Ford Sites Map Updated

Spent a little time over the summer to add more locations to the Google Maps showing Ford locations. This is an exclusive to Vintage Ford facts. There may be imitators & wanna bes, but there is only one site dedicated solely to pre-1940 Ford History.

Over the next couple months I will be adding other things such as branch assembly plants, Vacation & summer homes of the Ford family that are located outside of Michigan, places that are of value to other Ford Historians.

My ultimate goal is to have an all inclusive one stop source for Ford History locations. It has not been a small undertaking by any stretch, but I feel this to be a worthwhile effort.

You can access the map at the link below. It's free to use, I only ask for proper credit with a link back to this site to be given in the event it is used for a commercial concern.


View Ford Sites in a larger map

Owners Manual Artwork

This is a small sampling of Ford owner's manuals from my collection. As you can see the artwork was minimal as shown by the Model T manual to more elaborate and colorful as shown by the later v-8 era books. If enough interest I will post more in the near future.

Early 1920s Model T

1936 Ford Truck

Almost reminds you of getting a shot at the Dr.'s office.

The 85 refers to the 85HP engine. Ford introduced a 60HP engine  in 1937 for fuel conscious customers.

The New Ford for 1939

Here are a few scans from original Ford literature in my Personal Collection. You'll see the difference between the '39 Standard & DeLuxe Models. Pictured are the Coupe, Fordor Sedan, Convertible. Too bad new car brochures don't have this quality of artwork.

Zenith Updraft Set-up For Model T Ford

From Motor Record Magazine 1921.

Henry Ford 150th Celebration.

2013 marks the 150th anniversary of Henry Ford's birth in 1863. Lots of things are either in the planned or still in the planning stages. Check the official Henry Ford 150 site for more info.

Henry Ford 150 Celebration Link

Major Site Update

Henry Ford keeping warm by the fireplace. We're keeping warm by the computer.

Now that cooler weather has set in and garage time is getting shorter, I have been working on a major site update. So far I have 50+ new entries ready to post and will be doing just that over the next few days. As you come to expect here at Vintage Ford Facts, quite a bit of the things I will be posting are not well known or easily researched.

While some automotive history sites carpet bomb a site with new content, we prefer a more laid back approach. Our content here is unique in that we don't rely on photo heavy posts with little substance. Rather we try to present information that would not otherwise be known unless you have a large Ford reference collection.

Thanks for reading and feel free to contact me with any questions.

-Luke Dahlinger
Vintage Ford Facts

The New Ford

Edsel Ford with a very early '28 Roadster in front of the Ford Engineering Building.

                             
On this day in 1927 the New Ford Model A was introduced to the public. Replacing the Model T and under hushed rumors for months the car was met with huge crowds at debuts in most large cities. In New York City, the local Ford branch rented Madison Square Garden just to be able to handle the large crowds.

Cars were in such demand many dealers were forced to make do with large posters, speeches about the new car, copious amounts of literature, but no actual car! It would be a couple months before every dealer had at least one car for demonstration purposes.

The Model A was a major change from the Model T, instead of the planetary transmission so well known in the T, the Model A featured a sliding gear transmission modeled after the higher priced Lincoln. Enterprising dealers offered driving classes to former owners of Model T's.

A wide array of body colors was offered, unheard of on a low priced car, same for the Houdaille Shock Absorbers which were put on at Henry Ford's insistence.

The model A also holds the honor of being the first car produced at the mighty Ford Rouge Plant in Dearborn. Prior Detroit assembly line operations was at Highland Park.

Model A showed what Henry & Edsel could do when they worked together as a team. Edsel was responsible for the body and other cosmetic things while Henry worked on the chassis with his staff of engineers.

Production of the Model A ceased in early 1932 after a short 4 year run.

The Model A Ford remains one of the most popular collector cars out there today. They were known for being a fine car when new and that still holds true today. Model A's are one of the very cars from the 20s & early 1930s that can be driven anywhere and parts are still easily obtained. I own a few of them myself and wouldn't trade them for any price.

Piece of Ford history up for sale.

