Model A Meets

Can you imagine seeing over 200 Model A Fords in one place at a time?  We did  twice this summer, when we attended two meets in the USA.  

The first one, in Bend, Oregon, was sponsored by Model A Ford Club of America (MAFCA) and was the Northwest Regional Meet in early September.    Model A’s were made by Ford from 1928 through 1931; Sedans, Pickups, Trucks, Coups, Woodies, Phaetons were all seen at this meet. There were 280 Model A’s registered; people attended from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Nevada, and British Columbia.  Several seminars were held for the attendees, and the ladies participated in an era fashion show.  Tours were mapped out, and you could see Model A’s driving all around town as attendees from as far away as Canada and Australia enjoyed the scenery of Central Oregon.  Thankfully, there was a repair tent when the inevitable happened, and an 80+ year old car wouldn’t go any further!  The simple 4-cylinder engine was usually quickly repaired, and they were out driving again! 

A nicely restored Tow Truck.

 

A Speedster.

 A "Woodie" Station Wagon.

 

A Roadster, with a top that can be lowered.

A sedan, with the owners participating in "Model A Games".  She held the water glass on a tray and kept it from spilling while the driver went over several topes.  

Cars were eligible to be judged for originality, and many won prizes for their hard work of restoring the cars to their original factory condition.  Others, who have modified their cars to run better under current highway conditions, also won prizes for their beautiful cars.  

The second Model A Meet was in Massachusetts, and was the 57^th Annual Model A Ford New England Meet, sponsored by Model A Restorer’s Club of Massachusetts, held in Hyannis, Massachusetts.  This meet had about 250 cars and the attendees were from clubs in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.  There were even several from Canada!  Some drove their Model A's over 300 miles to get there!  That involves a lot of back road travel, since top speed is about 45 mph on an original condition car.  Some have been modified to go faster. 

Again, there were tours and fun things to do, a lot of it just admiring the beautifully restored cars, or listening to their distinctive sound as they drove.  The most impressive sight was at the end of a tour drive, when every car was lined up in a field by model type.  

 Part of the 250 cars on tour. We could not get all the detail in with a shot of all the cars. 

 Have you ever seen a Model A Bus?

 A beautiful Roadster.

 This Pickup was the milk delivery truck! 

 This original condition Phaeton was a prize winner, in spite of back firing most the way there!  The man who owns this car was also the head mechanic at the Repair Tent. 

A line up of "Woodie" Station Wagons.  

Based on the evidence of the admiration of this car, many of Henry Ford's dependable Model A's will be on the road for many years to come!  We just wish we could have participated at these meets with our Model A's, which are here in Mexico.  We think they would have been prize winners for sure!