Not everyone in a Model A household is the one under the hood. Some of us ride along, hold the flashlight, or simply wonder why there are carburetor parts on the kitchen table. The Dispatch is looking for a club member or spouse to write an occasional column we're calling The View from the Other Seat. The idea is simple: your perspective on tours, events, and life with a Model A enthusiast, written from the passenger side.

We're also interested in a period fashion column. The Model A era had distinctive style, and MAFCA has contests for era-appropriate clothing at national events. If you know your way around a 1930 wardrobe and want to share that knowledge, we'd love to hear from you.

Neither column requires a fixed schedule. Write when you have something to say. Email Colin at [email protected] if you're interested in either one.

By Brantley Blanchard Jr.

Saturday morning at 8 am, the convoy of 11 As set out for the coast. Given that it was properly spring and the weeks prior had been sunny and pushing 80 degrees, it was only natural that we got 40-45 with wind gusts up to 40 knots. Mike and Helen made the bold choice of doing the trip in an open roadster and had to stop along the way to beg, steal, and borrow gloves from Chuck and Carol.

Arriving in Washington, NC, with empty stomachs and full bladders, we had hoped to stop in at King Chicken, a fried chicken establishment dating to the 1950s. They had no bathrooms and were short on kitchen staff. Kirk and Robin suggested what we were all sure was a fantastic BBQ place. Closed. They suggested another. Short-staffed, heated dining room shut. Bojangles it was.

After lunch we stopped at Lake Mattamuskeet, where at least three (purportedly four) tundra swans remained from the fall migration, along with northern shovelers, coots, Canada geese, redheads, and the official state duck of NC, the wood duck.

Continuing toward Nags Head, we hit about 50 miles of nothing. Not a club to let a good opportunity go to waste, one of us promptly ran out of gas. The others abandoned them until about 10 miles later at the gas station. An empty Mountain Dew bottle and a detached fuel line got them going again. At Nags Head we were joined by our Virginia additions, bringing the total from 11 to 17.

Sunday began with my morning devotional of asking God not to allow any more cars to show up, followed by a driving meeting in a pool room with so much echo that no one knew what I said. Chuck said some things too, also with a lot of echo.

Our first stop was Currituck Beach Lighthouse, which had opened just a week or two prior. Several of us counted all 220 steps on the way up, and the view was worth it. On the way to Bodie, Kirk and Robin's starter began to "act funny." By the time we arrived at Bodie it was no longer acting at all, and Kirk and Mike learned that yes, you can start a Model A by jumping the starter with a pair of channel locks.

At Bodie, Chuck pointed to a sign reading "overflow parking in grass." With plausible deniability acquired, we hopped the curb and lined up all 17 cars for photos in front of the lighthouse, but not before yelling at a poor young photographer to get out of the way, and then asking the same man to take our photo.

At Hatteras, the lighthouse was covered head to toe in scaffolding for renovations. While walking back from the museum, I was informed several of the VA club had gone on ahead because the last ferry to Ocracoke left at 5 pm and it was currently 4:30. It was later determined that the last ferry did not leave until 11 pm.

Tad and Mary Beth stopped once off the ferry and took their A onto the sand for a fantastic photo. The rest of us got a taste of this too, as 3-4 inches of sand covered part of Highway 12 into town. I had to go touch Ocracoke lighthouse just to say I did it, and then most of us went to Howard's Pub for dinner.

Monday morning brought one of the best sounds there is: Model As starting up at 6:30 am. We loaded onto the 2-hour ferry to Cedar Island in perfect weather with calm water. At Harkers Island and the Cape Lookout Visitor Center, we could see the lighthouse in the distance but time did not allow a ferry out to the island itself.

Lunch at Seaside Galley reportedly featured some of the best clam chowder ever eaten. After lunch we stopped at Cox Family Ice Cream, where we were met with a locked door. Not one to let a locked door stand between him and a bowl of ice cream, Chuck knocked. The locked door was a mistake, and several of us got pumpkin pie ice cream that, in my humble opinion, was one of the best things I ate on the trip.

