Classic stories
...how odd the Ford Model T's controls are to operate
THE Model T’s story is a familiar one to petrolheads. The car’s combination of low price and reliability opened up the possibilities of travel to millions of people across the world, and between October 1908 and May 1927, 16 500 000 were sold. By 1920, every second car in the world was a Model T. It had many nicknames – the “Tin Lizzie” or “Pedal Ford”, to mention just two – and is still so popular as a collector’s car that globally at least 70 000 are in running condition. In fact, such is its enduring appeal that practically all the parts needed to build a brand-new Model T are available from manufacturers in either the USA or China.
There’s a lot that’s unusual about the Tin Lizzie, but we’ll concentrate on the weirdest aspect: how to actually drive it. In the early years of the previous century, changing gear was a nerve-wracking affair. The gearboxes of the day had straight-cut gears without synchromesh and the clutches were erce to operate and troublesome. Henry Ford knew he could not sell millions of cars that are tricky to operate, so he set about making the driving technique a simple one. And, while it was easy compared with existing cars of the day, these days it would be anything but that for all of us used to clutch, brake and accelerator pedals.
The Model T has three pedals, but their functions aren’t familiar. The throttle is operated via a lever on the steering column, as is the ignition advance/retard – by another lever next to it the steering column – plus there is a handbrake lever within reach.
So, to those three pedals on the oor. Gears in the two-speed epicyclic gearbox are changed with the left-hand pedal, the middle pedal engages reverse and the right-hand pedal operates a transmission brake (the wheels are brakeless).
To start the engine, you move the ignition control to the full retard position, open the handthrottle slightly and make sure the handbrake is on. This puts the gearbox in neutral. The engine is ready to be cranked by hand.
Once it’s going, you need to adjust the throttle and ignition-timing mechanism to get a smooth idle before you are ready to set off. This is achieved by simultaneously releasing the handbrake lever, pressing the left-hand pedal down and keeping it against a spring. The pedal will engage rst gear while the lever will preselect second (top) gear. Once the car is moving at a walking pace, you release the left-most pedal. This will engage top gear and all you have to do is steer and adjust the speed with the hand throttle. The Model T engine has valve timing like a tractor and the car is famous for going just about anywhere in its top gear.