Ford Model TT

Production

When the first three units were produced in 1917, the Model TT was sold as a chassis with the buyer supplying a body. The price was $600. Starting in 1924, the truck was available with a factory-produced body. By 1926 the price had dropped to $325. In 1925, a hand-operated windshield wiper was added.

Military production

In his World Encyclopedia of Military Vehicles, author Pat Ware writes that: "During World War I, the Model T was ... standardized in the "light" class. The first truck, using a long-wheelbase chassis designated Model TT, was launched in 1917. Although Ford ... was a pacifist, he was ... happy to supply the US Army with more than 12,000 of these vehicles,..." and: "There was no civilian production of the Model Ts between 1917 and 1918."

Further on, Ware writes: "The Model T was widely used by the US and British armies during World War I as a staff car, ambulance, van and cargo truck, even as an artillery tractor, for which application the truck was fitted with twinned rear tyres." Many remained in service into the 1930s.

Below are the numbers of Model T trucks produced each year, not including Canadian production.

Drivetrain

The rear axle of the TT has a worm drive and crown wheel, unlike the Model T's crown wheel and pinion. The worm is located at the end of the drive shaft and above the crown wheel. The wheelbase of the Model TT is 125 in, compared to 100 in for the Model T. It was often equipped with an accessory gearbox, such as the Ruckstell or Jumbo gearboxes, which allow the truck to have intermediate gears between low and high, useful for hill climbing.

The Model TT was very durable for the time, but slow when compared to other trucks.{{cite web |access-date=2015-03-25 |archive-date=2016-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417233459/http://www.txtransportationmuseum.org/collection-1924-ford-model-t.php |url-status=dead |access-date=2015-03-25}} Standard worm gear ratio is 7.25:1, and special gearing gives a ratio of 5.17:1. Because of this, accessory catalogs offered items to help give the Model TT more power.

It was replaced by the Ford Model AA truck in 1928.

Depot hacks

There were also various depot hacks made on the chassis of the Ford Model TT with bodies built by independent coachbuilders. The Depot Hack was made to hold luggage and passengers and was used as a minibus-like vehicle or taxi. It was specifically built to hold a high capacity of people and their luggage, the depot hack was not on Ford's catalogue but was made by independent firms who then marketed it as a passenger vehicle. It had a 20 hp, 176 cuin, four-cylinder engine, and a 2-speed planetary transmission.

Gallery

File:1919FordModelTT.jpg|1919 Ford Model TT on display at the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum, Walcott, Iowa. File:Ford Shell Fuel Lkw IMG 20180417 192801.jpg|1926 Model TT tank truck File:Ford TT ombyggd.jpg|Ford TT used as a bus in Skanör, Sweden in 1920 File:15 23 1089 ford museum.jpg|Blue Bird school bus built on a 1927 Ford Model TT File:Black 1920s Ford Model T Depot Hack Woody Wagon with red wire wheels and registration SV 6240 (Staffordshire), photographed at Chatham Historic Dockyard, Kent, England, on 21 April 2014.jpg|Black 1920s Ford Model T Depot Hack Woody Wagon at Chatham Historic Dockyard, Kent, England

References

Bibliography

References

1. Ware, Pat. (2010). "The World Encyclopedia of Military Vehicles". Lorenz Books.
2. "Ford Production". Model T Ford Club of America.
3. Brooke, Lindsay. (2008). "Ford Model T: the Car that Put the World on Wheels". Motorbooks.
4. "Depot Hack".
5. "1923 Ford Model T Depot Hack".