[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Jim is correct in this IS the best old car event of the year. Word from one of the officials is that at the close of yesterday, they had already received 600 applications for registration, ...and their cut-off is 700 cars.


For me personally there is more besides the show at OCF that makes it "the best". There is an event that happens prior to the OCF called the Lansing-to-Dearborn Run which is a reliability run for 1&2 Cylinder automobiles and select pre 1915 automobiles. It is approximately 200 miles in length over a 2 day period. We leave Dearborn around 7:30 on Thursday morning with our first stop around 9:-ish at a restaurant for Breakfast. An hour later we are on the road which we typically stop at a nearby Elementary School for the students (classroom by classroom) to come outside for a visit. I let them sit in my car, squeeze the horn bulb, and ring the Bermuda Bell. After an hour or so we are off for another sightseeing visit. Last year it was a county museum that open their doors for a bathroom break. Ironically, the last couple of years we have stopped in Hell (Michigan) for lunch/ice cream and then proceeded on to another afternoon stop. A year or so ago our final stop for the day was at the Oldsmobile Museum in Lansing.

Later we checked in to the hotel and had a catered meal in their meeting room. The next day we left around 8:30AM and stopped at another morning stop (A old Cider Mill selling coffee and hot cider). Each year, a local High School Automotive program hosts all of us for a simple lunch (usually Chicken Tenders, Potato Wedges, etc.) where we pull our cars inside of this huge classroom workshop area where the students get to talk about & see the antique cars first-hand. It's a great teaching opportunity for us explaining our cars. I have found this to be refreshing as the kids (many girls too) are very knowledgeable and can understand the similarities between systems on the Horseless Carriage cars vs. modern day automobiles they are being trained on. Once we are back at the Village, we relax with a Pizza Dinner in the parking lot and get ready for Old Car Fest the following day. Great Fun!!

It is my opinion that a similar event could happen for the Model-A guys. Someone (outside of The Henry Ford organization or the OCF officials) should plan an event for the Thursday& Friday prior to OCF where a tour specifically for Model-As can happen. I am guessing that Dearborn to the MAFFI Museum would be under 150 miles if backroads were traveled. Overnight in Battle Creek and return to Dearborn on Friday vis a different backroads route. Plenty of other sites to see or towns to visit along the way. If a Model-A group averaged 25 mph while driving, that is about 6 hours. That allows 3-4 hours of stops & sightseeing along the way. If 20-30 Model-As were to participate, that encourages camaraderie amongst Hobbyist, potentially encourage hobbyists from further away to participate, and promotes awareness of the Model-A hobby. IMO, some people in the Michigan area should strongly consider hosting an annual Model-A Reliability Run prior to the OCF event.


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