Published: May 09, 2008 05:28 pm            

Model T road trip makes stop in Plainfield

PLAINFIELD — The Ford Model T, the first widely-used automobile in the United States, is celebrating its 100th birthday this year.

To commemorate it, the Southern California Model T Club is taking a road trip.

A group of 54 people in 22 Model T’s of varying styles are trekking cross country in celebration of what they call the “universal car.” The journey, called “Sea to Sea by Model T,” left Baltimore May 5 and is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles May 27. In between the caravan is making several stops. They’re taking U.S. 40 from Baltimore to St. Louis. From they’re it’s Route 66 all the way to the coast.

After leaving Richmond, Ind., Friday morning, they stopped at Metropolis in Plainfield for a scheduled visit before heading to Terre Haute to spend the night. The stop was organized by the Plainfield Chamber of Commerce and Andy Mohr Ford.

This isn’t the first road trip for the Model T Club. In fact, travel is a big portion of the group’s purpose, aside from the expected acquisition and restoration of Model T’s. Last year the organization toured Alaska. The year before that they were in Nova Scotia.

“This year we thought it’d be a good idea to commemorate the Model T by taking it cross-country,” said Bob Most, a club member and coordinator of this trip.

Refurbishing these historic machines and admiring them in the garage isn’t enough. The Model T Club is always looking for a reason to the hit the open road.

“I akin ourselves to people who drive motorcycles,” Most said. “We enjoy the trip for more than just the destination.”

You have to, because you’re not going to get anywhere fast, at least by today’s standards. Most says a Model T’s top speed is about 35 to 40 mph.

“It isn’t always how fast you go, it’s how quick you can stop,” he said.

Nonetheless, the group isn’t getting an escort. They don’t even travel as one. Drivers rolled in at various times during the Metropolis stop Friday afternoon. They all eventually meet at predetermined locations. The St. Louis stop is a two-day layover.

“It gives us a chance to do maintenance and laundry and everything else along the way,” Most said.

The Model T Club is so popular that it has an international membership. Werner Block is an indirect member. He met others in the club when they were in his native Hamburg, Germany. He decided to come along on this trip after receiving an invitation. Rather than transporting his own Model T, the club provided him one stateside upon his arrival.

“Unfortunately they’re not very popular in Germany,” Block said. “There’s only about 50 in the country, and (their owners) seldom get together for trips.”

You don’t have to own a Model T to be a club member, but Most says there are still some criteria to be met.

“One, you have to like history,” he said. “Two, you have to like cars. Three, you have to like things mechanical. Four, you have to appreciate the heritage of how we got to where we are today.”

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Online:

www.mtfcsc.com



wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com

        

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