While this isn't the normal post here at Vintage Ford Facts, it is certainly interesting.

This property was given to Ray & Evangeline Dahlinger by Henry Ford in the early 1920s. The Dahlingers not only worked for Henry Ford personally, but they were his confidants and neighbors.

Henry Ford was known to give lavish gifts to his friends and employees. This property and many others like it in Michigan survive to this day. We are working on compiling a list of these surviving properties.

Craftsmen from Greenfield Village built the windmill, which is topped by a propeller from a Ford Tri-motor. It's rumored Charles Lindbergh stayed in this windmill on a couple occasions. Based on the photos it appears the main house has had little alteration over the years. John Dahlinger in his book "The Secret Life of Henry Ford" goes into some detail about this particular property. You can find this book at most online used book sellers for a nominal price.

Check out this link for photos. It's located at 4951 Lakeshore in Lexington, MI. I do not advise unannounced arrival however. It would be best to check with the listing real estate agent and go from there.

Ray & Evangeline Dahlinger Lake Huron Home

Highland Park Plant Virtual Tour

               

Here's an interesting link to all Ford history enthusiasts. These photos show interior and exterior photos of the remaining structures at the Highland Park Plant. Keep in mind most of the plant is off limits to the casual visitor so this is a rare look at one of the most significant buildings in not only Ford history but the history of the United States. Click the link below.

Highland Park Plant Tour - Slideshow

The closest virtual tour we have for the Highland Park plant during production is Arnold & Faroute's Book "Ford Methods & Ford Shops" which was compiled in the 1914-1916 period- the heyday of the Highland Park plant.

June 4 1896 - A Red Letter Day in Ford History

Henry Ford in the Original Quadricycle. New York 1906

 Henry Ford Had worked on the Quadricycle in his off time from his job at Detroit Edison.  Ford's Co-worker and friend ed "Spider" Huff also played a large role in the creation of this ride. Many nights were spent with Ford's wife Clara in the converted coal shed toiling on this new car.

The car still exists and is under glass at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Chickasha Pre-War Swap Meet 2012

Getting back in the mood to update this blog!  The editorial staff of Vintage Ford facts attended the Chickasha Meet in Oklahoma this March.  First time I ever attended and I will be back!

Here's a few selected views of Ford and Ford goodies at Chickasha. Will likely post more photos in a subsequent post.

Nice selection of Model A Fenders. A few of these went home with me for my projects.

mid 30s Ford Porcelain sign

1933 or 1934 Ford Tudor Sedan

Part of the NOS haul that came back to Florida with me.

Nice 26-7 T Sedan

Rare original Ford filmstrips!

1935 Ford Phaeton

Have any of these laying around?

Looking for issues of Model A News, The Restorer, Vintage Ford, and V-8 Times to complete my collections. Doesn't matter if you have one or 1000, as I trade duplicate issues with others who are trying to build complete sets.

If you have extras of these or have some laying around that you don't know what to do with, please let me know.

I will be glad to make an offer and take them off your hands!

My email is LS-Dah-lin-geratgmail.com  (Remove the hyphens and replace "at" with @)

Site News and Update

I have been incredibly busy lately thus why I haven't added any new content lately.  I plan on doing a comprehensive update this weekend, so make sure you have a cold drink ready!

Thanks for reading!

Brass era Model T Touring

1939 Ford Fordor Sedan

Edsel Ford II Looks for his Great Great Grandfather's Punchbowl

While we normally don't cover anything here past 1940, this is rather interesting.
In the photo above you see Henry Ford & Spider Huff racing their Sweepstakes car marked #4 in this photo against Alexander Winton at the Grosse Pointe, MI race track in 1901.

Winton was favored to win this race, so much so his agent selected a rather ornate cut glass punch bowl that he thought would look good in the bay window of the Winton home. On race day Henry Ford had other ideas about who was going to win and through determination and stamina, HE won the cut glass punch bowl.

This punch bowl followed the Fords as they moved over the years, from Hendrie Avenue, 66 Edison- both in Detroit and finally onto Fair Lane where the bowl remained until Clara Ford's death in 1950.

