Old Car Haven

P.O.Box 67
Komatipoort 1340
Mpumalanga
South Africa

Contact Person:-

Herman Nel

Tel / Fax; 27 (0)13 793 7775

Cell; 27 (0)84 577 8681

e-mail:-
herman.nel@vodamail.co.za

1912 FORD MODEL T

The Model T, was best known as the Tin Lizzie,and for many reasons, such as the rock-bottom price of $850, low fuel consumption,coupled to a top speed of 40 mph and large engine size was a very popular model.
Over 18 years Ford rapidly increased production and 15 million Model T's were produced making the the Model T being considered the
Hallmark of American automobiles, with Ford selling overseas in Britain, Germany and France as part of its expansion programme.

A cost cutting programme was introduced and The Runabout now sold for $590 while the open-front Tourer sold for $690. New for 1912 was the introduction of accessory kits to convert the 1911 and 1912 open touring cars into enclosed models.
This model was also fitted with a standard third seat for the first time. This was known as the "Mother in law Seat" or "Removable rumble seat"

On June 4, 1924, the ten millionth Model T Ford left the Highland Park factory, which would remain the main facility for Model T production.

To avoid product stalemate, mainly their only colour being black, Ford had to come up with new innovations and so in 1927 production of the Model T was halted.

1930 FORD MODEL A PHAETON

The next popular model to come off the Ford production line was the Ford Model A.

It took three months to alter the production line from the Model T to produce the Model A.

The price of the car was $450 and over the next four years 4.5 million Ford Model A's were sold. Phaeton indicates a four door model.
The Model A also featured a new option on the market and that was a station wagon.

The Ford AA Truck was also a popular workhorse.
The Standard Ford Model A Phaeton featured genuine leather seats, had a more flasred mudguard and the radiator shell was deeper. These features contributedto making the 1930 Model A a much more solid looking vehicle.

The Ford Model A came out with a 3.3 litre (200.5 cu in.), 40 horsepower, four cylinder, side-valve engine.
This was twice as powerful. as the Model T's
2.9 litre (176.7 cu in.) engine.

A strong selling point for the Model A Ford was the fuel consumption of 20 - 30 miles per gallon.

"1936 Ford Roadster, Flathead" This was a twenty one stud, 85hp, V8, side-valve engine, with a three speed transmission. By May of 1936 Ford had produced 3 million V8 engines, with the three millionth truck being produced two weeks later.

Ford started using V8s in 1932.CLICK HERE
Chev did not produce a V8 until 1955.

Ford had a choice of 21 models available in 1936 with prices ranging from $510 to $780.

The post depression 30's were difficult years for the motor industry and there was fierce competition, with Chev forging ahead of the pack. Ford advertised that with a $25 down payment any Ford motor car could be bought.

In 1935 a trunk was offered as an option on only 2 models. In 1936 a trunk was available on all models except their Roadster and Coupes.

Rumble seats were available on Ford's Roadster models.
Pressed steel wheels replaced spoked wire wheels and the horns were placed inside the fenders with grills to let the sound out. The total share of the market that was shared between the “Big Three” car makers (GM, Ford, Chrysler Corp.) was about 65 percent.

1936 FORD CABRIOLET

In 1936 in America, Chevrolet was claiming 27 percent of the car market, Ford was second with 24 percent and Plymouth's nearly 14 percent.

This 1936 Ford Cabriolet was available only with a rumble seat.

In 1936 only 4,616 Ford Cabriolets were produced. This Cabriolet was available for $625. Cost of some new Ford car models was up to $780.

The horn was placed inside the fender with grills to let the sound out.

By comparison the 1936 Chev Convertible Cabriolet was not very popular among buyers and only 3,629 were made.
Pressed steel wheels replaced spoked wheels in 1936.

1940 FORD V8 PICKUP TRUCK

This 1940 Ford Pickup was mounted on Ford's commercial car chassis in an attempt to combine passenger car and truck front end styling. A common grill and head lights was utilized to give the car-like appearance.

The front fender was also designed to bring out this theme.

The cab which had been designed to fit in with the heavier trucks was also altered to fit in with the passenger car look.

The hood sat much higher and was not interchangeable with the Ford passenger car models, but the shape of the nose was very similar.

The interior of this truck had leather seats and seat belts for passenger safety.
There was enough leg room making it suitable for long drives.

The loadbody and the rear fender of the 1940 V8 Ford pickup truck was the same as the 1938-39 models.

The 1940 Ford V8 Pickup truck was installed with a 4-speed manual transmission, had a length of 188.251 inches and a wheel base of 112.001 inches.

1946 FORD CONVERTIBLE

This 1946 Ford Super Deluxe Coupe Convertible sold for $1490.

With the end of WWII private vehicles could again resume production. The 1946 models of Ford and nearly every other make were in fact 1942 models with minor changes.

After three years of no private car production there was a huge demand for cars by the private sector.

Most of the changes were minor changes made with speeding up production in mind rather than styling changes.

Six and eight cylinder models were available in all models except the Super Deluxe Ford Convertible Sport Coupe. This was only available in V8 and was probably the only truly "New Model" of 1946.