Tired after nearly 700 miles, we headed for home, people splitting off as we got close to their neck of the woods. The award for longest day goes to Wayne Michael, who continued to his home near Charlotte until 10:15 that night, nearly 16 hours in a coupe.

I want to thank each and every one of you who came. It was a truly awesome trip. Next time we'll pad an extra day or two in and take it a bit easier.

Check out all the photos and videos from this tour on our website.

The Model A Ford Foundation is raffling off a 1930 Briggs Fordor that has been on display at the MAFFI Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan. The car was donated by Ron Jennings and received a complete frame-off restoration by the Evergreen Chapter of MAFCA. Members replaced the wood structure, rebuilt the engine and drivetrain, and finished the car with new paint, top, glass, and upholstery. All labor and parts were donated. The restored car was presented to MAFFI at the 2014 MAFCA National Convention in Puyallup, Washington.

Proceeds from the sweepstakes support MAFFI and the Model A Museum, the only museum in the United States dedicated entirely to the Ford Model A.

Entries close October 15, 2026 at 11:59 PM EDT. The drawing will be held online on October 23, 2026 at 8:00 PM EDT. The winner may choose the car or a $15,000 cash option. No donation is required to enter, but donations starting at $25 earn entries. Visit the sweepstakes page for details and to enter.

A ‘28 roadster is listed on Facebook Marketplace at $18,500. Green exterior with tan interior. The seller describes it as in very good shape, with an older restoration. Clean title, no significant damage reported. Listed by Gene Turner in Rocky Mount, NC.

A ‘29 Fordor is listed on Facebook Marketplace at $12,800. Red exterior with grey interior. The seller notes it has been in storage under both the previous owner and himself. Listed by Andrew Noce in Southern Pines, NC.

A ‘30 coupe is listed on Facebook Marketplace at $18,700. Brown exterior and interior. The listing describes it as being in great condition and includes a video. Listed by Emily Nock in Greenville, NC.

Paul Ruocchio's introduction to Model A Fords came through a family friend. Bob Steigerwald, a friend of Paul's father, owned several of them and drove them regularly. Paul can still picture two: a '31 Deluxe Roadster and a '30 Depot Hack. While the other kids at Cardinal Gibbons High School were pulling into the parking lot in Mustangs and Camaros, Steigerwald's boys would occasionally show up in one of the A's. Paul thought they were the best cars in the lot.

The seed lay dormant until 1999, when Paul's grandfather passed away and left him a small inheritance. He wanted to do something with it he could always appreciate and remember. He caught Steigerwald coming out of church one Sunday and asked whether it was crazy to want to buy a Model A. Nearly an hour later, the hook was set.

Paul found a 1929 Roadster on eBay, of all places, but didn't buy it there. By the time he decided to call, the seller's secretary had already pulled the listing. The seller told Paul he wouldn't sell to someone he hadn't met. That worked fine. Paul, his brother, and his oldest son drove to West Virginia to see it, and it was love at first sight. On the drive home with the car on a trailer, Paul called Steigerwald, who was waiting at the house when they arrived. An hour later, in the dark, they had it running.

That first Roadster led to a second car, a '28 Phaeton, and eventually a third, a closed-cab pickup built from parts on a bare frame that Bill DeVore convinced Paul to take off his hands. Building that truck with his sons was a highlight. On all three cars, Paul has done bottom-end shimming, valves, water pumps, distributors, and transmissions.

Paul joined the Tar Wheel A's not long after buying the Roadster. Despite disappearing for a stretch, he has served seven years as club secretary, four as newsletter editor, and has been the webmaster and IT administrator for 23 years running. The club's behind-the-scenes infrastructure, from the website to the automated record-keeping, is largely his work.

By training Paul is an electrical engineer, though he spent his career in software, including 32 years at IBM. His hobbies include woodworking, home improvement (he built two additions on his house and a pool with his sons), photography, and smart-home technology. His single biggest passion, he says, is 1/8-scale live steam model railroading. He has built two locomotives from scratch. Now retired, he travels with his wife Penny, whom he describes as very tolerant.

Would you like to be profiled in a future issue of The Dispatch? Fill out our short questionnaire and we'll be in touch.