Henry ford drives off in a ford model a

[jm29henry]

I heard a story that during world war 2 at greenfield village ,they taught school. A young student had his car parked out front of the village and Henry jumped in and took it for a ride .? The young man was worried because he did not have much gas . Henry supposedly gave him a slip and the village filled his tank .The student was so happy because with gas rationing he only was able to get a few gallons .

If anyone one has heard of this story or no if the actual story is in print I would love to get a copy thanks for your help Joe.

[Marshall V. Daut]

Yes. The story appeared in a 1970's MAFCA "Restorer" or possibly MARC "Model A News". I have the issue somewhere among the hundreds of other back issues, but it would take a while to find the darned thing. The facts you stated about the incident are correct and the essential part of the story. The only thing I'd add is that Henry measured top speed going one way and then the other way on the track and was pleased with both speeds. He told the young man that he had his Model A well tuned. Quite a compliment from the Old Man himself, eh?
Marshall

[M2M]

Yes, I've heard it. Young guy (who was studying at a Ford sponsored school) thought someone had stolen the car until a security guy told him the "Old Man" had taken it for a test drive. Henry hit 60 mph+ in it on a test track if I remember correctly. Henry gave the kid a voucher for petrol when he returned the car.

[Synchro909]

Yup, I've heard that story too. Evidently, Henry was happy enough with how the car performed. Wonder where that car is now. I'm sure it would be worth $$$ if the provenance could be proved.

[Railcarmover]

Mr Ford had a '28 coupe..with cowl vents (crotch coolers),a good idea..

[jm29henry]

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Thanks I have some old restorers mag I'm going try and find it I love this story

[Marshall V. Daut]

I'm leaning towards the article being in an old MARC "Model A News" issue because I remember the format being different from the more numerous (and preferable) "Restorer" issues I had at the time. Concentrate on looking through 1970's "Model A News" back issues for the two page article, including a photo of Henry's Special Coupe, as I recall.
Marshall

[40 Deluxe]

Henry had suffered a stroke by this time and was showing signs of dementia, which may have led to this episode (IF TRUE). This sounds like it could very well be just another story someone made up and others embellished as it was retold.

[Marshall V. Daut]

The author of the article in the magazine was also the student, whose Model A Henry "borrowed". I'd call that being pretty close to the original source of the story.
Marshall

[ericr]

Originally Posted by 40 Deluxe

Henry had suffered a stroke by this time and was showing signs of dementia, which may have led to this episode (IF TRUE). This sounds like it could very well be just another story someone made up and others embellished as it was retold.

the story is indeed charming but I tend to agree with you. also he was extremely security-conscious and I always thought he had a chauffeur and armed guards around or near him.

[Bob from Northport]

Maybe you guys need a bit of faith. Just believe it. Does it really matter??

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by Bob from Northport

Maybe you guys need a bit of faith. Just believe it. Does it really matter??

Of course it matters! What good is distorted history? If it's not true, then it is just more 'fake news"! Who likes to be lied to?

[jb-ob]

Every car has a story....If your car doesn't, make one up.

[Bob from Northport]

I'm with you Jimmy

[Synchro909]

Originally Posted by 40 Deluxe

Of course it matters! What good is distorted history? If it's not true, then it is just more 'fake news"! Who likes to be lied to?

No one does but any time we listen to a politician, we arr lied to. I don't care who it is, if they are a polly, they're lying.

[sunnyorm]

religions made loads of money with unconfirmed history.

[Marshall V. Daut]

I'll see if I can find the issue with the story in it. It's been a long time since I read it (many times over the years), but as I recall, the author was a student/trainee in one of Henry Ford's classes that taught vocational automotive subjects. This was long after the Model A ceased production. He happened to look out of the classroom window and noticed his car was missing from its parking place. The student rushed outside and found a security guard to report his stolen car. That's when the guard reassured him that his car had not been stolen, merely borrowed by Henry Ford, the "Old Man" as the guard called him. Henry saw the Model A in the parking lot and wanted to check how the Model A ran. This was during the Great Depression, so the student's main concern was that he had very little gas in the tank and no money to replace what gasoline Henry used up. He watched helplessly as Henry hotlapped the test track up and down for a couple passes, measuring the top speed attained each way. The rest of the story has been told in previous postings in this thread. The happy ending is that Henry gave the student a voucher for a full tank of company gas. End of story.
As an adult, the student wrote this article for one of the national Model A club magazines, which I am pretty sure was MARC's "Model A News". Rather than continuing to cast aspersions on those who have heard the story or recall the article, let's wait until I or someone else can locate the issue to verify what has been posted here. If some people here then wish to still dismiss the story as urban legend rather than accept the written memory of this student, 'can't do much about that. The sun will still come up tomorrow no matter whether the story is believed or not.
Marshall

