Model A Days
 

We just got back from Model A Days at the Gilmore in Michigan. Always a lot of fun. The highlight of the event was the unveiling of the AA bus restored under the direction of Ron and Ken Ehrenhofer. What an amazing accomplishment. I got to ride in it twice. It has a much more comfortable ride than I anticipated. Always a fun event and the weather was perfect.

There were two "first start" cars this year, a 1930 roadster that had not run since 1974 and a well-used 1931 pickup that had not been run since some time prior to 1982. Both were successfully started under the stewardship of Larry Shepherd.

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More pics

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Indeed, excellent event this year! Videos coming soon.

Actually, there were THREE Larry Shepard "first starts". On Friday, Larry started the project car the high school kids have been working on. Took no time at all. You should have seen the high school kids celebrating when they heard their car run!

I drove the new bus with Ken in it. It drives like a dream! The level of mechanical restoration is top notch!

I drove Betsy and did video (published yesterday), drive the phone truck (video soon), drove the wood body speedster (video soon) and met with over a hundred people and spent time enjoying everyone's stories of their Model As and how they got involved.

Got to take part in the ribbon cutting ceremony unveiling all the new bricks with the 50 year MAFCA chapters on them, saw hall of fame induction, and generally had the best weekend ever.

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A not to be missed event for the Model A enthusiast!

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Thanks Paul . Great to see you there. Enjoyed chatting with you now and then. Wish we had more time. Thanks for making the trek all the way from California !! The High school kids start up was very cool and certainly rewarding. Their faces and smiles made it worth a million ! I hope you were able to get a bit of video on that one.
It was a great week. All of us on the Maffi bird work hard to make it good and we hope that all had a good time.
Feedback always appreciated so let me know if you have any suggestions. If you didn’t make it this year plan on next year. Great A’s and great “A” people .
The Bus with Ken and Ron talking about it were the highlight.
Larry Shepard

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Larry, Hats off to you and your crew. Stellar job. I learned so much just watching you and your team work. Thank you very much.

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First of all, thank YOU for being so generous and welcoming! Yea, I regret not being able to spend more time with you and your crew. John had me running around doing way too much.

Second of all, as cool as the new bus is (absolutely stunning!), the highlight was YOU, man. Your "first start" dog and pony show gathers the largest crowd, and is what everyone talks about afterward. And, when the rain delay pushed your seminar back to Saturday, you didn't miss a beat, and you did the first start on the Mishawaka High School kids' car. I admire you and your attitude very much.

Took full video on all of your first starts, and I'd be glad to share the raw video with you. Or, I can send you a USB with the raw footage and the edited versions that will publish on YouTube.

Oh, and thanks for the shirt! All I did was help redo that distributor for the roadster and fixed the carb for the pickup. Didn't do much else except watch you work on a tiny screen.

P.S.- The new bus is beautiful beyond description. Ken and Ron knocked that out of the park! It drives SO nice, and looks like a million bucks. I can't get over how stunning it is.

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Here are some pics from Saturday.

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That fellow in the white t-shirt looks familiar.

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I can be found hanging around in the background on a few of those... :eek:

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Yea I think that would be Milford. Always a pleasure to see and enjoy having him around thecrepair tent and events. So much help and talent!
Thanks Milford !!!!

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Thanks Paul ! It’s always a blast. We have volunteer folks helping as you know and it is totally unscripted and unknown what is going to occur and uncover. Phil who owns the roadster call me Monday and sent me a photo of a bare wire from the terminal box that I think we missed before… it’s easy to do. We were getting some spark from then coil but weak and it seems like short at distributor points closed. Evidently the car had quit years ago.. probably let of the electrical gremlin. Phil taped up the wire and I got it to run… so cool I believe turned out ok.
Of course with fuel and ignition issues we short it that with the start up rig… which was necessary.
It looks simple to some and there are always a few armchair quarterbacks but it’s not always as easy to do this as may seem or some folks think. Especially when we are against the clock! Our local club the Missouri valley region Marc has done this for 32 years with 100 percent success . Some years doing 2 and those who were at Branson in 2017 saw a 29 tudor that hadn’t run in 53 years and we had it going in 53 minutes .

A learning time and fun and I have made so many new Model A friends in this journey. That’s the best part.
Thanks to all who help and participate. It takes all of you to make this a success.
Larry Shepard

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The event has certainly been the highlight of the weekend for me the last three years! I generally try to get over there early and stick around long after it completes to chat with the crowd because I find that nearly everyone either knows someone with an abandon A or has one of their own and in many cases these owners are the opposite of the ones you describe, in that they have convinced themselves that the issues with the car are either too complex or costly to try to fix and the car ends up sitting in disrepair. I think the event does a great job of challenging that mindset and getting people to consider, "maybe I could do that too!" and spur interest in getting their own cars going again or reaching out to a local club for help instead of just sitting on them.

I'm already looking forward to whatever you can find to drag out next year!

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Here's the video showing the activities from Model A Days- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq1FkPboYSM&t=1856s

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James,
helpme find one for next year. You're in the neighborhood you know.... Has to be more in Michigan!
Larry

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Super photos!!!

Enjoyed all the help.. Please come back next year.
We need a Start up car. Anyone have one? Engine must rotate.

Larry Shepard

[email protected]

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Larry, with your skills, I think you could start one that is frozen solid! Can't wait till next year to watch you and your team work again.

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32Ford13, that bird's eye view of the startup is terrific!

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Thank you so much!

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I always like the Model-A buses. I am also glad I have a nice trunk for my Tudor. I just think it adds a little something to the look of the car.