1912 Ford Model T

Welcome to ‘HL 994’, a Ford Model T that is one of the most fascinating cars to have passed through our hands for a long while. 

Built, we think, in 1910 if the Open Runabout body is anything to go by, this one-hundred-and-fourteen-year-old car has many years of life left in yet, not least because it’s been judiciously upgraded with an electric starter, avoiding strenuous hand-cranking...

A much-loved family car that’s starred in a film and helped more than one couple get married, it's being offered for sale with no reserve as part of an estate sale, so the details we have are a bit sparse in places. 

But if you fancy popping along to inspect it before bidding, then you know what to do.

Finished in an attractive shade of red over black (funnily enough, the Model T was available in every colour BUT solid black when it was first released…) it looks terrific, doesn’t it? Lightly patinated and all the better for being so, it would be a shame to lose all that history by over-restoring it.

But, if the paintwork needs nothing more than a quick polish, you’d better stock up on tins of Brasso as there’s an awful lot of brass to polish including the radiator shell, lamps, horn, headlamps, and windscreen frame and stays. 

The seller laughed as she told us of the hours she and her husband spent polishing it before every wedding they used it for, but said it was worth every minute because it all looks so beautiful when it’s done.

Brass footplates, which protect the black-painted running boards on either side, are a nice touch, as are the gold pinstripes. 

Speaking of which, an electric horn supplements the original, and a matching spare wheel rim is bolted to the offside.

The rims themselves are wooden and painted to match the coachwork. They look to be in good shape and are fitted with 30 x 3½ inch tyres, which are one of the few tyres we’ve seen that make those on a Citroen 2CV look wide.

Wood is used for the bulkhead too, and this looks to be both solid and well varnished, which means it should be fine for a good while yet but when it does need replacing, a few hand tools and a basic knowledge of carpentry would see a new one fashioned and installed in no time.

This is a theme that runs through the entire Model T; whereas newer cars demand specialist tools and a lifetime’s apprenticeship just to remove the plastic covers that hide the engine, the Model T was designed from day one to be maintained and repaired by a novice driver with nothing more than common sense and a basic tool kit.

Like the folding fabric roof, which looks like it’s had a new section let in at some point. Conservation, not restoration, is the theme here and it’s refreshing to see.

You could make a start by replacing the glass in the offside headlamp, which is cracked. Don’t bother looking in Halfords though, just pop down to your local glazier and ask them to cut you a new one.

The seats are to the original design. Built more like high-end sofas than the value-engineered seats we’re used to in our daily drivers, their buttoned leather covers hide a proper sprung base, while padding comes to the bent-wooden seat frames via raw cotton and horsehair.

Which means that, just like everything else, repairs and refurbishment to whatever standard brings joy to your heart will be both straightforward and eminently learnable using nothing but simple hand tools. 

There’s room for four people too, thanks to the presence of a rear seat, a simple rubber mat protects the floor, and while the steering wheel does feature a prominent and huge domed nut in its centre, the lack of seatbelts mean you’re going to be taking extra care when you’re driving it anyway; if you are the sort who scours Autocar for the latest Euro NCAP ratings, can we respectfully suggest that this probably isn’t the car for you.

Other nice touches include brass sill plates bearing the legend “Ford Motor Company”, a beautifully made wooden box that holds the ignition coil set securely, and the three floor pedals that don’t correlate in the way you imagine.

As we mentioned in the introduction, it’s been upgraded with an electric starter, helping it get going – and when you’re getting on in years, that’s all that really matters, eh?

As for the condition of the mechanical components, we simply don’t know. It hasn’t been started for at least four years, which means we haven’t even tried…

The seller’s husband bought the Model T back in 2007 from a farmer neighbour of theirs. He’d had it for a good while too, and she’s pretty sure he’d done some restoration work on it himself over the years.

She also said it had been used in the film 'Fairytale: A True Story', the dramatisation of the famous Cottingley fairies story where a young girl duped the world into believing pixies existed, that was being shot in the Lake District. She recalls their neighbour being a bit disgruntled because he spent days polishing it, only for the film crew to come along and smear it with mud…

She also told us that she remembers her husband having driving lessons in the farmer’s field to get the hang of the controls, but says he mastered it quickly enough and went on to use the car for several weddings as well as summer runs to the pub.

As for its earlier history, who knows? It carries two chassis plates, and the water is further muddied by the fact that the DVLA classifies many cars of this era as having been built in 1921, which was when the various vehicle registries around the country were unified. 

However, the body is from 1910-12, so that’s where we’re sticking our pin.

And yes, it is a bit of a ‘Trigger’s broom’ but It should have plenty of life left in it in the hands of someone who understands them.

As for paperwork, the Model T comes with a clear vehicle history check, parts catalogues, a printed general history of the model, and a restoration handbook.

If it does date back to 1910 then this is one of more than 19,000 that were built that year, and while we don’t know how many survived, it's not going to be very many, is it?

Which is just one of the many reasons why you should consider bidding on this. Another is that some cars just seem to bring joy to their owners, and we’ve had some lovely conversations with the seller about the fun she and her husband had with it.

And further proof of her goodness comes with the news she’s offering it with no reserve and is happy to let the market decide its value.

We estimate the virtual hammer will fall somewhere between £15,000 and £20,000, which doesn’t seem much to have something this lovely in your life, does it?

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at the Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are strictly by appointment. To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.