Henry Ford’s first car, the 1896 Ford Quadricycle, did not stay in his hands for long. Before the year was out, he sold it for $200 and put the money toward his second car. Eight years later, with his new company doing well, he bought it back for $65.

The deal is also a neat summary of how Ford worked early on. First he built something, then he sold it, and then he used the cash to build the next one.

Here is how the Quadricycle came together and what it could do. After that comes the story of how it ended up back with the man who built it.

Building the Ford Quadricycle on Bagley Avenue

Ford built the car in a shed behind the house he and his wife, Clara, rented on Detroit’s Bagley Avenue. At the time he worked for the Edison Illuminating Company. History.com says he was chief engineer at its main plant, while Mac’s Motor City Garage calls him the plant superintendent. Either way, he did not build the car alone. The Henry Ford museum owns the car. Its record lists David Bell, James Bishop, George Cato and Edward Huff alongside Ford as its makers.

According to Mac’s Motor City Garage, Bell was a blacksmith at the Edison company, and the shed was a converted coal shed at 58 Bagley Avenue. The same history also points out that Ford’s was not the first car on Detroit’s streets. Charles B. King made his first run three months earlier.

The Henry Ford’s collection record calls the Quadricycle “Henry Ford’s first attempt to build a gasoline-powered automobile.” It also notes that Ford used commonly available parts. The frame was angle iron, and the seat came from a buggy.

The first drive, and the brick wall

Ford’s first successful drive took place in the early morning hours of June 4, 1896, according to The Henry Ford. History.com puts it at about 4 a.m. Mac’s Motor City Garage says historians place it somewhere between 2 and 4 a.m.

Before that drive, however, there was one problem. The finished car was too wide for the shed door. History.com says Ford “took an axe to the brick wall of the shed.” Hagerty describes it a little more modestly, saying Ford removed the door frame and several bricks to get the car out.

What the Quadricycle had under the seat

The engine was a Kane-Pennington-Ford inline two-cylinder of 59 cubic inches, according to The Henry Ford. The museum lists its output as an estimated 4 horsepower. Hagerty’s Quadricycle feature gives the same 4-hp estimate and adds that the engine ran up to 500 rpm with no throttle of any kind.

The museum’s spec sheet also shows atmospheric intake valves, which engine suction pulled open, and overhead exhaust valves. In addition, Mac’s Motor City Garage says Ford converted the engine from air cooling to water cooling while he developed it.

Power went to the rear wheels through a two-speed transmission that combined a leather belt and a chain, The Henry Ford says. There was no reverse gear. In fact, History.com notes there were no brakes, either. The car rolled on four bicycle wheels and could reach about 20 mph, according to the same History.com account.

Overall, everything about it was light. Both The Henry Ford and Hagerty put the weight at 500 pounds, and both list a 49-inch wheelbase. Hagerty also gives its length as 78.5 inches and its height as 45 inches.

Sold for $200 to fund the next car

Ford did not keep his first car as a trophy. Instead, “Ford sold the Quadricycle in late 1896 for $200, which he spent on building his second car,” according to The Henry Ford. Hagerty gives the same $200 figure and calls it “an awesome sum in the 19th century.” Mac’s Motor City Garage names the buyer as Charles Ainsley and says the sale helped fund Ford’s next project.

The sale matters because of where the money went. Rather than keep his first machine, Ford turned it into cash for the next build, as the museum’s record describes.

Bought back for $65

By 1904, Ford’s fortunes had changed. “In 1904, with Ford Motor Company becoming successful, he bought the little vehicle back for $65,” The Henry Ford’s record says. Hagerty also gives $65. However, Wikipedia’s Ford Quadricycle entry puts the buy-back price at $60, so the sources do not fully agree. We follow the museum that owns the car.

Either way, the math is simple. Ford got his first car back for roughly a third of its 1896 sale price.

Where the original Ford Quadricycle is now

The original Quadricycle belongs to The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. Several replicas exist too. In fact, Mac’s Motor City Garage warns that visitors to Ford sites may see more than one Quadricycle, and only one of them is real.

Fifty years after the first drive, the car was back in front of the cameras. In May 1946, Henry and Clara Ford marked the Quadricycle’s 50th anniversary by posing for photographs on it in Greenfield Village, according to The Henry Ford’s photo record.

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This article was created with the help of AI and was reviewed and edited by Fast Lane Only editors before publication.