Dear Model T’ers Everywhere, August 9, 2003

"It is reported that when a large car, which had lain upside down in a damp place for a week, was righted, several small Fords ran out from beneath it!" (Funabout Fords, by J.J. White, The Howell Co., 1915).

16 of our folks and 5 of our Model T’s participated in the Model T Ford club International 47th Annual Tour from July 21st until July the 25th in Dearborn, Michigan. What a great time we all had, the new friends we made and the old ones we saw again. Each day’s tour was unique, all were interesting, and for me the most exciting thing was driving up in front of Henry Ford’s home "Fairlane" and picking up my family at his front door! If you haven’t been to Dearborn to visit the Henry Ford Museum or Dearborn village – it is a must for any Ford lover. Our hats are off to the fantastic job done by everyone and every club that was involved in this fantastic event! Pictures will be available in the next few days on our web site at www.mtfccf.com

Richard Fortner presented us with this month’s Vintage Ford Gleanings to the 31 folks present: If your car has a distributor, here is a simple way to check if it is firing without running the battery down: (1) Remove the cap and rotor button; (2) Remove the high-tension coil wire from the cap and lay the end of it on the head or the manifold using the rubber boot as a spacer to hold off the end about 3/16’s of an inch; (3) Turn engine with crank until points are closed; (4) turn on ignition switch; (5) Using a small "insulated" object or fingernail, open the points. The coil will fire everytime you open the points if all is in order; (6) Turn off the switch and reassemble. Thanks Richard, but whatever I use will be INSULATED – I’ve seen grown men jump and cry!

Angie Schneider passed out directions to their house for our next tour scheduled for September 27th. The tour will travel north from 1699 Tall Oaks Road,Deland, Fl 32720, lunch around the Palm Coast area and return to Deland. Approximately 100 miles round trip from Wally and Angie’s. There is plenty of room to park tow vehicles at their home: On I-4, head east and exit at #116 on Lake Helen; turn right at Stop sign on Orange Camp Road; turn right at traffic light on Martin Luther King Dr which will change name of the road to Kepler, go thru several traffic signals and turn right onto SR 15A – Spring Garden Avenue at the T; at the next traffic signal (Glenwood Rd) go straight for approx 1 mile – McDonald sign on the right and turn left on Tall Oaks Road to the dead end – Angie & Wally’s. Angie also passed around a sign up sheet, but if you missed it call them at 386-738-5562 or email at angnwal@mpinet.net

Joe Kaiser also reported on our annual Christmas Party and will be scheduling it for a Sunday afternoon in December. Joe is also our Webmaster and has done a super job on our new website – but is requesting that you email, mail, or loan him some pictures for the web site. He said it is especially helpful if you have them on computer disk.

Gail Leffler also reported on either a 2 or 3 day tour for January 3-5, 2004. Staying overnight at the Montery Inn in St. Augustine, FL At the next meeting we will be deciding whether to make it a 2 or 3 day tour – if you can’t make the meeting send in your signed proxy. St. Augustine is one of our oldest cities in Florida and the Montery Inn is direct across from the old Spanish fort Castillo de San Marcos. More to follow at the next meeting.

All of our tours are open to other Model T Ford International Clubs that would like to participate. We have been especially blessed by the Fun T Club that has a planned a Labor Day tour August 30 – Sep 1. Please contact Steve or Barbara – there may still be some openings at 352-796-8889. Just a friendly reminder for your safety and everyone else’s check out the MTFCI Vehicle Guidelines on page 12 of the March-April 2003 Model T Times.

MAKE a grea"T" day!

Mike Story, President, 407-678-5477, email: mjstory@quixnet.net

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