HCCA Tours/eligibility

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: HCCA Tours/eligibility
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mike_black on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - 02:21 pm:

Another thread was migrating in this direction, so, I thought I'd start this one. I reluctantly joined the HCCA a couple of years ago at the urging of a friend. Anyone can join, but, their events are limited to vehicles manufactured on or before Dec 31,1916. My concern was that I could join, but, wouldn't really be welcomed with "just a Model T." I thought the guys with the big fancy high dollar cars would look down their noses at a Model T. NOT SO. Great bunch of people. Seems like many of the owners of the high dollar cars also own T's, or started with T's. A guy that has early Cadillacs told me during lunch at Hershey that he always keeps a T so that he can still go on the tours when his Cadillacs won't run! I went on the 2nd Hershey Hangover Tour with them and was treated as nicely as if I had a Rolls. I've been around some T guys that are so worried about their cars that they unload them from the trailer at their show spot and winch them back in when it's over--don't want to run them because the heat might discolor the spark plugs or show an oil spot. It was refreshing to be with a bunch of folks that drive their cars and use them as intended--and this was Pierce Arrows, Cadillacs, EMF, Stanleys, 11 T touring, 12 T Torpedo and more. I enjoyed driving over 200 miles in 2 days a lot more than I enjoyed polishing brass and getting ready for the Hershey show!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gene Carrothers Huntington Beach on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - 03:16 pm:

Mike. I went on the Third Times a Charm to MT Hood. Was A great with lots of wonderful cars and people. It's interesting out driving with some of the very big cars and many times how much trouble they had compared to the simple trouble free "lowly" T.

Coming up soon is the Holiday Motor Excursion in Pasadena that is not to be missed.

I was trying to find info about the All Irish Tour coming up in August/September but couldn't find out anything other than printed in the Gazette?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Saylor on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - 03:51 pm:

Mike,
Thanks for the kind words about the HCCA. I've been touring with the HCCA since I was a year old, and have been a member since age 13. They're an incredibly fun group who love touring and spreading the old car hobby. Model T's (pre-1915, of course) are not only welcome on tours, but they usually make up a rather large contingent of any tour. I've only been in the MTFCA since I was 16 (when I got my T), but from my experiences thus far the two clubs have much more in common than we have differences.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Val Soupios on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - 03:52 pm:

I used to do a lot of touring with the HCCA. Years ago it was almost all bigger cars. I have a couple of big cars but usually took my T because we had a car full of young kids and they spent most of their time jumping all over the car. In addition, by the end of the day pushing a 5,000 pound 40 hp car around lleft me exhausted.
In those days they did look down their noses at lowly Model T's but slowly that began to change and more and more guys started showing up with T's and leaving their big cars at home. They began to realize how dependable and comfortable driving a T can be and, as you said Gene, they are relatively trouble free on tour. Now the only time I use my bigger cars on tour are on progressive tours where the speeds are going to be over 45mph and they are planning on covering more than 150 miles a day. Either way, touring is great fun and while the HCCA may have a bit of a snobbish reputation there are tons of great people on their tours and they don't care if you are driving a Silver Ghost, Model T or even a Metz!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gilbert V. I. Fitzhugh on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - 04:01 pm:

Mike, was that your T that ran out of gas just before lunch on Monday?

As a life member and current (soon to be ex-) national director of HCCA, I was delighted with this thread. Yes, you have to have a pre-'16 to go on our national tours, but we don't turn up our noses at Ts - not even ones with some non-period add-ons, like starters and Ruckstells. I've been on lots of national tours with my '13 runabout. And yes, we have a lot of members with Packards, Pierce-Arrows, big Buicks (I have a small Buick) who also have, and enjoy, Model Ts. So please bring your T on one of our tours - you'll be most welcome!

Gene, the go-to guy on the Irish tour is Herb Singe, Jr. at olcarherb@juno.com. Basically, you'll ship your car to Ireland in early June, pick it up in Dublin, tour for about 3 weeks all over the country, and return your car to Dublin for shipment home. While any pre-'16 is welcome, we expect it will be a Model T tour because they're cheaper to ship and easier to fix.

Gil Fitzhugh, Morristown, NJ


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Keith Townsend ; ^ ) Gresham, Orygun on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - 04:13 pm:

I am a member of HCCA, MTFCA, and MTFCI and have gone on national tours with each.

