My Favorites

Every once in a while I post about our favorite things….  As you all know I am a big fan of old iron by Henry.. Ford that is.  Now my family was a GM family and most of it is to this day, but the Ford fan club is growing with my daughter owning a Ford now too.  I was even more is awe when I went by the Ford HQ in Dearborn…. talk about big!!! Woo hoo!!!  But, lets look at my favorite iron by Henry Ford….

Of the Ford brand, there is so much to be favorites… the Model T, the 1957 Fords, the Mustang… oh the list goes on.  But my favorite Ford is…

-the fabulous 1932 Ford.  What is so special about this old car?  Well, it had a flathead V-8 om it and it would scoot. If you ever see one of these it will turn your head for it is a handsome looking car that when it goes by has that throaty V-8 sound that will stun you for you will not expect it in a car like this. While Chevy had its stovebolt 6 with low end power and torque these old Ford had speed!  The 32 Ford followed the Model A and the Model T and was Henry Ford’s last big move to save Ford Motor Company.  It succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams and the engine was built until 1953.  While a 32 Ford looks like a car from another era it had a engine that would not be passed until the 50’s.. now that is revolutionary.  They were so popular that many of them became hot rods and that is what the song “Little Deuce Coupe” is about.. a 1932 Ford….. My number one favorite of Ford division of  Ford Motor Company,…..

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-This is a film of one.. the sound isn’t great but when he takes off with it you get to hear a bit of what they sound like… my favorite color too… black….

Then there was Mercury.  This was Edsel’s baby and what a car Mercs were.  From the tear drops, to the Cougars to all their fabulous cars in between I have my favorite….. I am torn for I love the Lead Sleds of 49 which were Jimmy Dean’s favorite and the 56 Mercs….. But the ’56 Mercs ooze power……

-Well, its the 1956 Mercury…. red and black two tone of course…. here I am next to one… 🙂 Below is a film of one… its a ugly color but you get to see the inside and outside of it and hear it run…… 🙂

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Then there is Lincoln… well you all know the 46-48 Lincoln Continental is my favorite.. in White or Black… oh yeah, now this is class…. with a V-12 this car oozed power and yet looked classy…. this was Edsel’s baby also…. and Edsel Ford to me was a genius…. here is a picture and here is a film of one in action…. my favorite all-time car….

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Sort of like riding in one isn’t it.. what a car!

Honorable Mentions…..  loved the ’63 Fords…..

and of course my second favorite Ford.. the 1957….

-I Ginger would look great in a ’46 Lincoln….. the old guy on the other hand would look good ina ’46 Ford tractor being dragged behind the plow… muwahahahaha  er… did I say that? snicker….

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He Was Ahead Of His Time…..

For all his faults and greatness one thing that Henry Ford was years ahead of his time in was animal care and energy.

His home Fair Lane completed in 1916 was a wonder.  It had over 500 bird baths that were heated in the winter for the birds.  He loved birds  all his life and not only built over 500 bird houses on his land but also threw his support behind the migratory bird protection laws of the early 1910’s.   He installed bat homes to control mosquitoes and when he would build at a new site he tried to make sure the local wild animals were captured and relocated safely.  Sort of interesting isnt it? His  water supply came from a well and rain water and to dry your hands or hair there were built in electric blow dryers….. in 1916!!!

But, Henry Ford was not only a animal lover he was one of the earliest alternative energy people. You see he built at Fair Lane a Hyrdo-power damn electric plant that not only ran Fair Lane but was the main energy source for Dearborn, MI for many years.  Henry Ford in 1941 developed a car that today would be innovative.  You see he felt that a car should be grown from the ground, used and then recycled back into the earth when through.  So, using Soybean oil, hemp, flax, wheat he developed a plastic car built of these things and for the fuel used hemp ethanol to run the Ford V-8.  The plastic was 10 times stronger than metal and weighed a lot less than metal.  His ford car even had the back trunk lid build of this material and there is a film of him and the film below of someone else  hitting it with a sledge hammer with no cracks, scratches, dents or any damage even though it is in the middle of winter…..

He also had a suit built from soy beans and it is not well known but in the 1930’s Ford started painting their cars with soy oil based paints and used the oil in the shocks for fluid.  Henry Ford was also into recycling. When the Model T was being built the wood chips from the manufacturing were sold to a new enterprise run by his cousin named King.  There in a joint venture it was made into Charcoal…. the name is Kingsford!

Henry Ford also when he had parts shipped from other companies requested they be sent in crates with holes in certain places on each side of a crate a certain size. When the crate arrived the the crate was disassembled and the crate sides used for floorboards for the Model T and the pedals fit through the pre-made holes……

Below are a couple of  You Tube Films about the Plastic Car… now the Hemp supporters claim it was made of hemp but it was mostly soy and hemp was used also but more so in the ethanol according to one of his associates who worked on the car…..
remember this was in 1941…. what killed it?  WWII……

 

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Henry Ford… we collies like him!

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