THE FORD MODEL T
The design was extremely simple. The front and rear axles were solid, and set on a single transverse leaf spring. The engine was a 2.9-litre four-cylinder side-valve engine developing 20 or 22 bhp at 1600rpm (depending on compression ratio). A two-speed planetary transmission used belts rather than gears and had only two forward speeds plus one reverse. The gears were operated by a two-pedal actuation which made for easier driving than using a conventional stick-operated sliding-gear gearbox. There were no brakes as such: instead, there was a contracting band on the transmission and hand-operated expansion brakes on the rear wheels. There was no self-starter; the engine had to be cranked by hand.
FEATURES
