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1904 Ford Model B (Ford "Alphabet" Cars)
This was seen at the AACA Museum in Hershey. http://www.aacamuseum.org/

This auto can now be seen with the rest of the Alphabet Ford Collection at The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant.

Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company – Detroit, Michigan
Model: Model B Four
Base Price: $2,000
Engine: Four-cylinder, 24 hp

In 1904, Henry Ford set the path for his company to follow by breaking the land speed record in the famous “999” race car and opening a company branch in neighboring Canada. In Detroit, Ford Motor Company financier’s wanted more profits and he was forced to build the company’s first luxury car. The Model B Four represented a dramatic shift in direction for Ford, a direction that the company’s founder was opposed too. With a four-passenger body, the Model B was accented by polished wood and brass trim but all this luxury came at a price, $2,000. Mechanically, a shaft-drive and rear hub brakes set the Model B apart from other Ford’s. With the earlier Model A still selling well, unofficial production figures show only 150 Model B’s were produced, making it one of the rarest of the alphabet Ford cars.

Museum Collection: Larry Porter Trust – “Alphabet Ford Collection”

The Ford Model B was Ford's first car to use the front-engine layout, with a large 24 hp 4-cylinder engine positioned at the front behind a conventional radiator

Here are some Ford descriptions for the 1905 Model B Ford

This information below came from the Model T Ford Club of America:

THE MODEL B FORD

The Model B Ford for 1905 is a touring car of light weight and great power. From our experience in automobile building we are enabled to produce a motor of great power and to build a car of light weight, and at the same time of great strength. The handsome appearance of this car is only one of the notable features you will find herein described. To produce such a car at such a price would a few years ago have been impossible. Today our modern equipment enables us to place before the public in Model B a car which we believe cannot be duplicated.  
The motor is the Ford four-cylinder vertical. Every approved feature known to the art of motor construction has been utilized, and many features unique in this motor, and now of proven value, have been introduced. The cylinders and pistons are of the best quality of cast gray iron, simply made and accurately ground. The crank shaft is a steel drop forging of ample dimensions, with bearing surfaces ground to gauge. The connecting rods are drop steel forgings, provided with bearing surfaces of large area, thoroughly babbitted and provided with the best of oiling facilities. All other shafts and rotating rods are furnished with the best of bronze bearings. The water jackets are of sheet copper so arranged that they may be easily removed and yet remain perfectly water tight; an arrangement which cannot be surpassed.  
Among the notable and unique features of the Ford four-cylinder motor the following are prominent. The crank case, entirely of aluminum, carries in its upper half all the shaft and rod bearings, thus allowing the lower half to be removed with ease, even when the motor is running. The upper half bears the motor supports, which rest directly upon the side frames of the car.

The valve cam shaft runs parallel to the line of the crank shaft, being thoroughly protected and constantly lubricated by the oil splash. The valve cams arc most accurately made and thoroughly hardened.  
The simplicity and convenience of the commutator or make and break system deserves especial mention. Running vertically at right angles to the cam shaft at its rear end and geared to it by spiral gears is the commutator shaft. At the upper end of the commutator shaft, near the top of the dash, is placed a commutator of marked simplicity. The gearing for this shaft is thus perfectly protected and the commutator placed in a position within easy reach and sight of the driver. The convenience of this arrangement cannot be over stated.  
The commutator is on the principal of the armature and revolving brush being absolutely simple and automatically freed from dust and oil.  
The water circulation is simple and effective, the point worthy of particular mention being the simplicity of the geared pump which is connected directly with the cam shaft.  
The inlet and exhaust valves are separately actuated and are provided with a simple means of adjustment for wear. The valves are readily removed by taking out the threaded plug in the valve chamber and a pin in the valve.  
The oiling system is a marvel of simplicity, consisting of a reservoir of ample capacity with gauge glass, and a set of sight feed oilers on the dash. The oil is caused to flow through the sight feed oilers by exhaust pressure, thus causing the oil to be supplied more rapidly as the engine increases in speed and the supply to cease when the motor stops.  
No motor has before been designed combining such remarkable durability and simplicity with so great a ratio of power to weight. 

EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS

Two side oil lamps and a handsome tube horn are the regular equipment. A set of tools necessary for ordinary emergencies is also included.  

SPECIFICATIONS OF MODEL B

PRICE---$2,000 F.0.B. Detroit.,br> WEIGHT---1,700 pounds.
POWER-Ford four cylinder, 20 horse power gasoline motor.
WHEEL BASE-92 inches.
TREAD-55% inches.

WHEELS---32 inch wood artillery.
TIRES-3-1/2 inch clincher double tube.
MILEAGE CAPACITY ONE FILLING (GAS0LINE)---At least 200 miles.
MILEAGE CAPACITY ONE FILLING (OIL)---At least 100 miles.
CAPACITY---Gasoline tank 15 gallons.
MAXIMUM SEEED---at least 40 miles per hour.
COLOR---Rich dark green, yellow running gear.
UPHOLSTERING-Black, of best leather, handsomely tufted.
EQUIPMENT---2 side oil lamps, tube horn and necessary tools.

Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Heritage Days

On April 8, 2018 there will be a special unveiling of this wonderful collection.

Join us for a very special annual meeting as we dedicate the return of the Ford "alphabet" cars to the plant where they were assembled and honor the people who built them. 

It's a new chapter for the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant and we want to share it with you. We will have a special reunion for the descendants of the original workers and shareholders of the plant.

Details: Sunday, April 8, 4:30-6:30 pm
Ford Piquette Avenue Plant
461 Piquette, Detroit
Dinner by Slow's BBQ and drinks served by Miss Mixology

Member tickets: $29
Non-member tickets: $34

Tickets must be purchased in advance by calling 313-872-8759 x2 or by visiting:

http://www.fordpiquetteavenueplant.org/register-for-heritage-day/

I will have quite a bit of information about this collection and early Ford History in the next little while.

Some of the images I will feature will be in this collection and others have been seen a other locations.

I hope you enjoy the presentation and get to see The Porter Collection of "Alphabet Ford" cars during the special event or in the near future at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, Michigan.