1913 Ford Model T Touring

The Ford Model T came to market in October of 1908. After a tremendously long and successful production lifespan, ending near the close of 1928, more than 15 million examples had been produced. It had a 20 horsepower, side-valve four-cylinder engine backed by a two-speed planetary transmission. It had a top speed of 45 mph and was capable of 25 MPG.

In 1913, Ford pioneered the moving assembly line, which cut assembly time from 12.5 hours to just 1 hour, 33 minutes. In January 1914, Ford introduced the $5 per day wage to workers helping the company to produce 300,000 Model Ts; 100,000 more cars than the rest of the industry combined.

In an effort to speed up production even further, the Model T was available only in all-black beginning in 1914. Ford had determined that black paint dried the fastest.

This particular example is a restored Model T that is finished in Midnight Blue with black fenders. It has a period-correct button-tufted black leather interior. The no expense spared restoration was done in the mid-1980s,

This car was donated to the AACA museum. The donor purchased the car in 1987, who reported at the time of his acquisition, this was the second restoration of the car. The donor had the car fitted with new wheels and tires, gas tank, transmission bands, rear-end ring and pinion gear, and a Brassworks radiator.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2016

Ford's Model T radically altered American society by putting affordable transportation within reach of the majority of the population. The car sold millions of units and remained virtually unchanged for two decades. The 1913 Model is the last T available in choice of paint colors. Given the fact that the black paint of the era dried much faster than other colors, Ford sacrificed variety for production speed. This practice continued into the mid-1920's, giving rise tot eh observation that you could buy a Model T in 'any color, so long as it's black.'

Source - AACA Museum