Its been brought up in a few threads but who's going?
I am not lucky enough to have an old enough toy, is it a spectator event?
Also is there a swap meet asociated with this?
Thanks
Paul
I don't know of any swap meet. It's a spectator event to the extent that at least half the homes we pass in rural Minnesota will have people in their yards waving flags as if it were the fourth of July. Also, there are several mandatory stops where people come out to gawk at the crazy people in their primitive cars.
John Linderman from Connecticut is bringing his 20-horse Stanley to my home in NJ on Sunday. We'll put his Stanley and my itty-bitty single-cylinder Cadillac in my 24-foot trailer, and haul them to Minnesota and back with his Ford 2500-series diesel pickup truck. My trailer's big enough, and his truck is strong enough (I tow with a VW Touareg, but his big Stanley and my Cadillac together are too heavy for my VW to pull). We'll share driving, motels and fuel.
I drove the NL-NB 3 years ago, and it was a great tour and astonishingly well organized. They even have volunteer drivers to schlep your tow vehicle and trailer to New Brighton, so you don't arrive after a 120-mile day with your trailer 120 miles behind you. I recommend it to anyone with a suitable car.
The pre tours are open to 1915 and earlier cars, and consist of hub tours around New London. There are often brass Ts and other cars that make the pre tours (Lance, are you bringing that big 15 Pierce again?).
On Saturday, as Gil mentions, it's off at dawn with great send off by New London folks, American Legion and both New London and New Brighton Mayors. We travel 120 miles to New Brighton, stopping in several towns where there is almost a carnival like atmosphere. Along the way there are groups and individuals cheering us on the entire route.
This will be my 7th consecutive year, and is one of the highlights of my summer. The organizing is incredibly well planned and I've met a number of wonderful people on the tours.
Cars have included Maxwells, Knox, Moon, De Dion, Packard, Buick, Franklin, Sears, Brush, and many many more. I believe all the Ford models except the Model B will make it too.
The run has many planned stops where you watch the cars roll in and then take a look at them when they are parked. See the three page map below.
For many years, I used to go to Buffalo which is the lunch stop and look at the cars there.
http://www.antiquecarrun.org/
Route:
http://www.antiquecarrun.org/uploads/2014_Car_Run_Route.pdf
Paul - there is a swap meet on Sunday. I haven't been to it in years - it was always small.
Here is a full schedule of events related to the car run:
http://www.antiquecarrun.org/uploads/Schedule_of_Events.pdf
I'm hoping this is the last year that I have to limit my enjoyment to the pre-tours. I've been running my '14 Touring in them for about five years now. It's really fun to run around with all of the unique older cars. The fact that they keep the Ts out of the big run on Saturday, make this a premier event that draws special cars from all over the country. If they allowed Ts, it would be just another Model T tour.
I'll be there with my late father's '12 Touring from Wednesday through Friday. On Saturday, I'll probably run down to Buffalo and meet the old cars there with the T Totalers Model T Club.
T totalers have allways lined the street in kingston, the second stop. i liked that, small town, good back roads to get there and good food from the lions club. why this year go to buffalo high school sea of asphalt with no shade and bad food? i'll be at kingston !
I plan on being at all the stops, well that my plan and I am sticking to it.
1907 Franklin
I really like the Kingston stop. Each stop is well planned and serve different purposes. At Buffalo, many drivers and passengers grab a bite, and our trailers are there so we are able to adjust, lube and otherwise work on our cars at the mid way point. We are introduced to the crowd as we drive in over a loudspeaker system, and as at each stop, the crowds stop by the cars to look them over. .
Kingston, an earlier stop, is a great experience. You wind around around a road, and all of a sudden volunteers guide you to three abreast parking on a street of the town of Kingston. There is music going, Model Ts line one side of the street, and when you come to a stop your besieged by locals who greet you, look over the cars and generally interact with you. It's an incredible experience.
I'm ready to go.....
Dean,
What model is your Franklin? I'm always impressed with the Franklins on the tour. They are attractive good running cars and always a pleasure to see and hear. A couple of times I've noticed a gray Franklin touring car on the tour but not had a good chance to look it over, and it wasn't there last year.
Rob
Several early Fords at New London last year. Left to right, Models A, S Roadster, N, two K, 1909 T, N and S Runabout:
Yes Kingston is a great stop with the country feel of a small town I also would drive the Model T there before I had a car that qualified for the NLNB.
Rob I have the Green little touring Model G.
Kingston lost it's appeal for me the year that they told us to "Go park on the side streets with the rest of the modern cars" as we pulled up with the first three of two dozen Model Ts. After we'd been welcomed for five or six years prior to that, it left a really raw taste in my mouth. I vowed that my T would never visit that town again for any reason. I'm still undecided about what I'll do when have a 2 cylinder car and I get to go on the Run.
There will be a small group from the Great Northern Model T Club at Kingston. But, I plan to take my wife and kids to meet up with the T Totalers at Buffalo.
