Ford Forums banner

Ride Through History In A Model T!

4K views 5 replies 1 participant last post by  RPO83 
#1 ·
During Ford Motor Company's THE ROAD IS OURS 100th Anniversary Celebration, June 12-16, guests of all ages will have the opportunity to experience Ford Motor Company’s past 100 years and a catch a glimpse of the future—all from the backseat of a Model T.

Developed specifically for the company's 100th anniversary, the Model T Journey is a two-minute ride that includes an interactive history lesson narrated by Edsel B. Ford II, great grandson of Henry Ford. For many, the ride will be a trip down memory lane as they view the people, products and accomplishments of Ford’s first century through music, narrative, product displays and roadside billboards and exhibits.

“Our Model T Journey will give many people their first and only ride in a Model T—an exciting experience by itself. But, we've taken it a step further. We've divided the ride by era to educate people on the contributions of Henry, Edsel, Henry II and Bill Ford and how their achievements have shaped American culture,” said John Nens, marketing manager, Centennial Operations.

"We've lined up more than 80 Model T's, ranging from 1911 to 1927, to bring Ford's history to life for Ford's guests and enthusiasts," said Bill Barth, Model T Journey coordinator and former president of the Model T Ford Club International. "All of the vehicle owners happily agreed to volunteer their cars and their time to participate in this once-in-a-life time activity."

Anticipating the Model T Journey will be popular among guests of THE ROAD IS OURS 100th Anniversary Celebration, a special activity is planned for those waiting for a ride: a chance to help assemble a 1923 Model T Runabout. Alongside the Wisconsin Capital Model T Ford Club, guests can assemble the car that put the world on wheels. This special demonstration features a narrative of early Ford history that documents Henry Ford's influence on today’s automotive industry. And, in less than 30-minutes, the team will actually crank up the completely assembled Model T!

The Model T assembly presentation is scheduled to run multiple times daily throughout THE ROAD IS OURS event. Visitors can register for the Model T Journey and the Model T assembly in the 100th Anniversary Experience tent throughout the celebration, June 12-16.

Tickets to THE ROAD IS OURS 100th Anniversary Celebration are available on-line by accessing the 100th anniversary Web site at www.ford.com or by calling 1-866-4-100-FORD (1-866-410-0367). Tickets are $24.95 per person (children age 12 and under are admitted free when accompanying a paying adult). Tickets for Ford Motor Company employees, retirees, D Plan-eligible dealership personnel, and their extended families (as defined by A, D and Z Plan eligibility) are $19.95 per person.

Each ticket purchase includes credentials for entry all five days, which gives access to all activities, concerts and displays. Tickets also include a daily assigned parking area and shuttle service to and from the event grounds, an opportunity to display their classic Ford car or truck, discounted admission and free shuttle service to local attractions, including Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, Henry Ford Estate - Fairlane, and Edsel & Eleanor Ford House, a 100th Anniversary commemorative coin and discounts on 100th Anniversary merchandise.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
MODEL T TOUR SCHEDULE

May 26: Lone Pine to Tonapah, Nev. (188 miles) – Caravan climbs three 7,000+ mountain passes. Stop for a "cowboy lunch" in the (mostly) ghost town of Goldfield, Nev. (population: 200). Fuel is trucked to the caravan since there are no gas stations for 140 miles.

May 27: Tonapah to Ely, Nev. (169 miles) – Caravan gases up halfway at the only store of any kind on the route.

May 28: Ely to Delta, Utah (154 miles) – Three mountain passes just west of Ely. Last 60 miles is a Salt Flat.

May 29: Delta to Price, Utah (157 miles) – Meet for media/photo opportunity in Nephi, Utah around 9 a.m. (60 miles from Salt Lake City). Caravan then goes through 10,400-foot mountain pass with a 20 percent chance of snow.

May 30: Price to Vernal, Utah (116 miles) – The real roller coaster leg of the trip – big climbs and equally big drops. Elevations range from 5,500 feet to 9,500 feet and back.

May 31: Vernal to Steamboat Springs, Colo. (167 miles) – An easy day. Hilly terrain, but no significant grades. The town of Maybell, Colo., (population: 60) does lunch at the school.

June 1: Steamboat Springs to Fort Collins, Colo. (186 miles) – 100 classic Fords that escort caravan to Fort Collins. Caravan crosses the Continental Divide 18 miles from Steamboat Springs (elevation: 9,000 feet).

June 2: Fort Collins – Spradley-Barr Ford displays T's at the dealership while hundreds of other Ford enthusiasts converge with their classic cars.

June 3: Fort Collins to Ogallala, Neb. (193 miles) – Topography no longer an issue. Flat-to-slightly hilly.

