Any tips for navigating Benson Ford Research Library?

[WayneJ]

I will be at the Henry Ford this week and would like to get copies of several drawings. Any tips to make the process easier / quicker?

[Jeff5015]

Be nice to the people in charge. Say please and thank you. No running, and don't talk in a loud voice.

[TrentB]

Whichparts drawings will you be looking for?

Several things to keep in mind. First, keep in mind that the drawings are organized by factory symbol number, or factory number, not the catalog number. Take a Model T parts book with you that lists both the catalog number and factory numbers. Also, drawings can be found for individual parts, but not necessarily assemblies, e.g. the NH carburetor, you can find all of individual parts, including the air passage plugs, but not the carburetor body assembly.

Second, what year parts will you be looking for? You may find several drawings of a part for different years, and these can be different for different years.

The parts drawings are on two different sizes of film media. Some are on 70mm flat sheet film, and many are on 35mm reel film. The 35mm real film drawings are easier to copy than the 70mm film.

Good luck in your search.

Respectfully Submitted,

Trent Boggess

[Tbird]

Wayne,
See if you can talk with Jim Orr at The Henry Ford. He is pretty knowledgeable about the drawings. Drawings cost $30 each to print and take with you. I have all the drawings for my Ford Delivery Car project. You will have to have the drawing number to pull the drawing. The T parts drawings begin with a T- If you have a parts price list book you will see two numbers for the parts. One for the Part Number and another for the Factory Number. You will need the Factory Number to pull the drawings. Just know that even though there might be a Factory Number that there might not be a drawing that exists only notes. I found this to be true on some of the drawings I as pulling for my Delivery Car project. Also there might be several drawings for a certain part that went through revisions. The people at The Henry Ford are very helpful.
Mike

[Humblej]

Wayne, they may still be closed for covid. It is located next to The Henry Ford between the museum and the entrance to Greenfield Village.

I agree with Trent, take your own Ford Price List books for reference. You can use the chassis parts list part numbers and cross reference to the factory numbers using a reference binder at the Benson Ford, the Ford Body Price List has the factory numbers. Let them know you have brought your own books if you do. Coats and bags are not permitted for obvious reasons.

Although you can order drawings for $30 or so, you can copy the drawings directly from the microfiche on to 8.5x11 paper for $1 per drawing. You may need to take a dozen or so 8.5x11 prints of small sections of the drawing and assemble them together like a patchwork quilt. Overlap your prints so you can line up words or features on the drawing. Price is per drawing, not price per 8.5x11 sheet of paper.

It is great fun, hope you can get in. Let us know if they are open because I would like to go next week.

[pron022020]

Good luck with that, they are still closed to the public. The various clubs and organizations should write an open letter to them. Two years down the road it is less about Covid and more about just not wanting to open back up again.

[Rob]

I hope they plan to reopen in the future. I asked a staff member some time ago, and they told me they do not plan to reopen in 2022.

[WayneJ]

Thank you to all that replied. I can now scratch one item off my list. Maybe next year!