strength steels were created, in particular vanadium, which is widely used in the design of Ford-T. Automakers demanded from metallurgists the creation of metals and alloys with constant chemical and mechanical properties, stainless steel, calibrated smooth-drawn sheet. Powerful mills appeared for rolling this sheet, presses for forming body panels from it, and the most precise machines for cutting silent gears.
Development of the automotive industry
The automotive industry began to consume a good half of the produced steel and iron, three-quarters of rubber and leather, a third of nickel and aluminum, a seventh of wood and copper. Automotive industry came out on top in terms of production volume among other branches of engineering, began to have a serious impact on the economic life of states. By the beginning of the First World War, the fleet of cars on the globe amounted to about 2 million. Of these, 1.3 million were in the United States, 245 thousand in England, 100 thousand in France, 57 thousand in Austria-Hungary, 12 thousand - to Italy, 10 thousand - to the Russian Empire.
With all the variety of bodies and units, the technical characteristics of most "veterans" fit into the classic scheme with a "double-phaeton" body, a stamped frame (instead of the old oak, forged steel) and, as a rule, four-cylinder engine. The options now come down only to battery or magneto ignition: to the location of the gearbox separately (less and less often) or in a block with an engine; to the transfer of force to the wheels by a chain (also rare) or a cardan shaft; suspension of rigid axles on four longitudinal (except Ford-T) semi-elliptical springs, sometimes with an additional rear transverse spring; to band or shoe brakes on the rear wheels; to the presence or absence of shock absorbers, electric lighting and folding awning.
Technical and operational indicators reached the following values on average: the average number of seats - 4 (instead of 3.5 at the very beginning of the century); specific power - 19.5 liters. s / t (instead of 9 l. s / t); maximum speed - 80 km / h (instead of 50 km / h); acceleration time from standstill to speed - 60 km / h about 15 s (instead of 30-40 s); fuel consumption decreased by only 5-10%. The estimated efficiency indicator increased by 1.5 times. It seems to be very modest. But it must be taken into account that the main development goals in this period were dynamics and comfort, and they were achieved not only due to the improvement of the engine, but also as a result of the weighting of the car by almost 1.5 times. They may object: after all, the number of places has been increased! Yes, but still the mass of the car per passenger has increased by 30%. Ultimately, the value of the total estimated indicator (let me remind you: at the very beginning of the century it barely exceeded one) doubled.
This year marks 110 years since the appearance of the car that played essential role in the development of not only the auto industry, but also civilization as a whole. We are talking about the famous Tin Lizzy - Ford Model T. Henry Ford flooded America with millions of inexpensive cars, putting the nation on wheels. Then the rest of the world got on wheels.
Much has been written about Tin Lizzie. No gangster film about the times of Prohibition can be imagined without participation in the Model T extras. But we are more interested not in the "assembly" era, when Ford stamped the Model T like black buttons, but in the authentic, good old Tin Lizzy of 1908, assembled by hard workers - by immigrants from the Pickett factory, is a masterpiece of the Bronze Age of automotive engineering, the period from the invention of the automobile to the First World War. It is called bronze because in those years it was bronze that was the main material used for the manufacture of spare parts and decorative elements.
Lightweight two-seat body with a folding cloth top and cargo platform. Color options: green, black, black enamel, leaf ornament.
Early in the winter of 1906, at the Pickett factory Ford motor Company in Dearborn, mysterious events were taking place. On the third floor, Henry Ford ordered to fence off a room for a new workshop. Only a few people received admission - Ford himself, company vice president John Cousins, the best engineer of the plant, Child Harold Wills, Hungarian emigrants Jozsef Galamb and Egen Farkas, engineers Love, Smith, Degner and Martin. Several engines and frames from the then Ford Model N, samples of steel sheets and bronze blanks, a melting furnace and metalworking machines were raised to the workshop. Work continued outside the workshop until late in the evening.