[Marshall V. Daut]

Facing the daunting task of wading through several hundred back issues of the "Restorer" and "Model A News" going back to the late 1950's just to find a one-page article was not something I was looking forward to doing. Luckily, I found the article among the first 50 magazines I went through. It appeared in the November-December, 1992 "Restorer" issue, much more recently than I had remembered, AND in the "Restorer", not "Model A" News". Besides predictably misremembering a few minor details, the scanned story is as I and others here have recalled it. It's written in the first person, although the story was submitted by the man's son, first appearing in "American Heritage" magazine, a well-respected historical publication. Read it for yourself and decide if you want to believe it. But ask yourself: why would the author lie about such a thing? To what end? Whether you choose to believe this incident actually happened or not, it's a fun read!
Marshall

[Marshall V. Daut]

Maybe this higher resolution scan will be more legible?
Marshall

[jm29henry]

Thank you so much,Marshall I really appreciate you taking the time and finding the real story. A guy in my car club told it to me and I was so fascinated by it .I will enjoy sharing it with my friends .Thanks again Marshall ,
Joe.

[Purdy Swoft]

I read the story and believe it . I have posted about the story here before . The best that I remember , the model A was a 1930 tudor . The 1930 tudor wasn't the fastest model A . The car was clocked at 72 MPH with the wind and 68 MPH against the wind. No modifications were mentioned but it ran pretty good anyway !!!

[woofa.express]

Originally Posted by Synchro909

No one does but any time we listen to a politician, we arr lied to. I don't care who it is, if they are a polly, they're lying.

yeh, there are some limits in being truthful.
I got pinched by a customs officer for not declaring a movie camera when they were rare and expensive.
I told the customs man that I had no conscience in lying to the government. After all they lied to me each day. It took a few moments for it to register and I knew it had when he smiled.
I always tell the truth. The exception being in the third sentence of the above. cheers, gary

[Marshall V. Daut]

How can you tell when a politician is lying?
- His lips are moving.
Marshall

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by Railcarmover

Mr Ford had a '28 coupe..with cowl vents (crotch coolers),a good idea..

My '53 Studebaker had vents like that. They were in the rear, of the front fenders.
Bill Cool

[Jeff/Illinois]

Neat story I enjoyed this. This is an interesting topic.

There are a lot of cool stories surrounding Henry Ford and the T-A-V/8 era. Another one of interest was the 1930 Coupe that some of the Dillinger gang made their escape in, from Little Bohemia. Red Hamilton was shot in the back through the rear of the Coupe and later died. They abandoned the car in Mendota, Illinois. The blood stains on the seat and the bullet holes were still all there until somebody restored the car a few years ago.

I thought that personally, the car would have had more interest if those battle damages had been left alone. After it was restored it became just another nice Model A Coupe.

I also would like to know what happened to this Model A that Henry absconded that day! That would be interesting to know and to see the car!

[Benson]

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Some guy had a 34 V8 that he claimed was THE Bonny and Clyde death car.

It had many bullet holes some were 30 caliber and some were 5.56 MM holes.

I do not think that in 1934 the FBI was using very many AR-15 .223 weapons!

The most glaring error was that the drivers side door handle was worn clear though the Nickel plating and the brass underneath was showing through!

On a car less than a year old??

Somehow I do not think so!

[Jeff/Illinois]

That's funny Benson and yes there must be a number of 'official' B&C Death Cars out there.

As far as the .223/5.56 mm NATO rounds, it doesn't surprise me! I've even noticed the History Channel making a number of mistakes in their shows especially on WWII stories. Gotten to the point I don't them watch that much anymore, if they find it necessary to broadcast lies like they are doing. American Heroes Channel is more accurate I've found.

[jm29henry]

I wonder if the story of Henry having another son John Dalenger is true . So much to support it. ?