When Clara Ford died, The Ford Grandchildren Josephine, Benson, William Clay and Henry II had their pick of the furnishings & china, but they took very little. A sale conducted by Perke-Bennett Galleries of New York  helped to dispose of the unwanted items, among these the cut glass punch bowl.

Several searches have been conducted in the past but these were less than fruitful. Now Edsel Ford II has started yet a new search in hopes to find the long forgotten punch bowl.

This USA Today link  shows a photo of the missing punchbowl.
Further Reading Here  and the video below:

Random Henry Ford Photo

The above photo shows Henry & Edsel Ford with Charlie Chaplin in the powerhouse of the Highland Park Plant. It's my guess this photo dates from the early 1920s.

Tornado in Cullman, Alabama Uncovers A Surprise

Over on the Model T Ford Club of America Forum, a discussion was started about a building that was hit by a tornado in downtown Cullman. Evidently a new brick facade was placed over the old facade. Doing some research I located photos of the building prior to the Tornado. If anyone has info on the Fuller Bros. Motor Company, I'd like to read about it!

The After

Before

Rear View- note the large attached garage.

Vintage Street Scenes Featuring Fords......

                             Not one, but two! 1931 Model A Victorias. Note both are Leatherback models

                                             1939 Mercury Sedan and 1934 Ford Truck

                                      1934 Ford Panel Delivery 1934 Ford 3 window Coupe

                                                        1930 Ford Model A Tudor Sedan

Henry Ford Quotes - Part 1

Henry Ford giving a rare radio speech.

Henry Ford was one of the most vocal of all industrialists during the 1920s- 1940s. He talked about everything from manufacturing to farming and then some. It comes as no surprise that he said alot of quotable quotes. Below are some examples.


"When I was a kid all my toys were tools. They still are!" 
As told to Samuel Crowther by Henry Ford during the writing of Ford's first book, "My Life and Work"

"A market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one."
 
"Business is never so healthy as when, like a chicken, it must do a certain amount of scratching around for what it gets"

"Don't find a fault, find a remedy"

"Exercise is bunk. If you are healthy you don't need it, if you are ill you can't do it"

"I am looking for a lot of men with an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done"

"I'll send Harry and 6 of his men over to take care of Hitler. We'll have him in no time"- In reference to Harry Bennett, head of Ford Service on a question of what he'd do about getting rid of Hitler.


"The further a man can look back, the further he can see ahead" 
1928 Radio interview with Thomas Edison, and Harvey Firestone

"Vision without execution is just hallucination." 

“It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays the wages.”

“You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.”

“I do not believe a man can ever leave his business. He ought to think of it by day and dream of it by night.”

"With one foot in Agriculture and the other in Industry, America is safe."

Pre War Fords at Barrett Jackson West Palm Beach 2011

A break from the norm(whatever that is!) this is a look at the Pre-War Ford products at the Barrett-Jackson sale in Palm Beach. I spent some time looking over the Ford Motor Company new car exhibit and found the staff there very helpful & friendly.  For someone who hasn't been to a Barrett-Jackson Auction, they are well worth going to! Ticket & Merch prices are reasonable (I've paid more for a T-shirt at a concert than I have at Barrett-Jackson), and you will certainly get your money's worth- or if you want to look at it from a ROI standpoint, you'll be ahead of the game by the time you get all the free T-shirts, stickers, posters, etc.  Enough of that! Let's take a look at the cars............

Model T Speedster

TT Truck

1930 Model A Ford Standard Roadster

My personal favorite- 1935 Ford Phaeton

Dash of 1935 Phaeton

Rare Accessory Radio in 1935 Ford

Speaker Grill of the radio. Never go wrong with the Ford script!

Seldom seen 1942 Lincoln Continental

Passenger area of Continental

Ford Display Area

Like to have this for my garage!

Sure it's past 1940, but who doesn't like Andy Griffith?

1948 Lincoln Continental on the block. Taken from the cheap seats- spectator area.

Portion of the crowd.

Yes it's new! Part of the Ford exhibit.

Add caption

What you don't see on Television- an empty auction block.