June 4: Ogallala to Grand Island Neb. (180 miles) – A dozen car clubs meet up with the tour in North Platte for the ride into Grand Island.

June 5: Grand Island to Sioux City, Iowa (182 miles) – A hundred classic Fords expected to join the caravan for this leg.

June 6: Sioux City to Algona, Iowa (160 miles) – Stop in Pocahontas, Iowa, as townspeople hold picnic in town-square park in caravan's honor sponsored by Pocahontas Ford and the Iowa Beef Producers and Iowa Pork Council.

June 7: Algona to Caledonia, Minn. (185 miles) – The picturesque town of Mason City, Iowa, the prototype of "River City" in "The Music Man," turns out en masse to honor the caravan.

June 8: Caledonia. – 100 classic cars converge to stage a recreation of a June 20, 1912 photo in which the newest car in the fleet was a 1912 Model T.

June 9: Caledonia to Fond du Lac, Wisc. (195 miles) -- Stop at Experimental Aircraft Association Museum in Oshkosh, Wisc.

June 10: Fond du Lac to Ludington, Mich. (165 miles) – Caravan drives 85 road miles and then is ferried 80 miles across Lake Michigan.

June 11: Ludington to Grand Blanc, Mich. (218 miles) – Longest day as caravan enters the home stretch.

June 12: Grand Blanc to Dearborn (75 miles) – Caravan arrives for parade in its honor on Michigan Avenue.

June 12-16: Caravan on display at the Centennial festival on the grounds of Ford World Headquarters.
 
#3 ·
CENTENNIAL SPIRIT FIT TO A ‘T’

After teaching history to junior high kids in Tucson, Ariz., for 12 years, Joss Sanderson decided he would make some of his own.

Sanderson, 55, is leading a caravan of 43 classic Ford Model T’s on a 3,000-mile trek that leaves Lancaster, Calif., on May 25 and ends up in Dearborn, Mich., on June 12. The cars will co-star in Ford Motor Company’s five-day Centennial celebration that runs from June 12 - 16.

"The Model T travelers embody the spirit of our 100th anniversary," said Ford Motor Company President and Chief Operating Officer Nick Scheele. "That’s because this journey – like this company – was born of pure passion." The Dearborn-or-bust travelers are paying about $6,000 per car in road-ready preparations, lodging, gas and return-trip transporting.

Sanderson, a member of three Model T Ford clubs, hatched the idea two years ago with four friends wanting to do something special for Ford’s Centennial. He posted his plan on the Internet and within two days heard from 200 Ford classic car buffs from all over the United States and even Germany and Australia. That list was finally pared to the 43 cars that make up the Ford Motor Company Model T Centennial Tour.

"At a minimum, the cars had to look correct for the period, and we stayed away from cars without Model T engines," said Sanderson.

After a festive sendoff, the group winds slowly through the West and Midwest, stopping for pancake breakfasts, rides for charity, media interviews, dealership events and nursing homes to return residents to their youths for a couple of miles in the back seat of a classic Model T.

The tour route of historic back roads was designed both to accommodate the speed limitations of the cars and to protect them from the hazards of modern freeway driving. Top speed will range between 14 mph when the group tackles the Rocky-Mountain climb and altitude between Steamboat Springs, Colo., and Fort Collins, Colo., to 35 mph on flat roads. Ford Motor Company is providing F-250 Super Duty and F-650 Super Duty trucks as support vehicles.

In Manitowoc, Wis., the group boards the S.S. Badger on June 10 for a ride across Lake Michigan to Ludington, Mich. On June 12, they will be joined by a hand-made Model T replica, one of six produced by Ford Motor Company for the Centennial, and a police escort. A parade with dignitaries and other classic Fords will escort the group on its final stretch down Michigan Avenue to the 150-acre Centennial display at the company’s world headquarters.

"Our theme is ‘Fords last forever,’ and we aim to prove that," said Lee Chase, 73, a 1914 Touring Car owner from Los Angeles. About half the vehicles on the tour will be Model T’s with brass radiators built prior to 1915, while the rest are "black cars" (classic 1920s models). The fleet typically consists of former rusted relics buried in rural graveyards and acquired for as little as $15, or even less. "I got my first Model T just after World War II from a farmer who told me, ‘Just cut the weeds and bushes it's buried under and you can have it,’" recalled Chase.

"Ford products inspire loyalty," Scheele said. "You’d be hard-pressed to find a better example of this than a group of people willing to cross the country in Model T’s to join our Centennial celebration. Enthusiasts like these give deeper meaning to our first 100 years and are part of the foundation underlying our determination to lead in the next 100 years as well."

