After previous CCs about 50 year old and 60 year old American classics still in regular use in Sweden, it is time to profile a really old American classic spotted on the street in Stockholm: a Ford Model T. It is at least 86 years old and could be as old as 105, given the Model T’s production run from 1908 to 1927. Seeing one parked in front of an office building in downtown Stockholm during morning commute time, surrounded by European and Asian hatchbacks, was surprising to say the least. Even Stockholm pedestrians, normally so accustomed to classic American cars that they rarely look at them, stopped to gawk at this survivor from their great-grandparents’ time.
The presence of a Model T in Sweden is not in itself remarkable, since the Model T was the first internationally produced car, as well as being the first mass-produced and affordable car. Ford produced knock down kits and distributed them to multiple continents for assembly soon after the start of Model T production in Dearborn. Foreign production began in Canada in 1909 and in the United Kingdom in 1911. By the 1920s, countries with Model T assembly plants included Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Japan, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, and Australia, making the Model T the first car to be produced simultaneously on every continent inhabited by humanity.
This particular Model T appears to be an older restoration, and its combination of shiny but chipped paint and light surface rust looks appropriate on a vintage Ford that is driven rather than displayed in a museum. Perhaps this detailed view of the front end will enable a Model T expert to identify what model years this car could be from, assuming that its major components are original.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJgfyclrr54
The hand crank for the starter is a reminder that driving a Model T is a complicated experience for anyone accustomed to modern cars, and this video gives some idea of how complicated it is. It begins with the need to start the engine using the hand crank and continues with a control layout completely unlike that of a modern car. Three pedals (clutch/reverse/brake) and three hand levers (accelerator on the steering column, spark advance on the wheel, and a handbrake/gear selector floor-mounted lever) require the driver to forget familiar instincts and think constantly about each hand and foot action necessary to start moving, accelerate, and stop. Furthermore, even though a Model T is a slow car by modern standards, the minimal effectiveness of the rear wheel only brakes makes stopping precarious. One has to respect the attention and effort required to drive this Model T through modern urban traffic.
This closeup shows what is likely to be part of the reason why this Model T is still driven and parked on the street. Like many classic and exotic cars in Sweden, it is used as an advertising billboard, in this instance for a brand of sparkling wine. Cars seen used for this purpose in Stockholm included 1960’s Volkswagen Beetles, a Citroen DS, a Lotus Elise, and even a Lamborghini Gallardo. Given the Model T’s apparent ability to attract the eyes of even classic car-saturated Swedes, it is a good choice for the role.
After never seeing a Model T driven normally on a public street in my entire life back in the United States (parades and antique car events excluded), seeing one parked on the street in Sweden was surprising but somehow not really shocking. As the most numerous car in history until surpassed by the Volkswagen Beetle in 1972, the Model T has survivors around the world that could appear at any time, and the abundance of American classics on the streets of Sweden makes almost any car sighting imaginable there. The appearance of this Model T on an ordinary street in Stockholm is yet more evidence that Sweden is a unique haven for classic American cars.
My guess is that is about a 1919. My father started driving the family 1915 model when he was eight, Grandfather had difficulty learning how to drive it. He apparently had a variation of the problem many of us in the older generation now have with digital technology. The family got rid of the 1915 and bought a 1919. My father used both cars to drive my aunt and himself to school in rural Tennessee.
Another story: The predecessor of U.S. 27 passed by their home and cars would occasionally get stuck in a mud hole nearby. My father would hitch up the mules and for $ .25 to .50 would pull the cars out.
Probably one of the best comparison photos ever!
Nice. I wonder when the last old timer finally parked his T for good?
And it’s parked behind an Audi A2, another fairly rather rare sight. Fascinating little car, with its ambitious aluminum construction.
Yes an interesting pairing but hardly a modern-day equivalent in at least a couple of aspects!
The Audi A2 would make a good CC. Pretty much the last all-new car Audi made before they gave up being interesting in favour of loutish aggressive styling and (ipso facto) massive global success.
I took a couple shots of an A2 in Lausanne (Switzerland) earlier this year, posted them to the Cohort yesterday (I finally worked out how to join Flickr!).
