The Ford Model T used a 177 cu in (2.9 L) sidevalve, reverse-flow cylinder head inline 4-cylinder engine.

The engine design's lifespan exceeded that of the Model T vehicle itself, with industrial, marine, and military applications extending its production run.

In 1926, the fuel tank was moved forward and upward, under the cowl, behind the dashboard on most models,[5] which improved the gravity feed.

An aftermarket fuel pump was a common modification made to the Ford's original spartan engine design.

Even by the standards of the day, the engine was in many ways a half-manufacture when it came to thermal efficiency and other running characteristics which could lengthen the unit's life span and improve the car as a whole.

The Model T components were made to wide tolerances to accommodate manufacturing techniques of the day to produce reliable devices, and in making these components, the Ford Motor Company engineers used, from a modern perspective, extremely high levels of over tolerance to assure endurance of the end product.

It lent itself to mass production, showing the Ford company's prescient focus on design for manufacturability.

This value is low by modern standards but was typical for the era, making the engine forgiving of poor-quality, low-octane fuel and minimizing cranking effort at starting.

This current was distributed by the timer (analogous to a distributor in a modern vehicle) to one of the four trembler coils, one for each cylinder.

A certain amount of skill and experience was required to find the optimal spark timing for any speed and load.

[10] Most cars sold after 1919 were equipped with this starter, which was engaged by a small round foot-operated button switch on the floor.

Before starting a Model T with the hand crank, the spark had to be manually retarded or the engine might "kick back".

[16] The following major changes were made (listed by year): The T engine was produced continuously from September 27, 1908, through August 4, 1941, exactly 12,000 days.

This makes it one of the longest engines in series production, especially considering that the specifications remained mostly unchanged for this entire duration.

But the engine continued to be produced and sold to various consumer, industrial, military, and marine markets throughout the world until 1941.