10 November 2004 – Spotsylvania, VA

 

It’s finally here.

 

MTFCI Ford Model T Digital Library.

 

There are over 600 different titles in the library.  It includes original Price List of Parts and Accessories, Owner Manuals, Ford Motor Cars, Ford – The Universal Car, Original Brochures and Literature, even Ford Coal Booklets and many, many other items.

 

Pricing has been established so anyone can afford to have their library local.  Many of these publications are one of a kind and not available for sale anywhere.  Some come from Murray Fahnstock’s personal library.  I have seen individual manual copies for sale on E-Bay for over $100.  Here is your chance to own a piece of history for a fraction of the cost of one manual.

 

A complete set of 3 DVD's are $99.95 (plus shipping). 

 

Years include: (Pre-T, 1909, 1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,FordEx 1925,1926,1927,Post-1927,Miscellaneous/Undated, Service Manuals, Canadian Service Bulletins, and many catalogs, brochures, and publications. 

 

You can even elect to get a specific volume ($19.95 plus shipping).  This is available by special order through the MTFCI sales office.

 

            Volume 1 – The Early Years – Piquette – Pre-T – 1910

            Volume 2 – The Brass Era – 1911 – 1916

            Volume 3 – The Black Radiators – 1917 – 1921

            Volume 4 – Mass Production – 1922 – 1925

            Volume 5 – The Improved Car – 1926 – 1927

            Volume 6 – Transition – Post 1927 and Miscellaneous

            Volume 7 – Commercial and Accessory Bodies

            Volume 8 – Canadian Literature

 

So these CD’s and DVD’s don’t become outdated, all subsequent manuals will be in addendum CD/DVD’s and not be integrated with the initial release.

 

All ordering will go through the Frank Fenton, MTFCI Sales.

 

All manuals are in full-size Adobe PDF files.  A few are indexed and have tables of content.  Many are full color.  Some are large (300mb+) while some are black and white and tiny in size.

 

These are for PC Computer DVD readers ONLY – They will NOT work on TV DVD readers because it requires Adobe Acrobat software to read.  That is included free on the DVD with an arrangement we have with Adobe.  You can also download the Acrobat Reader free from www.adobe.com.

 

Major cleanup has been done on files to get rid of greasy finger prints (in the case of heavily used manuals that are one of a kind).  Torn pages have been fixed, digitally, in many cases.  Most came out nice.  A few are rough yet readable.  At any rate better than the originals.  They are all 300dpi in resolution.

 

All is being done in-house to insure they will work on your computer and to maximize profit to the club, so more of these projects may be undertaken.  Pricing is extremely low to allow our members the opportunity to get those manuals to assist in their restoration, without draining their parts money.

 

There are many thanks to go around and each DVD contains a credit page so you know who the charter members of this library are and who did what.  I especially want to thank the following:

 

Steve Hubert who has the largest collection of manuals I have seen and his incredible trust in me with boxes of original priceless manuals, Fred Houston who first trusted me with some Ford Owner and Dealer magazines giving birth to this endeavor.  I only hope this library will augment the many fine videos he produces.  Ron Patterson and John Regan for helping to establish a business plan and technical guidance in many of the tech articles as well as providing original manuals, Bruce McCalley for his advice in authenticating manuals, as well as content and his transmission article.  Keith Townsend, Norman Warren, Kenneth Bove, Ed Henline, and others whose names I can’t recollect for original manuals.  I hope I remembered all, but if I forgot anyone, my sincere apologies.  I can’t forget my wife, Dorothy, and kids for putting up with my cluttered kitchen table and computer junk all over the house supporting this project.

 

It took basically a year to put this together, and the interface runs inside a browser or you can click on each file to open within the Acrobat Reader if you want finer control.  These documents are scalable and you can zoom in or out, and print anything.

 

The official release date will be 10 November 2004.  I chose that date because it is the birthday of the United States Marine Corps (10 Nov 1775). If it wasn’t for the training I received in the Corps, I wouldn’t have had the perseverance to finish this never-ending project. 

 

I will handle any technical questions and Frank will handle any purchasing questions, so please do not send orders to me.  Click here for order blank.