Model N, the company's fifth model, has become a real bestseller. It was cheap and reliable, strong and unpretentious. In 1906, Ford managed to sell 2194 copies - an unthinkable success by the standards of the early twentieth century.
In America at that time, only the lazy did not collect cars. 485 American companies offered their products to consumers. The production technology was simple. Companies bought engines, transmissions, controls and wheels on the side. Then all this was placed on a riveted steel frame. A semblance of a salon with a cloth top or, in rare cases, with a metal roof was erected on top. There were few more buyers than the companies themselves. The average price of a car in the 1900s was $1,000—fantastic money for the time. Henry Ford understood even then that the only way to win against competitors was to reduce prices. But the shareholders of the company were of a different opinion: why give up profits that go into your own hands? Fortunately, one of the main shareholders, the lumberjack and racing driver Malcolmson, went bankrupt and was forced to sell his share to Ford. Ford got the right to vote and, without delay, changed pricing policy companies.
Closed panel car with folding windshield. There is only one color option: green enamel with black enamel decorative elements.
Fateful accident
The main type of car advertising in those days was racing. Ford himself did not disdain at first to personally speak on his cars. In 1901, Henry won a race at Grosse Point with his Model 999 against a car designed by renowned racing driver Alexander Vinton. It was then that he met people who later provided him with money to create the Ford Motor Company. During one of these races in Florida in 1906, Henry Ford witnessed an accident. french car. The car rolled over several times, but was practically not injured. Surprised, Ford carefully examined the car and realized that the steel from which it is made is lighter and stiffer than usual. He managed to take with him a piece of steel sheet. This fact can be considered a classic case of industrial espionage. In Dearborn, he showed the steel to his experts. It turned out that it owes its hardness, twice that of the best American steels, to the addition of vanadium. No one in Pittsburgh, America's steel capital, had a clue how to make it. Ford managed to invite a metallurgical scientist from Europe to America, who revealed to him the technology of cooking. All this happened in conditions of heightened secrecy: only two or three people from Ford's inner circle knew about what was happening.
Light express with a cabin from a wagon and a cargo platform. There is only one color option: green enamel with black enamel decorative elements.
The idea was simple - Henry Ford was not at all a supporter of complex solutions. Steel unseen in America and refinement of the successful Model N design could lead to a car that has no rivals. This is what the company's engineers did in the secret workshop of the Pickett factory. A large number of sold machines allowed them to accumulate extensive information about the most weak points Model N and purposefully improve them. Hungarian engineers Galamb and Farkas, together with true friend Ford Wills in a year managed to thoroughly shake up the design of the Model N, simplify and lighten the main components of the car. In September 1907, two prototypes were built. future model T. They turned out to be so successful that shortly after the start of the tests, Ford ordered to begin re-equipping the Pickett plant under new model. By the fall of 1908, the Model N and its expensive modifications, the Model R and S, were discontinued, and assembly of the $2,500 luxury Model K was moved elsewhere. And on September 27, the Pickett plant assembled the first ever copy of the 1909 Ford Model T. Henry Ford introduced the concept of "model year" with the advent of Tin Lizzie. All cars that were produced after August 31 of the current year were officially considered models of the next year. This practice was soon adopted by all automakers. Today, the automobile "reckoning" happens just like that.
Light express with a cabin from a wagon and a cargo platform with a folding fabric awning. Green enamel with black enamel decorations.
What's in a name
Connoisseurs say that if this car was created not by Ford, but by someone else, then time would have long since erased any memories of it. However, to make a Model T, you have to be born Henry Ford. Why "Tin Lizzie"? On this score, historians of the auto industry do not give a clear answer. But there are two main versions. Americans often prefer nicknames to real names. At the beginning of the last century, the villagers usually called their workhorses by the female name Lizzy. Well, the word "tin" does not need additional interpretation. Iron horse, in general. The second version explains things a little differently. Lizzy - so the Irish called stubborn and wayward beauties. And although it’s hard to call the Model T a beauty, if you like her, then such an explanation will do. Very often, Americans called the Model T "Flivver", and all this legendary car had about twenty different nicknames. But in history she remained Tin Lizzie.
