A brand new 1924 runabout with magneto headlamps, no starter and oil cowl / tail lamp was the least expensive car on the market. Ford factory list price was $265 at the beginning of the 1924 model year which began August 23, 1923. In December 1923 the list price dropped to $260.
Ford came off a triumphant 1923 model year with cars that were virtually unchanged from 1923 for the 1924 model year. When we think of a Model T Ford we think mostly of the 1923 – 1925 models because they are the most common of all Model T Fords. Ford’s success in the marketplace was unchallenged in those years. Let’s look at the 1924 cars in more detail. The 1924 model year began on August 1, 1923 and ended July 31, 1924. Serial number range for 1924 was from 8,122,675 to 10,266,471.
Many Ford owners bought the runabout and converted it to a pickup truck. Ford noticed this and in late 1925 model year finally offered a factory version.
The 1925 Model T Ford was largely unchanged from the 1924 models. So it is tempting to combine the two model years as if they were one. However 1925 was interesting for many reasons which we shall detail in the article below. Ford sold close to two million vehicles in 1925, with about 400,000 being TT trucks.
Henry Ford with Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone leaning against Henry’s 1919 Packard Twin Six touring.
Our 1910 touring was in pretty nice shape but had a few flaws when purchased. One of the flaws was a missing door below the front seat. The purpose for these doors is somewhat murky but essentially it perhaps kept mud from splashing directly into the bottom of the seat cushion. It also serves as a good place to park the gas cap while filling the tank. In any case we needed one. With that in mind a few measurements were taken, and a trip to the local home improvement store yielded some pieces of 1/4″ basswood board in various widths, some 2X1 basswood boards, some Gorilla brand wood glue, and a box of wire nails.
The great thing about having a speedster; you pick the parts that you want on it. An aftermarket carburetor and intake are just the ticket – even the dog approves.
The Zenith carburetor company was large even in the earliest days. It was a very popular carburetor in both France and England for aircraft use in the earliest years. French inventor and tinkerer Francois Bavery “perfected” the Zenith design from his experiments in 1906 – 1908. His contribution was a dual jet design, with one main jet supplying the primary mixture to the throttle bore, and the other “compensator” jet being open to the atmosphere as a “compensator”, thereby offsetting the mixture as throttle position and engine speed changes. The theory is quite novel. A “cap jet” surrounds the throttle main jet, modifying both the vacuum signal and the fuel flow at various engine demands.
Francis (or Francois) Bavery’s design became the standard for many years at Zenith.
Zenith was never an OEM carburetor supplier for the Model T Ford. However Zenith made several accessory carburetors and carburetor / intake manifold combinations for the Model T Ford. We had a chance to rebuild one. Follow along and see how it went.
