Ford Model T Roadster

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Photos by Graham Hay 

This 100 year old Ford Model T Roadster appears to have spent most of its life in the New England region of the United States. It had a brief period in Texas between 2007 and 2012 before being imported to Australia. The car belongs to the brass-era of motoring which is evident in the liberal use of the metal throughout the bodywork. 1914 was the year Henry Ford was rumoured to have uttered “The public can have any colour (Ford) it wants, so long as it’s black.” Of course this wasn’t true as other colours were available by special order. Ford was the first automobile manufacturer that employed the production-line method of assembly, an idea he implemented after observing how well it worked in the meat industry, and he believe black dried faster than other colours, hence his predilection for that colour. Chassis numbers were not used by Ford until 1925 however the engine in this car was cast on 18 March 1914, which, incidentally, was a Wednesday. By Dan Talbot