retriever Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 In 1909, Rober Guggenheim, who had made a fortune in mining, decided to offer a prize to the car that could drive the fastest from New York to Seattle. He thought it would be great for the still-new automobile industry, as well as for promoting Seattle's Alaskan-Yukon-Pacific Exhibition. The automakers were torn between lust for the good press of winning such an ordeal and the potential embarrassment of failing along the way. Thirty-five companies did enter, but only six showed up on the starting line that June 1st, 1909. Besides two essentially-stock Fords, there were an Acme, a Shawmut, a Stearns, and an Itala. All the other cars were three to four times more expensive than the Fords and were also much heavier and had higher horsepower engines. Henry Ford's theory about lightness and strength would prove to be correct. The Stearns broke down at the strating line; the Ital was disqualified for traversing the Cheyenne-Seattle segment on a railroad flatcar. This Ford, crewed by Jimmy Smith and bert Scott, finished first on June 23, followed 17 hours later by the Shawmut. The other Ford Model T arrived two days later, having made a couple of wrong turns along the way. The remaing car, the Acme trailed in on June 29th. Five months later, the victory reverted to the Shawmut when it was discovered that Smith and Scott had installed a new engine along the way. But by then, Henry Ford had already taken the win to the bank: After much publicity, the demand for Ford Model T cars was larger than the Ford plants could turn them out. Here's the actual car: And here's my 1/32 scale version built from a Pyro Model T kit chassis and a scratch built body..... Built back in 2011 Hope you like it. Tony 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Caballo Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 (edited) You may find these interesting, these were taken in Walla Walla, WA in 1959. Edited December 5, 2017 by El Caballo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retriever Posted December 5, 2017 Author Share Posted December 5, 2017 I hadn't seen these photos before. Thanks Ed. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Marischal Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 A fine bit of modelling and some fascinating images. Thanks! steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Macleod Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Another excellent model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DumpyDan Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 45 minutes ago, Eric Macleod said: Another excellent model. Well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovefordgalaxie Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Very nice work, specially in 1/32 scale. Looks like the 1:1 even has the same tires from 1959. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisR Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1930fordpickup Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Nice work on your T. Let's see beat them by 17 hours and changed an engine on the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbowser Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 I love your subject matter, great model! Nice to see more early classics showing up here. I know others have posed and answered the question before, but when did tires go from white to black? The ICM kits I've been building all have white rubber c. 1912-13. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 Very cool. A nice model and a fun subject. I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom99 Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 Very well done!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobchayer Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 23 hours ago, bbowser said: I love your subject matter, great model! Nice to see more early classics showing up here. I know others have posed and answered the question before, but when did tires go from white to black? The ICM kits I've been building all have white rubber c. 1912-13. As I recall, black tires came about the same time as WW1. Tony may know the exact date. I believe "white walls" were taken after the white tires as they would get black where they met the road. Eventually someone marketed white walls and it took off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilX Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 (edited) I'm building a 1/24 version of this car. How do we know the numbers on the hood were red ? The original 1909 photos were of course black and white. And the replicas are not necessarilly credible. Edited December 28, 2022 by PhilX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobchayer Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 On 12/6/2017 at 9:05 PM, bbowser said: I love your subject matter, great model! Nice to see more early classics showing up here. I know others have posed and answered the question before, but when did tires go from white to black? The ICM kits I've been building all have white rubber c. 1912-13. I believe rubber went from off white or gray to black in 1914 when a blackening agent was added to the rubber. That is the date I have been using for my models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 Great build on your T! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.