Nice, and if I recall from online in the past year, this car had the electric starter shortly after it made its debut in the early teens.
Always fun to see these in the wild, despite their age and its a testament to their longevity.
New Beauty radiator, its a late model if thats original, electric start, (no choke pull hanging thru the radiator for cold crank starting) it has doors everywhere I”d put it 26/27 could be wrong.
Henare Ford assembled model Ts in NZ too our roads dis assembled them its said a set of fencing pliers is a Ford tool kit Henare supplied the tool you got your own wire from handy fences #8 wire technology will keep one going though they were soon parked up when the A hit the market.
Well it has electric lights(which means it is no older then a 1915(as 1915 is the first year electric lights were offered) But it looks like it has a electric starter(there is a choke rod on the dash). Electric start T’s were offered starting in 1919 so i guess it is a 1919-1927 Model T
Going from memory here, but I think that Ford abandoned the brass and went with all black-painted trim in 1916, which allowed the price cutting and assembly speed to start ramping up in earnest. In the US, we got nickle-plated radiator shells around 1924-25 (?), so this would be from the T’s peak era (Peak T?) of around 1916-22.
Every time I see one of these up close, I am amazed at how spindly they look. However, looks are deceiving because of the use of high-strength vanadium steel used throughout which made these things so very tough.
I wonder if U.S. roads in 1910 were significantly better than Aussie or Kiwi roads in the 1960s-70s. I understand that bailing wire was an essential in the toolboxes of American Model T owners as well. As for the brakes, I can recall some harrowing stops in a Model A with 4 wheel brakes. I can only imagine how these would be. They surely put the Panic in a Panic Stop.
As a clue, the Arroyo Seco Parkway (AKA Pasadena Freeway) built in 1940 as one of the first of its kind had a posted limit of 45mph. Now it’s pretty exciting to drive at 55 in those narrow lanes, one of the more “sporting” freeways around. Its “suicide” offramps must’ve been exciting in a car with rear mechanical brakes.
They can be a little more exciting than one might like right now. The on ramps aren’t any better — at some points you have a very short ramp (from a stop sign!) just past a curve, which I would not want to do in a heavily laden and/or seriously underpowered car.
I’ll say this for it: Like an upcoming hanging, old freeways like that concentrate the mind wonderfully; little chance of getting drowsy on ’em.
If the Hummer fits in those lanes, it must be only by inches.
Our roads pre war were no different some pavement in towns but the rural areas had dirt/gravel trax until the US freeways evolved and your roads improved American cars worked fine even the longer lower look cars could last 120,000 miles, but the softly sprung cars of later years dont work very well we still have 1950 US two lane around things and over the hills, What does that sign mean?
Writer E.B. White had a great essay entitled, “Farewell, My Lovely!” (don’t confuse with the Raymond Chandler novel) about what it was like to own a T in their heyday. The car was a boon for the aftermarket.
About using old cars for business PR, Truly Nolen Pest Control has a whole fleet of CCs they park at random locations around Tucson. While I’m not a customer, it really catches the eye, if you’re a car buff anyway:
http://www.trulynolen.com/corporate/mouse-car.asp
[see bottom of page]
Henrik Fjord
Although the control (transmission) layout was very different from conventional, copared to non-synchro gear boxes of the day it was far easier to master. The primary brake on these was not the small rear drums but one of the bands in the transmission acting on the rear wheels via driveshaft. The reverse and brake pedal could be alternated to prevent burning out the band when extended braking was needed. The rear drum brakes were hand lever operated parking brakes but they could be used to help slow the car (application also put the transmission in nuetral).
They can’t be that hard to drive; I drove a family friend’s ’23 Model T when I was 17, and I had no problem–though I was driving in his back 40 and not on the road!
This one looks a lot like that 1923.
This is definitely a 1923-1925 model. The nickled grill was an option up until 1926, to my remembrance. Also, 1926-1927, you could again have a Model T in a few other colours than black.
There used to be a joke about the color of early Fords: “You can get a Ford in any color provided it’s black.”