[Steve Plucker]

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Originally Posted by Ken Ehrenhofer

Isn't it possible that the engine had trouble over the years and the car would have been taken to a dealer for replacement. The dealer would have replaced the block and stamped the correct number on it????
I think it is a wonderful car and the museum is lucky to have it and we can all have fun picking it apart.......Like we do with all Model A's Right?

I do not think Tim is "picking it apart" but wants to know, as I do and a few others, some mysterious things concering the A1 engine block and the photo.

Tim wanted to know what others felt about it so here is my take on it with red thoughts...:

"While attending the Museum's Grand Opening I spent a moment looking at the Edison car. It wasn't long before I had more questions than answers.

For example..... It is my understanding that the very early engine blocks had the engine number pad just above the water return inlet. True. This makes sense as the Model T for some time.....and at the end of its production.....also had the engine number pad just above the water return inlet. Then sometime still in 1927 the engine number pad for the Model A blocks was moved up and away from the water return port to upper edge of the block. True. This was due to Part Release # 3463 dated October 12, 1927 which indicated: “Moved pad for engine number to top of block and reduced size”; The same PR also indicated: “Reduced size of water outlet (inlet) connection pad to agree with connection”. Here FORD confused the “outlet” with the “inlet”.

So, sometime after October 12, 1927 the change was made in relation to the placement of the engine number pad. Which would have been the 2” inch length size (the pad on the Edison car is 2-3/4” as stated below). However, since FORD must have already made over 633 or so blocks with the lower pad, he then started to assemble the engine with such.

Now, notice the PR date is October 12, 1927! FORD’s records indicate that the first stampings of engines were done on October 20, 1927 with #1. October 21, 1927 was #’s 2-10; October 24, 1927 was #’s 11-40…through November 17, 1927. The 2” pad was used between November 17 and December 3-14, 1927 when the 2-2/1” engine pad was used…Then between December 19-27, 1927 the pad’s length was changed again to 2-3/4” inch in length.

The engine number pads that were just above the water return inlet were machined smooth for both the Model T's, at least the late ones, and the first Model A's. I suspect that the only reason the engine number pads were machined was because they were an integral part of the water inlet casting, which needed to be machined smooth to provide a water tight connection. I could not agree more with that statement. And, it would have been difficult and not worth the effort to machine only the water inlet face and not the integral engine number pad. My personal view is that the engine number pad was moved up and away from the water inlet opening so as to save machining time and tool wear.....since the engine number pad did not need to be machined. And, the high engine pads were not machined. So very true.

With the foregoing in mind, I wonder why the engine number pad on the Edison car is a high pad at the top of the block......and not down by the water inlet? Simple…the original engine, A1, which was stamped on October 20, 1927, was replaced with a later engine block that was stamped also with A1. I have been in hot pursuit to find out the size of the engine number pad on the Edison car and after some time, not to mention the “Why do you want it?” questions , I was told by the Gilmore Museum curiotor that the size of that engine number pad is: “The measurement for the width (length) of the pad on Edison's car is 2 3/4". This “size” of pad (the fourth 2-3/4” style/size) began to show up on the blocks between December 19 and December 27, 1927 and lasted to January/February 1929 where anywhere between 2820-4408 blocks had been already stamped. This little detail suggests to me that the block in the Edison car is not one of the first blocks produced. Exactly…What else that means is open to conjecture.

I suppose it's possible that the block for the Edison car was still the first one "finished" and stamped number one even though it was not among the early blocks produced. This possibility to me seems to be a bit far fetched (agreed) since there were hundreds of early low pad blocks produced and stamped with numbers as least as high as three digits. Between A616 (low pad) and A633 (2” high pad) to be exact…the change from low to high was November 17, 1927 (or very close to it). During this time period, FORD was sending all these numberd engines, and other parts to complete the assembly of the Model A, to most, if not all, the asembly plants around the USA so they could get things squared away within their assembly plant to bring it up to full production.

In addition, the picture that depicts Henry and others purportedly stamping engine number one shows a block with the high engine number pad, not low. True. My guess is that the picture was staged for promotional purposes....and not much attention was paid to details such as the location of the engine number pad. True…My feelings exactly, AND IF the A1 engine which is in the Edison car now is that very engine for which depicts Henry Ford stamping it in the picture, then the photo session must have been done sometime after December 27, 1927 (or there abouts) when the 2-3/4” pad took effect. Whether the pad is smaller than 2-3/4” in length, I do not think we can effectivly tell for sure of the exact size from the photo.

I suppose another possibility is that Ford started stamping the production engines with some number other than one, and then at some point shortly thereafter decided to produce engine number one, take pictures, and then put it in a car for Edison. I respectly disagree on that assumption as to the fact that we would see something of the sort, number wise, in those early blocks and as to date nothing has shown us that was the fact. And, if this is what happened, the engine number pad might have already been moved up when number one was produced for Edison.



If anyone has any evidence that the engine number pads for the Model A were first high, as is the case with the Edison car as it sits, and then moved down for a while and then moved back up again, please share it. I to would welcome any such information if it so exists.

Pluck