Years of life: 1863−1947. Profession: inventor (author of 161 US patents), businessman, industrialist, founder of Ford. “Who really works does not need titles. His work is honor enough for him."
Practical Ford, in principle, did not create anything new. What for? After all, the main components of market success were well known to him - a strong reliable frame and transmission made of vanadium steel, a proven 2.9-liter engine and an affordable price. The rest is trifles. The more buyers who can scrape together the money for a car that doesn't break down, the better. Cars, according to Ford, were supposed to be something like a hamburger. Cheap and satisfying, even if you subsequently get gastritis. When automotive historians write about the Model T, they praise its reliability in every possible way. You can't argue with that. The car was just unkillable. At the same time, not a word is said about the complete lack of comfort, poor design and inconvenient control system. Tin Lizzie made the famous list of 50 worst cars Time Magazine. Paradox? Let's figure it out.
Ford Motor Company was less than a year old when Henry Ford decided to build his own factory in Dearborn, Michigan. The three-storey building of the plant had an elongated shape, typical of industrial architecture, and a large area of glazing. On April 1, 1904, the company's shareholders approved the acquisition land plot 3.11 acres on Pickett Avenue for $23,500. terms of reference Ford himself and John Dodge, who had a stake in the company's capital, were appointed. The firm of the brothers John and Horace Dodge was engaged in the construction of gasoline engines and for a long time supplied them to Ford. Subsequently, the brothers created their own car company. Interestingly, the first company founded by Ford, Detroit Automobile Co, which went bankrupt in 1900, was subsequently reorganized into the famous Cadillac Motor Car Company. It turns out that Henry Ford became the founder of several long-lived car brands at once. The architectural design of the three-story plant building was carried out by the Detroit company Field, Hinchmann & Smith. Construction began in June 1904, and at the end of the same year, machine tools and office furniture began to be delivered to the plant's workshops on Pickett Avenue. The company's offices were located on the first floor, but Henry Ford's own office was on the second, next to the famous experimental workshop in which Tin Lizzy was created. In addition, a warehouse for raw materials and spare parts, as well as a department for the delivery of finished products, were located on the ground floor at the rear of the building.
Simple, even easier
The tin Lizzie, like its predecessor the Model N, was built on a powerful load-bearing steel frame with two longitudinal beams and transverse elements rigidity from a steel sheet 1/8 inch thick. It was made for Ford at the Michigan Stamping Company. A 2.9-liter Henry Ford engine was attached to the frame along with a primitive but reliable two-stage transmission, leaf spring suspension and a body. There were many types of bodywork in those years, and automakers called them each in their own way. Six body styles were originally developed for Lizzy - Touring, Runabout, Landaulet, Town Car and Coupe, but in 1908 the Model T was produced only in Touring and Landaulet variants. The bodies were ordered from third party manufacturers in Detroit. The upholstery of open modifications was made of thick natural black leather of a special "diamond" dressing. A cloth top, which was made from canvas dyed grey, dark red or dark green, was an optional extra. The closed Lizzies had only the seats trimmed in black leather, and the inner upholstery of the doors was made of leatherette.
Contrary to popular belief that the Model T was painted only black, in fact, this practice did not begin until 1913 with the start of the assembly line. And before 1913, there were no black Tin Lizzies at all! Buyers could choose grey, dark green or dark red body colors. Windshield not included in the standard package, it had to be ordered separately. At the same time, in a wooden partition between engine compartment and interior, reinforced with bronze stripes, a transverse steel beam was installed for rigidity. Otherwise, the glass simply burst on potholes, because the body of the Model T began to creak within a few days after purchase. The interior equipment was, to put it mildly, Spartan. A large wooden steering wheel with a diameter of 36 cm with bronze spokes was tightly screwed to the end of the steering shaft. Beneath it on the right were two short bronze levers with hard rubber knobs. One lever controlled the fuel supply, and the other - the ignition.
