26 Ford Model TToday’s Nor Cal Spotlight takes a look at an Antique car in the NorCalCars inventory. A 1926 Ford Model T!

The Ford Model T, other wise known as the Tin Lizzie and the Flivver, was an automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company from 1908 through 1927. The Model T was produced using the revolutionary assembly line model and the factory paid its workers based on the cost of the car, allowing it to be the first car to be truly affordable to the masses. The first of the Model T’s where built at the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan in 1908.

The thing that made the Model T so unique was that it was produced using an assembly line and not by hand. In 1909, the average cost of the car was $850.00. By 1915, the price for a Model T was $440.00. The sharp decrease in pricing through the years came from perfecting the assembly line. By 1915, the average time to produce a Model T was about one hour and 33 minutes.

The car used a front mounted four-cylinder (2.9L) en bloc motor that produced 20.2 horsepower.
Model-T-InteriorIt attained a maximum travel speed of 40-45 miles per hour depending on certain conditions and produced a respectable 13 to 21 mpg. Surprisingly enough, this early attempt at an engine could run on ethanol as well as gasoline. Ethanol however, was quickly ruled out since gas prices where decreasing rapidly.

Ford opted for a rear-wheel drive vehicle when designing the Model T. It had three speeds that where controlled by three foot pedals as well as a lever located to the left of the driver’s seat. The gas was located conveniently right on the steering wheel and the car itself could be considered to have an automatic transmission since there was no need to use a clutch pedal to engage different speeds.


The suspension used by the Model T employed a transversely mounted semi-elliptical spring for each of its axles. The wheels of choice for the Model T where initially wooden artillery wheels but by 1926, steel welded-spoke wheels became available. The standard wheelbase was 99 inches and the standard tread width was 56 inches.

One of the truly impressive features of this car besides its obvious effect on society was the fact that Ford used vanadium steel to develop some parts that in turn made the Model T an extremely durable vehicle. It is truly incredible that many Model T’s and their original parts are still in use to this date.