John O Groats to Lands End in a ninety-one year-old Ford

Wayne Cooper and I are raising money for orphaned and abandoned children in Zimbabwe. We are driving a 91 year old Ford across the UK from London to John O'Groats, then to Lands End in Cornwall and back to London. It is about 2,000 miles and will take us two weeks.

The Charity

Matthew Rusike Children's Home provides a protective and loving home for 145 children and for many years has worked closely with NCH (now Action for Children). Three quarters of these children are under 15 years. All the children live in small family groups of 10 – 12 under the care of house mothers and a small number of young babies are cared for in a family group by one ‘mother’. Many have been abandoned, abused or have lost parents due to AIDS. The Friends of Matthew Rusike is a UK based charity raising funds to support the home and the children, and provides about 30% of the homes income. We are also raising funds to buy solar panels for the home.

The Car:

We are driving a 1931 Ford Model A Cabriolet. It is an English car, built in Dagenham, but it has spent most of its life in Guernsey. It has been well maintained and partly restored by previous owners, so we have high hopes it will survive the trip. It is showing 12,000 miles on the clock, but we don't know how many times the clock has gone round! According to DVLA, I am the second owner, which I also know is not correct.
Ford customers made it clear in the mid-1920s that the venerable Tin Lizzie – the Ford Model T - had run its course and that it was time for Ford to develop the “next big thing” for the automobile market. While competitors were building cars that were better suited to the quickly modernizing roads and consumer tastes, Henry Ford believed that the Model T was still the best option for those living in rural areas, as well as those who desired accessible prices. It became clear to everyone that updates and lower prices for the T would no longer suffice, so in late 1926 Henry Ford directed his engineers to start work on a new Ford – the Model A.

The new Ford was a completely different car that did not carry over any parts from the Model T. It was lower and sleeker than the Model T and had beautiful bodylines that were the direct influence of Edsel Ford’s styling ideas. While it still used a four cylinder 3.3 litre engine, similar to the Model T, the Model A was more powerful and smooth and was capable of 55 to 65 mph. It came with Triplex shatterproof safety windshield and hydraulic shocks, both a first for Ford and unheard of in the low-priced field. It was also the first Ford to carry the famous blue oval logo and the first car assembled at the new Rouge manufacturing complex. As for the name, Henry Ford said that the car was so new and different that they would “wipe the slate clean and start all over again with Model A.”

Introduced to the public in December 1927, the 1928 Model A was an immediate sensation. Some 10 million people viewed the new vehicle in the first week. The crowds gathered in such numbers that many cities needed to send police to help direct traffic around those who lined up to see the new Ford. While enthusiasm and demand were high, production lagged. The newly installed assembly line for the Model A at the Rouge was not up to full capacity until the middle of 1929, when they were able to produce 9,000 units a day.

The Model A showed that customers’ tastes were developing as fast as the newly installed paved roads and manufacturers needed to change as quickly. It also showed that Henry was indeed “able to make a lady out of the Lizzie!” Eventually Ford sold over five million Model A's and there are believed to be over 500,000 still on roads around the world today.

The route:

Leaving London we head up the A10 for Peterborough and then over the Humber Bridge to Beverley. Then to Barnard Castle, Perth, and Wick. From John O'Groats we travel with other members of the Model A Ford Club (mafcgb.org.uk) to Fort William, Peebles, York, Warwick, Wells, Plymouth, Penzance and Lands End. From there it is back to London via overnight stops in St Austell and Winchester.