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‘Old Iron’: West Branch A’s Ford Model A Club shares love of classic car

By Karen Vibert-Kennedy 6 min read

When carmaker Henry Ford built the Model A, he built them to last, according to Wayne Sager of the West Branch A's Ford Model A Club.

Nearly 100 years later the club is doing their part to keep Henry Ford's four-cylinder vision alive.

During a recent Fourth Friday event in Muncy, three club members could be found answering questions and allowing people to sit in three of these antique cars for photo opportunities.

"They're just a fun car," shared Sager of Muncy, who brought two Model A's to the event.

"Its a piece of history," said Bob Whitmoyer, the secretary of the club who noted that the car that was only produced for four years.

"I'm into history, Civil War and everything else, but where we came from, what did our grandparents do? This is just very simple, very basic transportation." said Whitmoyer.

"I enjoy talking to people that owned them and people that would like to own one. We didn't all have plastic cars with automatic transmissions and power windows. No radio, how would you live?" said Whitmoyer with a laugh.

When Henry Ford built them, he not only wanted a car that would last, it was important that it be affordable, according to Sager. The cars sold for around $400 to $500 in 1927, according to Ford.

"He made sure that he put the very best steel into it, so every part of that car is engineered to be the best fit and so that's why we think there's still probably 400,000 of them on the road. He expected them to last for a long time," shared Sager.

The Model A will celebrate 100 years in 2027, according to Whitmoyer.

"It was introduced on Dec. 2 and 3 1927, the day it was put on public display for sale. In New York City alone, they had 50,000 sales orders. They ran buses from Long Island into the city, into the dealerships for people just to look at the new Ford. Henry Ford was a master at advertising," said Whitmoyer.

According to the club members the cars are relatively easy to repair and pretty much all the parts from the tail lights to the wheels to the running boards and interior are available for sale.

"Henry Ford had apparently said that he built a car such that a man of average intelligence could repair it and every time I would repair it, I felt I was at least average intelligence," said Whitmoyer with a smile.

Some repairs can be challenging on the antiques.

"Model A's you have a love-hate relationship with them. Sometimes you can't find out what's going on with them, but most of the time they're just a joy to work on, I just love them," said Sager.

Preserving the cars for the next generation to drive is important to the club as well, as some may inherit Model A's owned by their families.

At the club's recent meeting, they had a new member who brought his grandson along.

"Fifteen years old and he wants a Model A," said Whitmoyer. "He is going to get his grandfather's Model A and he wants to be a part of this."

Whitmoyer got his love of this automobile from his father, who also owned a Model A.

"It's a classic antique car, my dad had one, I had two of them," said Whitmoyer.

"He was a car collector, my whole family is. I have four brothers and we're all car collectors, so it's kind of in the blood. My dad had a thing about old iron. He called the cars old iron and the magnetism of old iron and how it draws people together. You see it tonight with people stopping," said Whitmoyer of the Muncy crowd.

By sharing their love and knowledge of these cars the group hopes to keep them on the road well past their 100th anniversary.

"We're hoping they make it 125, we just like them so well," said Sager.

"I hate going into a car museum and just see those cars sitting around there and they just never get out. I like to try and take care of them as best as possible. But these are not cars that are just made to sit in a museum. Henry Ford wanted them to be driven, and they have been driven," added Sager.

People who see them drive by seem to share the club members' love for Ford's Model A's.

"You always get a smile, you usually get a thumbs up. I've been in a number of parades and going down the street you hit the Ooga horn and people just smile and the kids say, 'yeah yeah,' It's a very positive reaction, unless you are in the car behind us," Whitmoyer laughed.

Noting the car's cruising speed is about 40-45 miles per hour.

Anyone interested in the Model A does not have to own one to join their club.

"They are welcome to come even if they're just interested in Model A's. We have a good time, We get together. If there is somebody who's got a problem with his car, there's expertise in the club to help out," said Whitmoyer.

The West Branch A's, Ford Model A Club and its Model A ambassadors as they call themselves, meet regularly with their automobiles, for drives, car shows, ice cream runs, parades, festivals and visits to Penn College to share their cars with automotive students.

The club is nine-years-old and welcomes new members. For more information email westbranchas@gmail.com.

"I'm always amazed at how 'Old Iron' as my Dad called old cars, can bring people together and put smiles on their faces. I don't know if it's the happy smiley-like face of the front end of a Model A, or the graceful swoops fender lines that capture people's eyes, or memories of riding in one as a child or a teenager, but Model As do capture our hearts, " said Whitmoyer.

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