Ford Model A

Ford Model A at a glance

Launch and the end of the Model T

By the mid-1920s the Model T had been in production for 18 years and its design was dated. On 26 May 1927, Henry and Edsel Ford drove the 15-millionth Model T off the Highland Park line, and the company changed over to an entirely new car. The first Model A was built on 20 October 1927 and the public introduction followed on 2 December 1927, which is why most cars are dated as 1928 models.

Buyers responded quickly. English Wikipedia lists one million sales by 4 February 1929, two million by 24 July 1929 and three million by March 1930.

Model A timeline

Engine, gearbox and brakes

The engine was a water-cooled L-head (side-valve) four of 201 cubic inches, or 3.3 litres, rated at 30 kW (40 hp): exactly twice the output of the Model T. That was enough for a top speed of around 105 km/h (65 mph). Fuel sat in a tank in the cowl, just in front of the windscreen, and reached the carburettor by gravity, so the car needed no fuel pump; a gauge on the tank showed the level.

The transmission was a three-speed sliding-gear manual without synchromesh, plus one reverse gear, driving the rear axle with a final ratio of 3.77:1. This was the first Ford with the standard set of driver controls still used today: clutch pedal, brake pedal, throttle pedal and a gear lever. Mechanical drum brakes worked on all four wheels, a clear step up from the transmission brake of the Model T.

The Model A was also one of the first production cars with safety glass in the windscreen. A rear-view mirror cost extra, and heating meant an aftermarket cast-iron box over the exhaust manifold with a small door to let warm air in. Readers who like to compare old and new figures can convert 30 kW (40 hp) with our power converter.

The British small-bore engine

Britain taxed cars by a "fiscal horsepower" formula; during the Model A years of 1928–1932 the annual tax was £1 per fiscal horsepower. The standard engine counted as 24 fiscal hp, so Ford UK built a smaller-bore version of 2,043 cc, rated at 14.9 fiscal hp and a claimed 21 kW (28 hp). Even so, the European Model A never matched the sales of the smaller Model Y in Britain and Germany.

Body styles and prices

The Model A came in more versions than any Ford before it. English Wikipedia lists, among others:

• Open cars: roadster, phaeton, sport coupé, roadster coupé and convertible cabriolet.
• Closed cars: standard, deluxe and business coupés, the Tudor two-door and Fordor four-door sedans, the Victoria, the town sedan and the town car.
• Utility models: station wagon, taxicab, pickups, roadster pickups and commercial vehicles.
• Model AA (1929): a heavier truck on the same mechanical basis.

Over the 1928–1931 model years the roadster was the cheapest model at $385, while a Tudor sedan cost $500 (1928–1931 list) and came in grey, green or black, three of the four standard colours. At the top, the town car is listed at $1,200 in one part of the source and $1,400 in another. By March 1930 nine body styles were in the catalogue. A very rare "special coupé" was built only from about March 1928 to mid-1929.

These are prices of the period, not today's money.

Production worldwide

In the United States, Model As came from 17 assembly plants, from Somerville in Massachusetts and Chester in Pennsylvania to Long Beach and Richmond in California. Abroad, Ford assembled the car in Buenos Aires, Geelong, São Bernardo do Campo, Santiago, Copenhagen, Trafford Park, Asnières-sur-Seine, Cologne, Cork, Trieste, Yokohama, Mexico City, Port Elizabeth, Barcelona and Istanbul. A licensed copy was also built abroad from 1932 to 1936.

End of production and successors

Production ended in March 1932. Its successors split Ford's range in two: the Model B kept an updated four-cylinder engine, while the Model 18 introduced Ford's flathead (side-valve) V8. Among the late cars, English Wikipedia singles out the 1931 roadster as the body hot-rodders value most, thanks to its open body, low weight and simple chassis.

The Model A as a hot rod and mascot

Light, simple and built in millions, the Model A became a favourite starting point for hot rods. The "Ala Kart", a 1929 roadster pickup built by George Barris, won the title of America's Most Beautiful Roadster two years running.

Several cars are famous in their own right:

• The Ramblin' Wreck: a 1930 sport coupé that serves as Georgia Tech's mascot.
• The Mean Green Machine: a 1929 Tudor, built in 1931, that has appeared at University of North Texas football games since 1974.
• The longest drive: Hector Quevedo and his son took a 1928 Model A from Punta Arenas, Chile, to Dearborn, Michigan, between 1992 and 1994, covering 35,406 km (22,000 miles). The car is now in the Henry Ford Museum.
• Railway use: the West Side Lumber Company converted Model As into railcars carrying 12 people, and some still run on the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad.
• Auction record: a 1930 Model A once used by John Dillinger sold for $165,000 at auction in 2010.

Photo gallery