The first two thousand copies of the car on the floor had two pedals and two large levers to the left of the driver's seat, then there were three pedals, and only one lever. The left pedal included the first gear, the right - the rear wheel brake and reverse. The levers were responsible for reversing, turning on the transmission brake and neutral gear. The driving process was rather complicated, and it took quite a long time to learn how to drive Tin Lizzy. In the instructions of those years, the driver for an emergency stop was recommended to press both pedals simultaneously and pull the transmission brake lever back to the stop. The car stopped dead in its tracks. Speedometer not included standard equipment Model T, Ford Motor Company purchased these instruments in Detroit from Stewart, National and Jones.
Ford vehicles The Model Ts built from 1908 to 1909 at the Pickett factory are now considered very rare and cost a fortune. The Pickett factory's first models were the Model C, F, and B. On the second floor, the chassis and bodies of the Model B were assembled, and the third was given over to the manufacture of the Model C and F. At the end of 1906, production of these models was discontinued. And in April, after a slight re-equipment, the plant began to produce the new Model K, R, S and S Roadster. Three months later, in July, the promising Model N appeared, which became the basis for the future Tin Lizzy. At the end of the winter of 1908, after the preparation of technological documentation for newest Ford Model T, an accelerated re-equipment of the enterprise began. Previous models were discontinued and only Model K assembly continued for some time. But soon it was also discontinued. And on September 27, 1908, the first ever copy of Tin Lizzy was assembled, which was sent to the first buyer, a wealthy doctor from Detroit, on October 1. Even before the start Ford assembly Model T It became obvious to Henry Ford that the area of the Picket plant was insufficient to implement his plans, and he began to look for a place to lay a new large assembly plant. At the end of 1908, construction began on a plant on a plot of land in Highland Park. The building on Picket Avenue was owned by the Ford Motor Company until January 1911, when it was sold to another well-known auto company, Studebaker. Experts say that out of 12,000 original Model T Piquettes, no more than 100 copies remain to date.
Gravity backwards
The Tin Lizzie engine was developed by Henry Ford himself in the early 1900s and has been revised many times since then. It was an in-line four-cylinder gasoline engine with a side camshaft and valve mechanism. The block was cast from cast iron in one piece along with the water jacket of the cooling system, which was a technological breakthrough for those years. The ignition of the air-fuel mixture coming from the gravity-fed carburetor of the Kingston system was provided by a magneto generator connected by a belt directly to the engine shaft. The compression ratio was only 4.5:1, which made the motor very reliable at long-term operation. With a volume of 2.9 liters, he gave out only 22.5 hp. power and 112 Nm of torque. But for a very light car weighing only 540 kg, this was quite enough. Gasoline from the carburetor flowed by gravity, and when driving uphill, sometimes the engine simply stalled. Therefore, the technique of overcoming the rises was unusual - in reverse! The process of starting the motor involved the use manual starter, the same long-forgotten "backwater". Cranking the starter required skill. Dislocated fingers of the right hand were common, which was reflected in American jokes of those years. The motor was very noisy, despite the presence of a silencer. It was straight-through and made of thin sheet steel with asbestos gaskets between the components.
