Display Engine Details and History

[J1MGOLDEN]

Are there any related records available that relate to the Display Engine Details and History, concerning whether they were made from a set of Ford plans sent to the dealers or whether each one was made by the dealers were sent a set of plans to make their own display?

I have seen several over the years and no two appear to be the same.

[John kuehn]

You may have answered your own question but you would think that as big a carmaker that Ford was the factory would have display engines with details made for some of the large dealers or the car shows. But records kept about the display engines may not exist but you never know. Maybe the surviving display engines have a name plate or ID on them or maybe an engine number but that’s a guess. I’ve never seen a display engine.

[Brent Mize]

Jim,
Ford offered the cutaway engines in the May 1923 Service bulletins. They were sold for $65.
I’m sure some dealerships constructed their own display motors. Perhaps using this photo as a guide.
Here’s the service bulletin page.
Brent

[DanTreace]

Like Brent posted, the factory original Cut-Aways are nearly identical, so likely the factory had some plans or drawing to fabricate these and send to branches. Would be fun to locate drawings, but can't find a number or part assembly # in any of the parts books. Perhaps a paid researcher at the Benson Ford could.

Do know that the factory cast iron base for the display engines is quite a unit, heavy! And these were made in two styles of upper mounting plates, for the 3-dip pan, and later for the 4-dip pan. I once had a 3- dip style stand, and have photos of the Cut-away of the Improved motor at The Henry Ford, and that one is a 4-dip pan version.


And of course, many more have been made by individuals in later years, trimming and cutting away old engine blocks and heads and fitting parts to make one, all of these never have the factory cast 4 legged base, which had large caster wheels to roll that behemoth around

Factory one on factory stand.

Factory stand for the Cut-away

Display stand for forum BEST.jpg (25.66 KiB) Viewed 2345 times

Original Cut-away, Improved engine, The Henry Ford display.

[Steve Jelf]

Does the Greenfield Village cutaway have a serial number? Should I sneak around to the other side the next time I see it, and take a peek?

[John kuehn]

Does the MTFCA club have one? That’s where one ought to be. That’s another heavy Ford item that was sent to the scrappers years ago but some did survive.

[Steve Jelf]

In 2008 a bunch of the Kansas Model T guys made this cutaway for the museum at Richmond.

[Steve Jelf]

One more:

[DanTreace]

Does the Greenfield Village cutaway have a serial number? Should I sneak around to the other side the next time I see it, and take a peek?

I already did that 'peek', no serial number on the Improved engine cut-away at the Henry Ford....took lots of photos of it as at my visit years ago this was still in the main house. Several persons asked and I answered questions on the Ford powerplant. The docent there looked amazed, let me carry on with the visitors and walked away...guess my info was more than he could take



No serial # on the block of that display motor, makes sense, it was never a tested engine on the line, just made from parts.

[DanTreace]

Does the MTFCA club have one? That’s where one ought to be. That’s another heavy Ford item that was sent to the scrappers years ago but some did survive.

Yes, the MTFCA has one in the Annex, along with lots of interaction displays.

Here kids can hand crank the HCCT and make coils spark Look in the background and you can spot the club's Cut-away engine.

[J1MGOLDEN]

Thanks Brent, that is the lead I needed.

I like the above photo, as the HCCT you restored for the Piquet Plant drew many more young people than the Red 1909 2 Lever Ford nearby when I visited there.