Art of discovery, early vs late model

[Daisy Mae]

Yanked out the handbrake lever today.
Having restored a '25 decades ago, now that I'm cleaning up a '14 I'm constantly amazed at all the engineering differences I'm finding between the two. Some things you see improvements, while other things changed became cheaper quality (obvious cost/time cutting, but as such also not as strong). I know this is nothing new for many of you, but has been eye opening for me.

Three major differences seen is the rectangular hole in the frame bracket for a compressed felt oiler:

The hand brake lever is not only pinned, but also keyed:

The 'clutch' cam is forged vs stamped steel (quite a sharp ramp up as well):

[TXGOAT2]

Ford still used a number of small forged items on the '28-'29 Model A, but they are largely absent from the '30-'31 A. Ford was a pioneer in heavier pressed steel automotive items, such as the innovative crankcase on the Model T.