With more than 15 million units sold, an absolute revolution of the automotive industry, mass production… the Ford T needs no introduction. Manufactured between 1908 and 1927, Tin Lizzie is not only an icon, but also a fabulous restoration project. The folks at TFLclassics have dedicated several months to driving and maintaining a Ford T, but this time, they decided to take it to an official Ford workshop…
Price/performance. Ford did not conquer the automotive industry in the early 20th century with a premium product, but with an accessible solution for the middle class. Luxury became a tool, and the car a truck.
With more than a hundred years on its shoulders, any Ford T that works properly immediately gets attention. The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn offers short scheduled rides for its visitors, but today we come to the TFLclassics channel, which after sharing its "adventures" in a Ford T over the last few months, decided to take it to an official service… in 2024.
Can an official Ford service change the oil of a Ford T?
The first half of the video shows a ride in the Ford T and shares details about its main challenges. The first is overheating, a historic problem for this car, and the second is… that it basically does not brake. The Ford dealer is forty minutes away in a modern car, so the only logical option was to put the Ford T on a trailer to avoid destroying it on the trip.
The car is… a monster from another era, no doubt. There's no water pump, no oil pump, and the engine and transmission oil are the same. In other words, the oil change for a Ford T is essentially a full flush. The good news is that it uses regular oil: 5W-30 or 10W-40 are appropriate flow and viscosity values, and the technology associated with modern oils is very, very superior.
The Ford T accepted a total of 2.8 quarts of oil, about 2.65 liters. However, what's most impressive is that even an experienced mechanic had to receive instructions to drive it: the position of the pedals and controls are completely different. To finish, this TFLclassics project still has a lot of work ahead. The car needs new tires almost desperately, a permanent solution for its radiator, and better brakes. We hope to see more about this Ford T, very soon.
