FORD CHASSIS

Ford Model T (1911)

Ford Model T design was extremely simple. The solid front and rear axles were lives, each set on a single transverse leaf spring. It uses ladder type chassis.

The Model T, also known as the “Tin Lizzie,” changed the way Americans live, work and travel. Henry Ford’s revolutionary advancements in assembly-line automobile manufacturing made the Model T the first car to be affordable for a majority of Americans. For the first time car ownership became a reality for average American workers, not just the wealthy. More than 15 million Model Ts were built in Detroit and Highland Park, Michigan, and the automobile was also assembled at a Ford plant in Manchester, England, and at plants in continental Europe.

The Model T was an automobile built by the Ford Motor Company from 1908 until 1927. Conceived by Henry Ford as practical, affordable transportation for the common man, it quickly became prized for its low cost, durability, versatility, and ease of maintenance. Assembly-line production allowed the price of the touring car version to be lowered from $850 in 1908 to less than $300 in 1925. At such prices the Model T at times comprised as much as 40 percent of all cars sold in the United States. Even before it lost favour to larger, more powerful, and more luxurious cars, the Model T, known popularly as the “Tin Lizzie” or the “flivver,” had become an American folkloric symbol, essentially realizing Ford’s goal to “democratize the automobile.”

Ford Mustang (1994)

The platform construction of Ford Mustang chassis is the first is the Ford first in mass market. Ford start to use monocoque chassis type which is the new invented technology created by Ford. It offer a good crash protection and space efficient.

After almost 14 years rolling in the same chassis platform. Ford redesigned and restyle the Mustang for 1994. The chassis are modernized and more details are added.

As early as 1989 it is determined that Mustang cannot continue much longer in its present form. Government mandated driver-side and passenger-side passive restraints, emissions and fuel economy standards make it impossible to produce the Fox-chassis Mustang economically beyond August 30, 1993. CEO Alex Trotman decides to appoint someone who is dedicated to preserving the front engine, rear wheel drive Mustang. Someone who is willing to work on the project on their own time.

Due to the fortitude of Mustang Business Planning Manager, O.J. "John" Coletti, along with Mustang Program Manager, Mike Zevalkink, and their after-hours "skunk team," a new Mustang is built around existing powertrain and chassis hardware. The platform, called Fox-4, is structurally more solid, owing mainly to larger rocker panels, roof rails and stronger joints. These changes go a long way toward preventing NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) and providing enhanced handling characteristics.

Ford GT 2016

The GT featured an aluminum space frame chassis comprised of 35 extrusions, multiple stamped aluminum sheet panels and a variety of complex aluminum castings which anchored the corners and served as suspension mounting points. Extrusions also provided structural support for the engine compartment and were integrated into the crash management system. The center tunnel was fabricated of two extrusions joined to aluminum sheet with Friction Stir Welding. The extrusions throughout were 6061-T6 or 6063-T6, produced to half of industry standard tolerances. 

The Ford engineering team working on the GT recognized the potential for aluminum and extrusions. Matt Zaulzec, then Ford's manager of Materials Research and Advanced Engineering noted: "Aggressive targets were set for weight and performance, directly influencing fuel consumption. These targets could not have been achieved without using extrusions."