Henry ford first model t factory

DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODEL T

In January , Henry Ford ordered a “secret experimental room” be created in the back corner of the third floor. One side was a drafting room; the other side had a few machine tools, a chalkboard, and his mother’s old rocking chair. It was a place for his hand-picked team to focus in private on developing new ideas for a new car. Other than Ford, who turned 44 in , the key people working in the experimental room on a regular basis were all in their twenties.

Prototypes of new parts were tested on a Model N chassis to reveal any flaws. Sometimes they had to go back to the drawing board until they got it right. Finally, in spring of , workers built a few complete Model Ts for testing. The car was everything Henry Ford had hoped for. The Model-T was a lightweight, inexpensive, easy to drive and repair. It performed well on bad roads, and seated five.

Advance publicity resulted in a flood of orders months before the car was in production.

The first Model T built for sale was completed on September 27, Production began with a trickle—just 11 Model Ts were built in October. By December, production rose to cars a month. Soon, every available inch of the plant was devoted to the enormously popular car. Engines and axles were assembled on the g

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