While organizers had to choose a limited number of vehicles to make the full trip, they plan to pick up some temporary caravan members along the route. "If you've got a Ford, you’re welcome to drive along for a day or two," said Sanderson.

Sanderson said he’s booked 24 hotel stops and fielded dozens of hospitality offers from along the route, including almost every Ford dealership in their path. For example, Spradley Barr Ford in Fort Collins is hosting a classic-car rendezvous for the troupe and local Ford clubs; and Gorno Ford in Woodhaven, Mich., will help store and load the cars for their return trip home. Other dealers along the way are hosting meals and providing oil changes and car washes.

"It’s been an awesome task and a huge responsibility," said Sanderson. "We have an obligation to so many people: to Ford, because of the historical significance of the centennial event; to the media, so we can share this good news with the people of this country and the world; and to the new friends we plan to make along the way."
 
#4 ·
MODEL T TOUR SHARES ITS TRAVEL TALES

The historic Centennial Model T Tour is on the road to Michigan for Ford Motor Company's 100-year anniversary and wants to share its "adventure of a lifetime" with you.

The "Postcards from the Road" below compile travel tales and photographs of the group's 3,000-mile journey from Lancaster, Calif., to Dearborn, Mich.

Sunday, May 25:
Our Lancaster Send-Off

Dressed in period costume clothing, our tour group arrived at Lancaster City Park around 8 a.m. this morning to the sounds of a Dixieland band. We spent the next two hours putting the finishing touches on our classic Model T's and preparing for departure.

Lancaster Mayor Frank Roberts and nearly 100 tour member friends, family members and well-wishing townspeople joined us at 10 a.m. to bid us farewell and wish us luck on our ambitious journey. Mayor Roberts and our tour organizer, Joss Sanderson, both said a few words to gear up drivers for the first leg of our cross-country trip to Dearborn. Mayor Roberts also acknowledged us for our dedication and underscored the anticipated historic significance of this tour; then he jumped into his own Ford Model A and led our caravan of 43 Model T's through the streets of Lancaster to the open highway – an official and memorable Lancaster send-off!

We traveled 167 miles today across the Mojave Desert to Lone Pine, California. Though we didn't experience any difficulties today, we will run quick vehicle inspections again tonight in preparation for the 7,000-ft. mountain passes we will climb tomorrow.
 

Attachments

#5 ·
Tuesday, June 3:
Hello, Nebraska

Yesterday, we thought we might be down to 42 Model T's, but we left Fort Collins this morning with all 43 in good operating condition. Much of that credit goes to the generosity and assistance of the Northern Colorado Model T Club, particularly those members who made an emergency road trip to Buena Vista!

The 193 miles from Fort Collins to Ogallala, Nebraska, were rather flat compared to what we've traversed so far, and unlike the deserts, the salt flats and the Rocky Mountains before, there were fuel stations in almost every town along this leg of the trip. Fort Collins was effectively the halfway point of our cross-country journey to Dearborn, so getting back on the road this morning really felt like the beginning of the home stretch. We'll drive for another four days before stopping for a second down day in Caledonia, Minnesota. Then after that, we'll be at Ford World Headquarters before you know it.

A lunch event at Sterling Ford in Sterling, Colorado, offered a welcome break to today's rather long drive. Some Model T Tour members took this opportunity to visit the nearby Overland Trail Museum, which chronicles various aspects of the area's history between 1860 and 1890. Others allowed extra time in their day for a side trip to Julesburg, Colorado, the site of an important trading post in the 1860s and a former Pony Express stop.

We all arrived in Ogallala in time for a late dinner on Front Street -- a strip of the Old West along US 30, complete with saloons, shops and show halls.
 
#6 ·
MODEL T TRAVEL TALES: ACROSS THE GREAT MISSISSIPPI

Monday, June 9:
Across the Great Mississippi
We crossed the great Mississippi River today on our way from Caledonia, Minnesota, to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Leading us across the bridge were three members of the Dahl family in their own Model T. Their family-owned dealership, Dahl Ford, is celebrating its 92nd anniversary this month, and our combined anniversary caravan made for a great photo opportunity.

As a late-afternoon side trip, several members of our tour group stopped at the EAA Air Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and were treated to vintage airplane rides. Service Motors in Fond du Lac then hosted us for dinner, and nearly 2,000 townspeople turned out for free brats and Cokes.

Tour organizer Joss Sanderson's Model T unfortunately suffered a broken crankshaft today, and it is currently in pieces at the local service shop. No one is sure whether the car will be up and running for tomorrow's departure to Ludington, Michigan, but Joss has assured us that whether it is running on its own or being towed, he and his family will finish this journey to Dearborn.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top