The Ford Y & C Model Register

2012 Old Ford Rally.
Sunday July 22nd. 2012. The largest old Ford rally in the UK and not to be missed. Over 500 of the best Fords from the early 1900’s up to 1985 will be on display. Apart from saloon cars there will be commercials, tractors and military vehicles to view. A wide range of goods will be on sale in the outdoor trade area.
The show is supported by over 25 Ford Clubs as well as individual exhibitors. This year is the 50th. anniversary of the famous Cortina and the Mk3 Zephyr and Zodiac range and we hope to attract the largest number seen together since they were produced.
The museum and other normal Gaydon attractions offer something for all the family. We look forward to seeing you there!
Individual Exhibitors and Club members click here for application form: www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk (Events page)
Trade Application form click here: Bob Wilkinson
Official Ford Club Stand Application click here: Application form
General show enquiries to:Bob Wilkinson (Please use “Old Ford Rally” in subject box to avoid being junked.)
NB: Individual Display Entry Fee is only £5.00 per car including up to 4 adults ...giving entry to museum!

2011 Old Ford Rally.
The Ford UK Centenary was celebrated in fine style at the Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon on Sunday 24th. July when the annual Old Ford Rally became the biggest old Ford gathering of the year. Over 450 Fords, to 1985, were on display. Virtually everything Ford UK had produced was on show with the Ford Motor Company taking centre stage with several vehicles from their Heritage Collection at Dagenham. 25 classic Ford Clubs were involved in presenting vehicles.
The oldest vehicle, other than Ford’s 1896 Quadricycle (replica), was a 1903 Model A (Henry’s original Model A) with a Model T which was weeks short of being 100 years old. Model T’s galore rubbed shoulders with Model A’s of the 1920’s , V8’s , Model Y’s and other sidevalve Prefects and Populars of the austerity period were followed by the exotic Zephyr and Zodiac now incredibly 60 years of age. The Ford Classic and Capri celebrating the 50 years of sleek design turned out in force ...one for each birthday... their biggest gathering ever!
Apart from the beautifully restored and several “original” cars on display, the crowds on a wonderful sunny day, were able to inspect a wide range of commercials, tractors and even jeeps. Traders did well too on the day judging by the amounts of interesting spares being taken away by keen buyers at the end of the day.
Banbury Rotary charity was able to benefit from the “Ride in an Old Ford for Charity” feature whereby the public could choose to ride in a range of cars, from a 1904 Model S , Model T’s and A’s to the relatively new Capri of the 1980’s and even a Thames Trader truck.
The Commercial Vehicle Award was won by a 1956 ET6 owned by Doug Allen from Herefordshire with the Car of the Show trophy , chosen by exhibitors, being a 105E Anglia owned by Richard Bingham from Northern Ireland.
The Ford Y & C Model Register Show organiser, Bob Wilkinson said, “We were delighted by being able to put on a wonderful range of Fords covering the century thanks to the magnificent support from clubs and individual entrants. Gaydon show facilities are second to none and readily accessible in central England. An important feature of the show was the good balance between old and newer Fords exhibited. We had enthusiasts attending from all over the UK and even Denmark and Holland too with everyone going home looking forward to next year’s Old Ford Rally”.

Some Photos from the 2011 event

Car of the show - Richard Bingham with 105E Anglia.

 Old Ford Rally.
The second Old Ford Rally held at the Motor Heritage Centre, Gaydon, was enjoyed by entrants and public alike and declared a success. A visitor to the show emailed me with the comment that “it was great to be part of a proper classic Ford show”. What he added was that so many shows rarely feature cars from the pre-1940 era and our show was an exception.
We had over 350 old Fords on display with almost 100 being  pre-1940 with everything from Model T’s, Model A’s , our Y&C’s  and early V8’s . It is rare to find a pre – 1910 cars at shows ......we had 3 on display. Not just on display but being driven around the parade arena ! Member Barry Nutley, a professional commentator, did a splendid job on the mike interviewing entrants who were often very modest about their restorations etc. as they took part in arena parades
Following on we had the  Pilots, upright Anglias & Populars and the ground breaking  5 Graces – the Prefect, Anglia, Consuls, Zephyrs and mouth watering Zodiacs we remember from to 1950’s. The Lotus Cortina stand had a splendid display of beautifully restored cars showing Ford’s sporting side with the Capri range being the newest eligible cars.
On the commercial side we had tractors of all ages, 400E’s which were very refined for the era and the everlasting Transit. The handful of heavy commercials had been restored to a magnificent standard.
The “Ride in an Old Ford for Charity” feature was popular with the public doing just that in a range of vehicles from Model  T’s to Capri’s  with even a 7 ton Thames lorry and ....a Ford Pilot hearse taking visitors on a return journey! Banbury branch of Rotary marshalled this feature with enthusiasm and benefited from donations. The important aspect being to note how many young visitors rode in older Fords...hopefully they will  become the next generation of classic car owners.
The trade stands were busy too and site visitors were able to escape the heat of the day browsing the excellent collection of cars in the Heritage Museum.
The overall Car of the Show was a beautifully restored 1936 Model 68 V8 Woody owned by Colin Peck. Brian Godfrey won the Y&C club car of the show with his newly restored 1933 Model Y and proudly accepted the Bert Thomas Trophy
Thanks to all our members who displayed cars and a big thank you to members and wives who gave generously of their time to marshal the show.
If you missed it this year ....make sure that does not happen next year!

Some Photos from the 2010 event

Rally Report

MOTOR HERITAGE CENTRE, GAYDON . ( Sunday 26th. July 2009.)

A superb range of Ford vehicles numbering around 350 were exhibited at the first Old Ford Rally at the Motor Heritage Centre at Gaydon in Warwickshire. The show was aimed at pre- 1983 Fords and on show there were examples of virtually every UK produced Ford model.

Apart from exhibitor cars, visitors were able to take advantage of the arena parades, outstanding museum facilities, Ford related gallery displays, film shows and an autojumble. BEN charity marshals were kept busy with “Ride in an Old Ford” feature. Through the day over 20 Fords from Model T’s, A’s through to Zephyrs and Capris were available for public rides. Apart from raising money for this motor industry charity this activity gave the opportunity for the next generation of classic car owners to get a taste of old style motoring.

There were 4 pre-1910 cars in the line-up; a 1904 Model A, 1904 Model C and 2 1908 Model S Runabouts which set the scene for the world renowned Model T. Cars dominated but commercials and tractors were on display. About half the vehicles at the show were pre-1955 to give a good balance of older and newer Fords.

Picking the best on view was extremely difficult but a 1957 Ford E83W pickup, belonging to Patrick Russell of Witney, took the “Car of the Show Award”. This had been rescued from a scapyard some years ago and beautifully restored by the owner.

Bob Wilkinson, Secretary of show sponsors Ford Y & C Model Register, said ”This first Old Ford Rally has been a great success for all concerned and will become a regular feature on the classic car calendar. Those who missed this will doubtless wish to be here in future years".

Some Photos from the 2009 event

This 1957 Ford E83W pickup, belonging to Patrick Russell of Witney, took the “Car of the Show Award”

More photo's are available at toolsforcars.co.uk