On HCCA tours there are some big beautiful cars, but the majority of cars are Model T. On the Third Time's a Charm tour, we had 86 cars and 21 of them were T.

I have lots of Horseless Carriage Club friends and tour with the local group. There is lots of friendly ribbing about the Ford owners, but "snobbish" is certainly not a word I'd use to describe them.

The 1915 and earlier requirement is only for National tours. Any car up to 1932 is acceptable for our local Group and regional tours. Of course if anyone is interested in a very nice 1915 touring, I know of one locally that is for sale...

: ^ )

Keith


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Les Schubert on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - 04:43 pm:

Heads up on upcoming HCCA tour. Last week in July hubbed out of Lake Louise Banff National Park


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - 08:54 pm:

Guilty! Mea culpa! I do sometimes caution people about the HCCA. I DO NOT mean it as anything against the HCCA. They are and have been for a very long time one of my favorite clubs of any sort. I belonged to them long before I had a qualifying pre'16 and love to tour with them regardless of the number of Ts on any given tour. I have never had a problem getting along with or being accepted by anyone in the HCCA. I have toured with Ts, and non-Ts. All I have tourable now, is a T.
My concern, is that some people buy or fix a car believing they will be welcomed as a messiah into all HCCA when the car they have or get clearly will not be accepted by HCCA national meet rules. I recall reading an article some years back about a fellow that put together a real pile of junk '20s T speedster (I saw the pictures). He used the 1915 engine he had believing it would make it a pre-'16 car even though there was not one other piece of the car that was pre-'20.
Regional Group rules vary from group to group. I belong to a regional group that maintains strict pre-'16 acceptance rules. I DO NOT want them to change. There are other regional groups in the area that accept later cars. Some accept up to around 1930. One accepts anything up to 1942 officially, and later in fact. I like all model T years. And I like most makes of cars from the beginning up till around 1930. However, I agree with the HCCA statements that the earlier cars are special, and driving them requires special people. That those people need a special club, and the HCCA is that club. I fear the incrementalism that could lose the early cars to touring with '20s, and then '30s cars. There are many other options for most of those cars.
We could debate the right or wrongs of what the HCCA did more than fifty years ago. They decided upon "pre-'15" as defined by manufactured or built before January 1st, 1916. That is basically what it was when I first joined the HCCA in 1967, and with a minor tweak in the definition, that is what it has been since. I can say it was a good decision. I can also very much argue that the decision was flawed. But I think changing it would be even more flawed.

The HCCA, like all antique automobile clubs, needs to encourage younger and new people to join, appreciate, and preserve these pieces of our heritage.
I have a passion for antique automobiles, because I have a passion for history.

The 30 years between the mid to late 1890s and the mid to late 1920s were the greatest single-generational leap in all of human history, both technologically and sociologically. So far, in no other hundred years, did a major portion of humanity change how they lived their daily lives so much.
The automobile, more than any other one thing, was both a cause, and an effect, of that change. As such, it, more than anything else, is the ultimate icon of that era, and that change.

The HCCA, the MTFCA, and the MTFCI, are all keepers of these very special cars and that era. I would like to see more interest in the "nickel era' cars as well. The HCCA and the VMCCA do both have nickel era groups.

I want people to get into the HCCA as well as all the model T clubs. I just do not want someone getting hurt because they buy a car that does not qualify, and I do not want the club hurt because we don't want prospective members getting hurt. A narrow fence to walk.
I just try to point it out at times when someone asks about a car with a wrong engine for example. That touring recently talked about, had a wrong engine. Other than that, it looked like a good car. One well worth putting the right engine in.

Enough out of me already!
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2 (ultimate snob!)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ken Findlay on Wednesday, November 27, 2013 - 02:50 am:

The Vancouver Region of the HCCA is having their 32nd Annual June tour on the Father's Day weekend 2014 in Bow Washington. This is our first tour that we've held outside of Canada. Our regional tours and events are open to cars built prior to 1928. We felt that this allows younger people who can't afford the higher brass car prices to still attend out events. Many cars after 1915 are more reasonable to purchase. This has worked well for us. In fact we've had at least 4 people decide to get a brass T after attending our tours in newer cars. Instead of watering down our group it has made it stronger. Like the other guys have mentioned model T's are always welcomed. I usually take my 11 T to one HCCA tour and I'll take my large Oakland 40 Touring to the next event. All the cars are fun but the T's are sure the easiest to drive!
Ken


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gilbert V. I. Fitzhugh on Wednesday, November 27, 2013 - 07:49 am:

Some HCCA regional groups welcome cars through 1928, or 1932, or even later, on some or all of their local tours. Others don't. It's best to ask first, so you're not disappointed.