The clutch assembly was a simple wet type - three thick steel disc in an oil bath, the torque stream was transmitted to the shaft of a two-speed planetary transmission, developed by Ford himself. All shafts and gears of the gearbox were cast from hardened vanadium steel. In surviving Model T examples, they are usually in excellent condition. The lubrication system was common to all power plant, including the engine, clutch and gearbox, and held approximately 4 liters engine oil. Ford engineers did not guess to make a dipstick for measuring the level, and the drivers poured oil until it began to flow out of the hole on the top cover engine. In the early years of production, Tin Lizzy Ford purchased water cooling radiators in France from Briscoe, and then began to make them on his own. On the front side was a large bronze emblem of the Ford Motor Company. The fuel tank was located under the seats and connected to the frame with steel clamps. Its capacity was 37.5 liters. Not a lot when you consider that Model T fuel consumption was highly dependent on the nature of the road and the speed of movement and varied from 11 to 19 liters per 100 km. The maximum speed of Tin Lizzy was about 70 km / h, although the specimens participating in the then fashionable auto racing developed up to 150 km / h. It is terrible to imagine the sensations of a racer flying on a projectile without normal brakes and on wooden wheels at such a speed.
Brakes are not for cowards
Brake system Lizzy is a special topic. One of the most difficult moments in driving a car was the process of braking. Pushing the brake pedal and lever to a stop was not easy. The fact is that the Model T had two brakes - a steel transmission bandage that compresses the main shaft controlled by a floor lever, and a rear brake mechanism drum type in the hub, reacting to pressing the right pedal. brake pads cast in bronze. They wore out very quickly, and their replacement was very laborious.
The Model T suspension, even by the standards of the Bronze Age of automotive industry, was a sample of the primitive. The front and rear wheels were mounted on simple movable spindles riveted to a transverse steel leaf spring. The wheels were turned using unregulated rods, one end attached to the steering column hinge, and the other to the spindle housing. It is interesting that in this unpretentious design there was not a single lubricated unit. Ford rightly reasoned that vanadium steel would not wear out soon, and the lubrication system would increase the cost of the car. And he turned out to be right. On many of the first copies of Lizzie that have survived to this day, original parts pendants look like new!
The tires of the car were rubber, with a tube inside. The hub and long spokes were made of special "artillery" wood, reinforced in loaded places with bronze bandages. Paradoxically, the fanatic of simplification and unification Ford used in the Model T different wheel sizes for the front and rear axle! Owners had to carry with them not one, but two spares. However, at Ford's Canadian plant in Walkerville, the Tin Lizzies were produced with the same wheels. For the southern states of the United States, famous for egregious off-road, the gauge of the car was made a couple of inches wider.
World Automotive Revolution
A lot has been written about the meaning and role of Tin Lizzie in the motorization of mankind. But in 1908, not even Henry Ford knew that she was destined to become a legendary car. Ford constantly sought to increase labor productivity and reduce the time to build one car. A revolutionary breakthrough came with the introduction of the world's first assembly line at Ford's new Highland Park plant in 1913. The idea for its creation came to the head of Ford engineer William Klann, who once visited a slaughterhouse in Detroit. Its work was organized according to the type of line with sequential execution of operations at stationary technological posts. At the end of the line, the carcass turned out to be completely processed and entered the finished product warehouse. In fact, it was not an assembly line, but a disassembly line. But the idea of applying this assembly principle to the automotive industry proved to be revolutionary.
Of course, the assembly line method itself, which increased productivity at the Ford plant several times over, was not the only factor that caused the automobile boom in America. Ford was the first industrial magnate to decide to raise the wages of his workers to $5 a day. At the time, that was a lot of money. They made it possible to maintain a family in abundance and satiety and save for buying a house or a car. Sly Ford paid his workers money, which soon returned to him in the form of payment for Tin Lizzy! After that, America began a process of growth wages throughout the industry. The population began to get richer, and the number of potential buyers grew from several hundred thousand to several million people. The most affordable offer on the market was exactly Tin Lizzy, which became cheaper every year of its production. The growth of the car fleet has brought America to new level development. The rapid growth of the service industry and the production of spare parts, metallurgy and the chemical industry began. One way or another, the advent of an affordable car and five bucks a day were the main reasons for the technological progress of civilization in the twentieth century.
