The special stove from my grandfather's T-Ford

Before the Great Fire, my grandfather ran a bakery in Zwolle. With a shop attached. Bread, cookies, regular customers, and a cargo bike that seemed to get heavier every day. It was 1934, business was booming, and that meant only one thing… pedaling harder. While my grandmother was busy in the shop, Grandpa was lugging things around like crazy during the day and kneading dough again at night. That's too much for anyone. Something had to change.

By: Jan van 't Spijker

The solution came in the form of a Ford Model T van. Not a new one, but one from the early 1920s. Old, but tough. And above all… faster than a cargo bike. Thousands of Model T Fords were still driving around in the Netherlands at the time, many having changed owners several times. The Model T was simple, reliable, and inexpensive to maintain. Just what a hardworking baker needed.

First, Grandpa had to get a driver's license. That wasn't much. Four guilders, a short driving test, and a theory test were something for later... or never. With the certificate in hand, his new life began. No more pedaling, just cranking. Luxury. Pure luxury. He happily accepted the envious glances of fellow bakers on their cargo bikes.

But then came winter. And winters were still winters back then. Snow, frost, weeks of ice. And that suddenly presented a problem. The Ford was water-cooled. Coolant as we know it didn't exist yet. Just plain water. And water freezes.

The solution for many motorists was both simple and cumbersome. Drain the coolant after every drive. Refill it the next day, preferably with warm water. This wasn't just a few liters. Depending on the model, a Model T held anywhere from 15 to over 20 liters of water. Many cars from that period didn't have a water pump, but thermosyphon cooling. Hot water rises, cold water sinks. That works fine, as long as everything stays liquid.

After a while, Grandpa gets tired of lugging buckets around every day. You can also mix in alcohol, but it evaporates quickly due to its low boiling point and is also expensive because of the excise duty. Hovering over the radiator every morning to smell if there's enough alcohol left... that's no life either.

And then, suddenly, there's an ad. A German gadget, with a proud slogan: The sun in winterThe name: CatalyteA small heater, specifically designed to be placed under the engine. No flames, no smoke, just heat generated through a catalytic process. Gasoline or kerosene in a small tank, with instructions included, written with typical German humor: Gebrauchsanweisung beachten, sonst gibt es Ärger!

It's a clever device. Catalytic combustion doesn't create an open flame, but it does generate heat. Up to 500 degrees Celsius internally. Enough to keep the engine and cooling water frost-free. And that for up to twelve hours. Such heaters were common in the 1920s and 1930s. They were used in cars, tractors, and even airplanes, especially in Central and Northern Europe.

Grandpa's Ford survived the winter intact. No cracked engine blocks, no frozen radiators. Problem solved.

And the great thing is... that little stove still exists. While cleaning out my workshop, I came across it again. Grandpa's stove. With patina, with stories. The kind of object that tells more than a thousand pictures. I think I'll restore it after all.

Incidentally, Grandpa didn't get to enjoy his Ford for long. While delivering an order to a major client, a passing truck driver decided the Model T Ford was in the way. He got in without asking. Bad idea. Controlling a Model T takes some getting used to. Left pedal for clutch and gearshift, center pedal for reverse, right brake. Accelerator with a lever on the steering wheel. That didn't end well.

The Ford went right through the customer's front door. The rolls were supposedly a bit too brown. The end of the Model T Ford.

Grandpa was back on the cargo bike. Until 1961. Then another car arrived. A brand new DAF 600. But that... that's a whole other story.

(More photos below.)