Lot 203: 1922 Ford Model T Speedster Indianapolis

After spending his formative years as a motor manufacturer experimenting with a variety of models, Henry Ford pared the company�s range down to just one - the Model T - destined to be the world�s first mass-produced automobile. One of the most important developments in motoring history, the Model T arrived in October 1908, ushering in Ford�s new one-model policy that would see more than 15 million sold worldwide by the time production ceased in 1927. Rugged, reliable and easy to drive thanks to its simple, pedal-operated transmission, the Model T introduced more people to motoring than any other car. Despite its apparent simplicity, the Model T was an advanced design for its day. For example: the four-cylinder block was a single casting with detachable �head at a time when the majority of manufacturers cast their fixed-head cylinders in pairs. The so-called �three-point� method of engine installation was equally novel, being a triangulated system, also applied to the axles, that isolated these components from twisting forces applied to the chassis by the inferior roads of the day.
From the very beginning the Ford Model T�s sheer ubiquity meant that, inevitably, it attracted the attention of tuners and customisers, forming the basis for some of the very first �hot rods�. Typically, the original body would be removed and a Speedster body, like this car�s, installed. Like the Volkswagen �Beetle� and BMC Mini in later years, the Model T spawned an entire cottage industry of aftermarket component suppliers offering parts ranging from monocle windshields to overhead-valve conversions. Model Ts like this raced on everything from dirt-track ovals to coast-to-coast marathons; one won the very first New York to Seattle race in 1909, while a Model T racer finished 5th in the 1923 Indianapolis 500 at an average speed of 82mph. The car is offered with bill of sale, customs papers and (copy) State of Texas Certificate of Title.