Model T Club rolls through Miami on cross-country trip

May 14, 2008 10:32 pm

— By Seth Putnam
news@joplinglobe.com
MIAMI, Okla. — Members of the Model T Club of Southern California stopped Wednesday at the Coleman Theatre on their way from Baltimore to Los Angeles to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Model T.
The Coleman was a natural diversion for devotees of the 1920s.
“Car clubs are some of our most loyal and faithful clients,” said Barbara Smith, executive director of the Coleman, a refurbished 1920s nickelodeon.
“They love to hear our original Mighty Wurlitzer organ and watch or progress with the restoration.”
The visit included a guided tour and details such as the fact that Bing Crosby performed there on multiple occasions.
The total distance of the trip is 2,850 miles — at 35 miles per hour in 20-horsepower cars that get 18 to 20 miles per gallon.
Understandably, the club members are taking their time. They left May 5 and plan to arrive May 28 in Los Angeles.
“We’re really the premier touring club,” said Norm Haley, route coordinator. “We’ve toured five times in Europe. Three years ago we went through the Italian Alps, and next March we’re going to Argentina.”
Haley said it costs about $10,000 to get a Model T on the road, and driving experience is essential.
“We don’t worry about people stealing them because they couldn’t drive them; you have to have the touch,” he said as he crank-started his black 1927 model.
Of the 20 cars that began the tour, 18 remain.
“They’re 90-year-old cars, and most of the parts are original,” said Dan Clevenger, of West Palm Beach, Fla. “But they’re fairly reliable.”
Some modern conveniences have been added for the benefit of the drivers. Car 18 was outfitted with a Global Positioning System, for example.
Phil Reed, 89, drove his first Model T in 1929, when he was 10 years old.
“I used to go down to the shop on the corner and pick up my dad,” he said.
Barbara Hosterman, who writes a column on antique fashion for the Horseless Carriage Gazette, got into the hobby because of her husband.
“He’s been motor-minded since he could walk,” she said.
The Model T was the last of Henry Ford’s initial prototypes. After 1927, he started over with a new Model A because of the unpopularity of his previous line.
“The reason the car was unpopular was because it was hard for people to operate the pedals,” Haley said.
Haley and his companions have become an odd fusion of history fanatics and car mechanics.
“We appreciate the history, and we’re all tinkerers,” he said.


Lifelong dream

For Norm Haley, this trip is the completion of a lifelong dream.
“When I was in Vietnam, I said, ‘If I ever get out of here, I’m going to drive Route 66,’” he said. “But when I got home, I got a job offer I couldn’t refuse, and now here we are. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

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