Vintage Ford Facts

Ford Sites Map Updated

2013-01-10T19:04:00.003-08:00

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

2013-01-10T18:38:00.002-08:00

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

2013-01-10T18:21:00.000-08:00

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

2012-12-30T19:05:00.000-08:00

From Motor Record Magazine 1921.

Henry Ford 150th Celebration.

2012-12-12T19:25:00.002-08:00

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

2012-12-02T19:35:00.003-08:00

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

2012-12-02T19:15:00.000-08:00

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.

2012-11-18T18:01:00.003-08:00

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

2012-11-18T17:48:00.001-08:00

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

2012-06-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

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

2012-06-04T19:27:00.000-07:00

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?

2012-06-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-09T19:17:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-29T18:59:00.000-07:00

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......

2011-04-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

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.

Homes of Ford Executives- Peter "Ed" Martin

2011-04-06T20:08:00.000-07:00

Ed Martin left, with Henry Ford in late 1931. Note the 1932 Ford Chassis in the background.

Peter "Ed" Martin had the distinction of being the the 5th employee hired by Ford Motor Company in 1903. As he rose from the ranks of machine design & engineering, he became the head of manufacturing working closely with Charles Sorensen and Henry Ford on a daily basis. We will do a more in depth post on Ed Martin in a future post.

Ed Martin had several homes through out the years, but the 2 pictured below are the ones he lived in during his peak at Ford Motor. The first home was located at 1486 Chicago Blvd. in the Boston Edison District of Detroit. Among other notable people living in this neighborhood were James Couzens, Horace & John Dodge, and others. Henry Ford lived in this neighborhood at 140 Edison from 1906-1915 after which he moved to Dearborn. This is 1486 Chicago as it looks today-

As success & fortune followed him at the time he was appointed a Vice President of Ford Motor, Martin bought a stately home in the Palmer Woods district of Michigan i the 1920s. This home still stands today at 1411 Wellesley. Here's a current photo.

The New 1936 Ford.

2011-04-03T09:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a selection of new 1936 Fords. These cars were designed under the tutelage of E.T. Gregorie, Ford Motor Company's brilliant styling man. We will cover him in a future post.

With One Foot in Agriculture And The Other In Industry- America is safe.

2011-04-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

That was Henry Ford's credo and he did indeed practice what he preached. Clara Ford even got into the spirit by designing small roadside markets that a farmer could quickly & easily build at minimal cost to sell his crops.

Here's a rare photo of Henry Ford checking out one of these Roadside Markets. I'm willing to bet this was a stand he owned and all the produce is from his own Ford Farms.

The New Ford For 1937

2011-03-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a glimpse into the 1937 Ford passenger car line-up. Not all encompassing by any means, but a fine set of cars!

1937 Club Cabriolet

1937 Fordor Sedan

1937 Slantback Tudor Sedan

A rarity today. 1937 Ford Standard Fordor. Note the different grille treatment, and the interiors were not as fancy either.

Harry Bennett - Lover of Cats

2011-03-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

Harry Bennett was Henry Ford's "Man Friday" as Charles Sorensen liked to say. Bennett carried that same ass kicking tough guy persona into his pets.

Bennett had many pets from flocks of geese, livestock including a big steer named "Joe", birds and of course cats.

The cats included lions, tigers, panthers, and other large cats. At his various homes he had special pens or in some cases complete buildings for the housing of his big cats. To see a example of the cathouse at Bennett's Castle in Ann Arbor, check out Retro Kimmer's 1984 Castle photos here...

Bennett would let the animals roam the grounds at night and would turn a couple loose in the various tunnels under his house as an added measure of security. I'm sure this was a highly effective method of securing the perimeter.

Stories still float around to this day about how Harry Bennett would take a lion or tiger on a leisurely stroll around the Rouge plant controlling the feline with a small collar & leash. A visitor to Bennett's office in the basement of the old Administration Building might find a big cat dozing on a large mattress Bennett placed there for the comfort of his pets.

As can be seen Bennett enjoyed his big cats, but he was by no means stingy with them. On more than one occasion he made gifts of tigers & lions to close friends and even new acquaintances.

After Harry sold off his Michigan properties and moved to Desert Hot Springs, CA he kept small cats aka pussycats. David Lewis perhaps the most well known Ford Historian, photographed Bennett holding a Persian cat which can be seen in his book "Ford Country Vol. 1" Bennett even had these small housecats trained to when he made a circle with his arms, all of his cats would jump thru his arms.

It's safe to say Harry Bennett was many things, but he was a lover of animals.

Who is this man?

2011-03-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

That's Orville Hubbard the 15 term mayor of Dearborn, MI, seen taking a meal at the great establishment known as Bill Knapp's. Why should you be concerned with Orvie?

It's quite simple. Orville Hubbard was the first person to break the great political machine that had been created by Harry Bennett & Ray Dahlinger in Dearborn to assure that people friendly to Ford Motor Company's interests would be elected.

Hubbard served as mayor of Dearborn from 1942 until 1978. Later Hubbard and Henry Ford II joined forces for various projects.

A note about Bill Knapps-

Bill Knapps was a reasonably priced restaurant chain predominant in the Midwest and in places where Snowbirds frequented such as Florida. The author has taken in many fine meals at various Bill Knapps locations and to this day still misses their departure from the scene.