Ford Piquette Avenue Plant

A wee film produced for an antique car event in Ft. Worth with little time and no budget to work with.

The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant is a former factory located in the Milwaukee Junction area of Detroit, Michigan. The building was built in 1904, and it was the second production for site the Ford Motor Company. At the Piquette Avenue Plant, the company created and first produced the Ford Model T on September 27, 1908; the car is credited with initiating the mass use of automobiles in the United States. Over 15-million Ford Model T's would eventually be built, but the first 12,000 made in the United States were assembled at the Piquette Avenue Plant.

The car featured in the film is 1909 Ford Model T Touring Car.

Specifications:
Make & Model: 1909 Ford Model T touring car
Maker: Ford Motor Company, Detroit, Michigan
Engine: inline-4, L-head valves, 177 cubic inches
Transmission: 2-speed manual
Height: 83 inches
Wheelbase: 100 inches
Width: 68 inches
Overall length: 134.5 inches
Weight: 1200 pounds
Horsepower: 22 at 1600 revolutions per minute
Pounds per horsepower: 54.5
Price: $850
Average 1909 wage: $544 per year
Time you'd work to buy this car: about 1 year, 7 months
Value today: priceless

This Model T is one of the earliest Model Ts assembled in the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant. It is serial number 220 was completed in December 1908. Though manufacturing of the new model began in October 1908, the first Model T’s were designated as 1909’s. The first 2,500 T’s underwent constant engineering changes to address issues of reliability. The earliest T’s were available in Carmine Red only. Innovative design improvements led to such sales numbers that soon, a new plant was necessary.