Ford Model T. Model 1908. Price $850 when shipped from the factory
Engine. Four-cylinder in-line with a removable block head and side valves. Displacement 2896 cc The compression ratio is 4.5:1. Power 22 hp
Ignition. Magneto generator designed by Ford, driven directly from the engine shaft. Spark plug.
Transmission. planetary box hardened vanadium steel gears with oil sump Ford design. cardan shaft with a Ford gearbox. Simple bevel gear in oil bath and sealed vanadium steel housing.
Brakes. Ring brake on the transmission shaft, drum brake in the rear hubs.
Dimensions. Wheelbase 2540 mm, track width 1422 mm (for the southern states - 1524 mm).
The Selden case
In 1879, a certain George Selden, a lawyer from Rochester, filed a patent application for a mechanical four-wheeled vehicle with a gasoline engine. The Office was in disarray and the application was simply lost. It was discovered only by chance in 1894, and a year later it was satisfied. The funny thing is that by this time cars were already plowing the roads of America with might and main, and Selden himself had long forgotten about his application.
Nostalgic concept car of our days.
Delighted, Selden realized that he could make a lot of money on this and, with the support of some New York financiers, he organized the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers of America. Independent entrepreneurs who built cars, under the threat of lawsuits, were forced to join it and pay membership fees in the amount of 1.25% of gross annual sales. In 1899, more than 2,500 cars were produced annually in America, and the number of small companies reached 400! Selden and his associates were clipping coupons from the growing car market.
Henry Ford, in 1903, when the Ford Motor Company was founded, also applied to join the Association. But he soon recalled him due to the fact that the management tried to start dictating prices for him, at which he would have to sell cars. The independent and stubborn Ford, of course, refused. The Association decided to show Ford a lesson, and charged him legal action on patent infringement. On the pages of the central newspapers, a serious skirmish broke out with mutual accusations of illegal actions. The case came to court only six years later, when the first few thousand Tin Lizzies were already plowing the American impassability. A federal court upheld Selden's patent. But Ford in any business always went to the end. The Association failed to break Ford's grated roll. Lawyers for the Ford Motor Company filed an appeal with Supreme Court U.S.A.
In 1911, a higher court partially overturned the earlier decision. The final verdict confirmed the legitimacy of Selden's claims, but only in relation to those cars that were made according to the drawings of the original 1879 patent. There were no such things in nature! The Association lost the battle outright. Ford won, freeing itself from the dictates of the Association, and, at the same time, freed the entire American auto industry from tribute. He spent a lot of money on litigation, but in the end he returned everything with a vengeance. The Selden case turned out to be the best advertisement for the Ford Motor Company that one could think of. Ford and his cars have become world famous.
The Model T changed the way Americans live, work and travel. The revolutionary achievements of Henry Ford in the production of automobiles on assembly lines made the Model T the first car available to most Americans. For the first time, car buying became a reality for average American workers, not just the wealthy. Over 15 million Model Ts were built in Detroit and Highland Park, Michigan, and the car was also assembled on Ford plant in Manchester, England and factories in Europe.
The Model T was a car produced by Ford Motor Company from 1908 to 1927. Conceived by Henry Ford as a practical, affordable vehicle for the common man, it quickly became popular for its low cost, durability, versatility and ease of maintenance. Assembly production reduced the cost of a version of the car from $850 in 1908 to less than $300 in 1925. The Model T at times accounted for up to 40% of all cars sold in the United States. The Model T, popularly known as the "Tin Lizzie" or "flivver", has become an American folklore symbol, essentially fulfilling Ford's goal of "democratizing the automobile.
Did you know? Between 1913 and 1927, Ford factories produced more than 15 million Model Ts.