1950 MERCURY COUPE

NO PHOTO AVAILABLE YET

1954 FORD 2 DOOR SEDAN

This Customline Club Coupe in Herman Nel's collection sold for $1830. Ford extended it's model range to 14 models, but the biggest news of all was the overhead valve engine. The overhead valve V8 with 130 horsepower replaced the old flathead side valve V8.

This was the first year that the V8 or straight six could be had in any model, although the new V8 was by far the most popular choice.

This was the most horsepower for price engine on the market running on regular petrol.

The new 1954 Ford style leader was the Ford Skyliner but later on in 1954, Ford introduced it's new sportscar the "Thunderbird".

This was a two seater capable of 110 mph.

Very few Thunderbirds reached the market so this model was considered a 1955 model.

1957 FORD FAIRLANE 500

The 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 gained a new design and top trim. The new design which was typical of the 50's was longer, lower, and wider with a new 118 inch wheelbase, selling for $2435.
The Fairlane 500 was two inches longer than the junior Custom/Custom 300 models and the new separate Station Wagon line.

The Fairlane had a bigger, weightier and sportier new body, with a lower-profile "cowbelly" frame, as well as a dropped rear floorpan and kicked-up back siderails plus 14" wheels, permitting a three inch reduction in overall height.

All 1957 engines were carry-overs from 1956, although they were tuned for slightly more power.

The new 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 "Skyliner", featured a star introduction and that was the world's first (and until the 1990s the only) production retractable hardtop convertible.
It was a great idea, typical of the 1950's, but proved to be very complicated and prone to give trouble.

The 1957 models retained a single-headlight front end like previous models, but were unmistakable with their long flanks and tailfins.
Numerous new trim lines were introduced, starting with the base "Custom", "Custom 300", "Fairlane", and top-line "Fairlane 500".
The two Custom lines used a 116 in (2946 mm) wheelbase, while the Fairlanes had 118 in (2997 mm) between the wheels.

A new car/pickup truck the Ranchero was also introduced.

The suspension was improved by having swept back front lower control arms and longer rear leaf springs.

Production figures for 1957 were:-
2D Club Sedan: 93,756.
4D Town Sedan: 193,162.
Victoria 2D Hardtop: 183,202.
Victoria Hardtop Sedan: 68,550.
Sunliner Convertible: 77,726.
Skyliner Hardtop Convertible: 20,766.
Available engines were:-
223 I6 144 bhp. 272 V8 190 bhp.
272 V8 205 bhp. 292 V8 212 bhp.
312 V8 245 bhp. 312 V8 270 bhp.

1957 FORD THUNDERBIRD e-series

1957 Thunderbird had a restyle by having the front bumper reshaped, the grille and tailfins were made larger, and larger tail-lights were fitted.
The "Thunderbird" script was moved from the tail fins to side of the front fenders.
Tuned up versions of the 312 engine were produced as well as a few McCulloch supercharged versions, rated at 300 and 340 hp (254 kW) respectively.
1957 sales were 21,380, including three extra months of production because the 1958 models were late. With its V8 engine, the Thunderbird could reach speeds of 110-120 mph.

It was designed to be a brisk luxury tourer, and a smaller two-seat "personal luxury car" not a sports car.
The 1957 Thunderbird was to be the last
two-seater Ford ever built and sold to the public, until the advent of the 1982 Ford EXP sport compact car.
It featured a Volumatic Signal-Seek transistor radio which also adjusted the volume according to speed. It had a slanted rear mounted radio aerial giving it a sporty look.
The top was a soft "Tonneau" cover. It also had rear fender skirts, wire wheels and white wall tyres.

A dual 4 barrel carb version of the normally aspirated (non-supercharged) 312 cubic inch V8 engine rated at 270 HP (some sources report 285 HP) was reportedly available.This engine option was not listed in most Ford literature and was usually associated with one of the optional Thunderbird engines.
This option was dubbed "E code" and featured a unique camshaft, cylinder heads, intake manifold and various other performance enhancements. Herman Nel's model had an overdrive automatic 4th gear which kicked in at 28 mph and cut out at 22 mph.

1959 MERCURY MONTEREY

1960 FORD F100 PICKUP

1963 FORD ANGLIA

1966 CORTINA 1200

1968 FORD GALAXIE LTD V8 390

1977 FORD F100 PICKUP TRUCK (With a 1980 grill)

1980 FORD THUNDERBIRD TOWN LANDAU

Although this Ford car is not in Herman Nel's collection, it is interesting to note that the first first Ford motor car ever to be sold outside of America was sold to a South African, Mr Arthur Youldon of Johannesburg.

Mr Youldon, was an importer,and in September of 1903 happened to be in New York where he saw Henry Ford demonstrate his new car.

Arthur Youldon immediately placed an order with Henry Ford for one of these Ford motor cars and was then informed that his car would be the first Ford motor car ever to be sold outside America.
Remember that the Ford Motor Company was formed on 16 June 1903, three months earlier.

It only arrived in Johannesburg in February 1904.
This car is currently in Anton Rupert's car museum in the Cape.

HISTORY OF THE V-8 ENGINE