Ford Model T

The Tin Lizzie Life

by Debra Ann Pawlak

One hundred years ago, Ford had a better idea…Henry Ford, that is. And when his idea became a reality, the Ford Motor Company was born and along with it that famous horseless carriage, The Model T. Henry Ford and his new concept car revolutionized not only the way we worked, but also the way we got there. And life on the farm was never the same. Getting an automobile manufacturing company off the ground was no easy feat back in 1899, but Henry Ford did just that in his spare time. While working as a full time engineer for the Detroit Edison Company, Ford managed to convince several prominent Detroiters to help him organize and establish the Detroit Automobile Company. The backers' patience grew thin, however, when Ford failed to produce a sellable car and the fledgling company lost $86,000. The grand enterprise was dissolved within nine months. Undeterred, Henry Ford took a gamble, and in October, 1901, he won a car race – the only one he ever entered. In front of thousands of onlookers, Ford beat Alexander Winton at the Detroit Driving Club in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. While Winton's car overheated, Ford crossed the finish line averaging an alarming forty-four miles per hour. He won not only the $1,000 purse, but also the interest of various investors who thought they should cash in on this mechanical marvel. So, with $28,000 in ready money, the Ford Motor Company was incorporated in 1903. Ten workers earning $1.50 per day built the first two-cylinder Model A in what was once a Detroit wagon factory. When Ford sold the vehicle to a local physician for $850, it became a hit. Henry Ford, however, had an even better idea. The four-cylinder Model B did not live up to the company's expectations, but the Model C certainly did. By 1907, the Ford Motor Company reaped a whopping $1,100 profit. Ford continued identifying his automobiles alphabetically. Some of the models were never mass produced, but considered only concept cars. The Model N represented a total redesign. Instead of a two-cylinder engine under the seat, the Model N held a four-cylinder engine underneath the hood. By the time Ford was ready to build his most famous vehicle, he had exhausted the alphabet from A through S. His next car represented the most modern automobile to date and he simply called it the Model T. Ford formally introduced his Model T to the general public on October 1, 1908. Known for its dependability, the car was soon nicknamed the ‘Tin Lizzie’ (‘Lizzie’ was a contemporary slang word used to describe a reliable servant). The stripped down version minus a top, windshield and gas lamps held steady at $850. After the first 500 cars were made, Ford enhanced the vehicle by adding a new starting crank. In 1909, more options were featured: robe rails, footrests, auto chimes, and the tops (if you preferred one) could be ordered in either gray or black. Brass trim was another common feature. Brackets for the windshield (which folded lengthwise across the center) and side lamps were fashioned from brass, while pedals and brakes were made of solid brass plates. Options such as spare tires, toolboxes, speedometers and windshield wipers were eventually added. A roadster rumble seat with a cushion could be had for three dollars, while shock absorbers went for $4.45. The 1,200 pound automobile had a four-cycle, twenty horsepower engine. The car measured just over eleven feet long, not including the bumpers, and about five and one-half feet wide with a ten-gallon gas tank located directly underneath the seats. It cleared the ground by ten and one-half inches and could travel up to forty-five miles per hour. The two front tires measured thirty by three inches, while the rear tires measured thirty by three and one-half inches—all minus tread with a recommended pressure of seventy pounds. The tires were painted to match the bodies, which were available in assorted colors until Brewster Green came along. This blackish shade then became the norm. By 1910, there were 16,000 automobiles in the State of Michigan alone. An eight-mile per hour speed limit was enforced after a state government study was conducted. Since no one dared drive during the treacherous winter seasons, auto insurance was sold for only six months of the year at a cost of $1.50. By now, Ford was producing 100 cars per day with each vehicle taking about fourteen hours to build. The cars themselves were assembled one at a time. The chassis remained stationary, while workers scurried all over the factory retrieving parts. This inefficient process would never satisfy the increased public demand. Once again, Ford had a better idea. In 1910 he opened a new factory in Highland Park, Michigan where Model T production rose from 19,000 to over 78,000 by 1912. Still, Ford knew he could do better and he began experimenting with a crude assembly line. On October 7, 1913, a chassis was pulled 150 feet across the factory floor by a rope and windlass. One hundred and forty workers stood in designated spots along the path and attached parts to the car. From start to finish, it took them five hours and fifty minutes. Eventually, Model T production was reduced to a mere one hour and thirty-three minutes. This in turn dropped the car’s price down to $360 making it available to more than just the upper class. The price hit an all-time low of $290 in 1924 allowing millions of Americans to own a set of wheels. To keep up with popular demand, Ford knew that he had to run his factory around the clock ,so in 1914 he more than doubled his workers’ pay. Already earning $2.34 for nine hours work, he raised the pay scale to an unheard of $5 for each eight-hour shift. With three shifts running in a 24-hour period, Ford achieved exactly what he needed—non-stop production. Even better, the autoworkers could now afford to buy cars of their own. Until 1927, Ford mass produced a variety of Model Ts including, Coupes, Touring Cars, Fordors, Tudors, Chassis, Runabouts and Model TTs. Over fifteen million Tin Lizzies were sold in the United States alone. With almost one million more going to Canada and another 250,000 shipped to England, the Model T represented one half of all cars built during that period. Thanks to the Tin Lizzie, motoring evolved from an idle pastime into a way of life. Will Rogers once commented: “It will take a hundred years to tell whether, he [Ford] helped us or hurt us, but he certainly didn’t leave us where he found us.” Well, one hundred years have come and gone and it is clear that Henry Ford and his Model T not only shaped the twentieth century, but the horseless carriage will continue to cast its long shadow well into the twenty-first.