The Model T was offered in several body styles, including a five-seat, two-seat passenger, and seven-seat city car. All cases were mounted on a frame with a 100-inch wheelbase. A choice of colors was initially available, but from 1913 to 1925 the car was produced in only one black color. Engine was simple and efficient, with all four cylinders cast in one block and the cylinder head removable for easy access and repair. The engine had 20 Horse power and accelerated the car to a modest 40-45 miles per hour (65-70 km/h). In most models, the engine was started by a crank that activated a magneto connected to the flywheel, but after 1920 some models were equipped with a starter. The engine was capable of running on gasoline, kerosene, or ethanol, although the declining cost of gasoline and the later introduction of Prohibition made ethanol an impractical fuel for most users. The engines of the first 2,447 units had water cooling with a pump, and engines from model 2,448 onwards, with a few exceptions up to about 2,500 units, were cooled by a thermosyphon. Box consisting of two forward gears and one reverse gear, was of a planetary type operated by pedals rather than the more common hand lever. Turnovers controlled by a hand lever on the steering column. 10 gallon fuel tank located under the front seat. Since gasoline was supplied to the engine only by gravity, and also because reverse gear offered more power than the front gears, the Model T often had to be driven up a steep hill backwards. Such shortcomings, along with its appearance, are less comfortable ride at high speeds and incessant rumble, have made the Model T the object of very affectionate humor in countless jokes, songs, poems and stories. Suspension. The standard Model T used a transversely mounted semi-elliptical leaf spring for each of the front and rear beam axles, giving big move suspension and movement dirt roads that time.
Ford T suspension with additional springs
brakes. The Model T did not have a modern service brake. The right foot pedal pulled the band around the drum in the gearbox, thereby stopping the rear wheels. Lever arm parking brake actuated band brakes acting on the inner rear brake drums, which were one piece with the hub rear wheel. Additional brakes that acted outside brake drums, were available from aftermarket vendors. Wheel disks were wooden, with welded steel spokes, available in 1926 and 1927. Tires were pneumatic, 30 inches (76 cm) in diameter, 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) wide at the back, 3 inches (7.6 cm) at the front. They needed much more high pressure than today's tires, typically 60 psi (410 kPa). Tube tires became available in 1925. They were 21 inches x 4.5 inches (53 cm x 11 cm). They were closer in design to today's tires, with steel cords reinforcing the tire bead, allowing for lower pressures—typically 35 psi (240 kPa)—for a softer ride. The steering ratio has been changed from 4:1 to 5:1.
The Ford Model T was named the most influential car of the 20th century in the 1999 Car of the Century competition, ahead of the BMC Mini, Citroen DS and Volkswagen Type 1. Ford's Model T was successful not only because it provided low-cost transportation on a massive scale, but also because the car was accessible to a growing middle class and became a powerful symbol of America's modernization. With 16.5 million sold, it has been ranked eighth in the top ten best-selling cars of all time since 2012.
Although cars had been around for decades, they were still mostly scarce, expensive, and unreliable. Being a reliable, easily maintained public transport, it was a runaway success. A few days after the release, 15,000 cars were placed. Ford cars rolled off the assembly line at three-minute intervals, much faster than previous methods, reducing production time from 12.5 hours to 93 minutes by 1914, while using less labor. In 1914, Ford released more cars than all other automakers. The Model T was a great commercial success, and by the time Henry made his 10 millionth car, half of all cars in the world were Fords. It was so successful that Ford didn't buy advertising between 1917 and 1923, but the Model T still became so famous that people thought it was the norm.
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The Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903. Its founders were twelve businessmen from Michigan, led by Henry Ford, who held a 25.5% stake in the company and served as vice president and chief engineer of the company. Under car factory converted a former van factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit. Teams of two or three workers, under the direct supervision of Ford, assembled cars from spare parts that were custom-made by other enterprises. The company's first car was sold on July 23, 1903. In 1906, Henry Ford became the company's president and principal owner. In 1908, Henry Ford made his dream come true with the Model T, a reliable and inexpensive car, which became one of the most massive and popular cars of its time. It was the appearance of the “T” model that marked the onset new era in the development of personal transport. Ford's car was easy to drive, it did not require complex Maintenance and could even drive on rural roads.