T Totalers were on the main street last year, i was one of em
I read that Pre-1916 cars are allowed in the pre tour. What cars are allowed in the tour?
Barry,
On Saturday, the main tour, cars built prior to January 1, 1909, and one and two cylinder gas, electric and steam vehicles built prior to January 1, 1916.
Any 1915 and earlier cars are eligible for the pre tours. As I understand the rules, a 1908 built Model T would be eligible. Unfortunately, no one has attempted to enter one that I am aware of.
Have a good week,
Rob
anything up to 08, then up to 12 it must be a 1,2,3,5,6 or what ever cylinders. notice no 4? thats because there are too many model t's, and they are too good of a car. very unfair i believe, but that how they keep it interesting i guess
From the website: all vehicles up through 1908 and any 1 or 2 cylinder vehicles through 1915 are invited to participate. This includes bikes, motorcycles, steam and electric cars as well.
(The above wording is a little confusing; they have allowed electric and steam cars through 1915.)
Refer to this PDF:
http://www.antiquecarrun.org/uploads/Schedule_of_Events.pdf
Thanks to all: I have a 1909 T, however it was built in May 1909, so it is out. But my 06 N qualifies. It is a long way from here to there, but it sure sounds like it would be a fun tour. I will have to plan to make the drive to there, perhaps in two or three years.
I'm not going to be there this year, went last year with Rob and Dean and the N & K. It was interesting, got to meet a lot of people and see a lot of rare cars. In my opinion -- and that's only based on one year's riding along, not driving -- they need to change the route so it doesn't go right through downtown Twin Cities. There were very few spectators, the traffic is bad, the pull from the stop at the bridge is tough on cars and IMHO nobody cares if they are there. When the tour started maybe there were shoppers in downtown Minneapolis but the sidewalks were pretty deserted last year. But it's their deal not mine. My only other complaint is that there was not fresh sweet corn every stop. I only got about 4 ears of corn all day until we got to New Brighton. Got 4 more there. =) Have fun everybody that's going.
The Minnesota Run is a 120 mile American version designed to showcase the beauty and endurance of very early automobiles.
If you want to tour in your Model T there is a Model T tour every weekend if you look around.
Dittos Dean. I think there's a Model T tour just about every Saturday in Minnesota over the summer. We're blessed to have four active MTFCA and MTFCI chapters with over 300 combined members.
The NLNB Run is a premier event that draws unique cars from all over the country, specifically because it's not just another Model T tour. For now, I'm just glad they let me play with the big boys on Wednesday through Friday. I'm glad to wait on the sidelines for the Saturday tour until I have a car that fits.
Got a advance copy of the roster for this year and there are cars from 19 states and one from England, total of 58 for the Saturday 120 mile tour and 7 for the pre tours.
Stan yes the traffic can get a little dicy when it gets in town but we have that darn river going from north of here all the way down to the Gulf that needs to get crossed.
Don't get me wrong I love my Model T but if they had T's in this tour it would look like the trains hauling all that oil from out west.
NLNB is a premier event no doubt. i am lucky its close to home. it is very well organized, and i'm sure a lot of work to put it together. they generally have from 50 to 75 cars (guessing) from all over the country and some times from other countries, and my guess is they have about all they can handle. rumor has it, i wasnt there but one year they opened it up to the horseless carriage rules, up to 15? , and had too many cars, driving to fast, which i'm sure takes away some of the fun for the older cars.
Stan mentioned a hard pull up the bridge to cross the river. Sounds like the Camden Bridge. If it was, it's a lot easier pull than 40 years ago. ;-)
It is the Camden Bridge which crosses the Mississippi and connects 42nd Avenue North to 37th Avenue Northeast.
This is the west, steep side of the Camden Bridge:
Heading east, crossing the Camden bridge in an antique car is a b*tch if you are forced to stop at the intersection of 42nd Ave North and Lyndale Avenue North due to a red light. If you are lucky and get a green light, hopefully you can roll right through the intersection at speed and you will have a good running start for the bridge.
However, there is a little trick to guarantee a green light if your antique car is not a good hillclimber: one block west of Lyndale Avenue is Aldrich Avenue. 42nd Avenue runs downhill from Aldrich to Lyndale. Just after Aldrich, pull over to the curb and watch and time the stop light at Lyndale.
After observing the timing of the light for a few cycles, you can get up to a one block, running downhill start and pass through the intersection with a green light.
This is looking west along 42nd Avenue at Lyndale Avenue. Aldrich Ave is at the top of the hill.
Looking east along 42nd Avenue at Lyndale Avenue. This is the long, steep Camden Bridge.
Erik, in Minneapolis
Other than getting lost in Minneapolis last year, I've not had a problem with the city portion of the drive. More stop and go than I'd like, but otherwise a nice drive. And, we get a lot of surprised looks from city drivers and pedestrians.
From last year's run:
An "unofficial" stop outside Buffalo MN
When one hangs out with Fords, they sometimes find it rubs off. Wade Smith with his Columbia:
At the Finish with our Model N:
Paul, bring the girls and make sure to say hi. Steve