NYT dives into the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of cars: The Model T

Everyone knows about the Model T. Especially since it’s the centennial of the automobile and around every corner is a reminder. But the scope in which this thing grew to and the influence it had on the planet can’t be avoided. It did everything except make breakfast. And it changed everything, except maybe breakfast.

Excerpt:

No duty was too mundane or extreme for the wildly popular T, which
became known by the nickname Flivver. By jacking up the rear and
replacing one wheel with a pulley and leather drive belt, owners could
turn the Ford into a fine stationary power plant for milling grain or
turning the saw blade of a mobile lumber mill.

Even years after
its heyday, the T continued as the Swiss Army knife of automobiles. In
the 1930s, a group of New England ski enthusiasts created the first tow
rope on the slopes of Woodstock, Vt. Their initial power source was a
well-worn T equipped with a Pullford tractor conversion, its huge steel
drive wheels turning at just the right speed to reel skiers up the
mountain.

Even when the original bodies and frames had rusted
away, T owners would swap out the nearly unburstable Ford engines and
drive axles to power boats, oil derricks and stationary pumps.

Read the entire article here.