Although the Model T made great technical strides with its cast en bloc engine and removable cylinder head, thermosyphon cooling and transverse leaf rear suspension, other T hallmarks were already in use on its predecessors, the Models N, R and S: bevel-topped radiator with tall neck, foot-operated planetary transmission, and “backwards dish” steering wheel with column-mounted spark and throttle controls. True, the cylinders were cast in pairs and cooled by a complicated water pump embedded in the bottom of the radiator, and rear suspension was by longitudinal full-elliptic springs, but a pattern of Ford engineering was emerging. It would be the Model T’s vanadium steel, the work of Childe Harold Wills, that made the T so tough, differentiating it from its four-cylinder forebears.

This Model R Ford, which differs from the Model N only in its running boards and mechanical lubrication system, is an older restoration that presents very well. Painted in Brewster Green, it has cream colored wood spoke wheels and chassis. Body contours and paint are very good, and the brass is nicely buffed. The seats are black buttoned leather, all in good condition, the floor is fit with a black rubber mat. The only instrumentation is a brass Jones speedometer. It has brass Gray & Davis sidelamps, while the taillight is E&J.

Formerly in the Winthrop Rockefeller collection, it was acquired by Mr. Pond in 2007. Excellent for Brass and Gas tours, it’s also the perfect vehicle in which to run about town.