Examples:

The Autoneers, a very active regional group that operates throughout New England, is pre-'16 only, even for local day tours.

The North Jersey group has one pre-'16 week-long joint tour with the Southern Ontario group. (This, by the way, is a wonderful, family-oriented tour. Always lots of kids. Every third or fourth year it's in Canada, as it was this year, and it was a super event.) It has one day tour called the Run Around the Mountain, which is pre-'16. It usually has a one-day mystery run in the fall, which usually includes interwar cars.

The Olde Tyme Car Club in eastern PA puts on the Brass in Berks County tour and swap meet in May. Sunday swap meet, followed by 4 days of touring. Strictly pre-'16, and a huge tour - typically about 80 cars. But it has a spring and a fall day tour that takes cars into the '30s.

The Susquehanna Valley group, further west in PA, co-sponsors (with AACA Snappers) the 1-1/2-day post-Hershey Hangover for pre-16 cars. That's the tour Mike Black mentioned at the start of this thread. But this group's day tours allow cars into the '30s.

In 2012, just before the HCCA's national convention and tour in Colorado Springs, I went to the annual HCCA Midwest tour. That year it was held in Moorhead, MN, across the river from Fargo, ND. It's NOT a national tour, and it draws people from Minnesota, both Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. From all that territory it got about 24 cars: a third pre-'16, another third interwar, and the rest post-WWII and not all stock. At one point, my '13 T was going full-bore into the teeth of a hot wind that was so strong I could only manage 29 mph; that air-conditioned Camaro up ahead was looking mighty tempting! The point being, that in relatively sparsely-settled parts of the country where brass-era cars are thin on the ground, local rules are looser, and by-laws tend to be winked at. Be sure to ask first. Your brass T will always be welcome, but your black radiator T might not be in every group.

By the way, HCCA tours aren't in a snake. Some pre-'16 cars cruise comfortably at 20 mph, and some at 45 or more. Every car gets a full set of detailed instructions and goes at its own pace. The Pierce-Arrows don't have to dawdle behind the Curved-Dash Oldsmobiles, and the tax-paying public doesn't get dangerously frustrated behind an unpassable line of slow cars. Much safer.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By george house on Wednesday, November 27, 2013 - 10:03 am:

I've been a HCCA member for years and just received the latest H.C. Gazette yesterday. I also own two non-Ford early runabouts along with my '14 T runabout and have been interested in organizing a central Texas HCCA Group for quite some time. I'm aware of the El Paso and North Texas Groups and the latter sponsors a really good tour in October. If anyone else is interested, please send me a PM at gwhouse2@peoplepc.com


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gilbert V. I. Fitzhugh on Wednesday, November 27, 2013 - 01:24 pm:

George, how 'bout putting that invitation up on the HCCA website, too?

Gil Fitzhugh


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Larry Smith on Wednesday, November 27, 2013 - 03:53 pm:

I've belonged to the HCCA off and on since 1957, and can clearly remember when the Gazette was a black and white publication. I've met some fantastic people in that club. I'm currently on the editorial committee for the Gazette, and we meet every other month to proof read the Gazette before publication. I really like touring with the Northern California groups, because they have more back roads to travel on than we do here in Southern California. The other thing I like, is every day after a fun day of touring, they always manage to have a nice happy hour!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Saylor on Wednesday, November 27, 2013 - 05:29 pm:

Larry,

Looks like you didn't proofread hard enough! The wheels on my '15 T Roadster on the back cover are all blurry and out of focus in the September-October edition.
I'm just joking, of course. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the blurring was on purpose so that nobody would notice all the mud caked on! It was pretty neat getting to see my T on the back cover, even if I wasn't the guy in it. My brush with greatness, I suppose.

On an unrelated note, do you know if there is any way I could get my hands on a photo that's been published in the Gazette as a digital file? I love the picture of myself and my little brother whipping around the dirt track at the VT State Fairground on page 55.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tony Bowker on Wednesday, November 27, 2013 - 10:33 pm:

John Myers assembles the Gazette from an electronic data base, so he will have digital copies of every picture. Send him an email or better still call him, data is in the front cover of the Gazette.


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