Rob Balfour will join more than 40 other Model A Ford owners at this weekend’s anniversary event.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Rob Balfour is the driver of one of more than 40 Model A Fords that will assemble in Shepparton this weekend to celebrate 50 years of the Victorian club.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
His is a 97-year-old Tourer, made in 1928; a near-original vehicle the Mooroopna man has owned for 58 years.
Model A Fords were produced between 1927 and 1931.
Mr Balfour said cars of the era had simple mechanics.
“There are no computers, so they’re easy to fix, unlike a modern car,” he said.
He said most owner-drivers were handy with fixing their vehicles if needed while touring them around the country.
Rob Balfour’s Tourer is in near original condition.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
He trusted his own car and mechanical ability so much he drove it all the way to South Australia in 1986 and to Queensland in 1990.
On Saturday, May 24, he will join other enthusiasts in the Model A Ford Club of Victoria as they take a shorter road trip, from Shepparton to Echuca, starting out from the Overlander Hotel on Benalla Rd.
Given the convoy of vintage vehicles will be travelling at about 40mp/h (just under 65km/h), organisers have mapped out a route that will take in Kyabram, to avoid slowing regular traffic on the Murray Valley Hwy.
Mr Balfour has been a Model A Ford Club member for 47 of its years.
The club meets in the Melbourne suburb of Kew every second month and for various events, such as the upcoming anniversary.
Model A Fords have been around since 1928.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
This time, it will be held in Shepparton.
After leaving the Overlander at 9am, the cars will arrive at the Port of Echuca by 11.30am, where they will be on display until 2.30pm, after which, they will make their way back to Shepparton.
The Goulburn Valley Motor Vehicle Drivers Club, which Mr Balfour has been a member of for 54 years, will cater a meal at a gala presentation for the Model A Ford drivers in its Grahamvale clubrooms on Saturday night.
The cars will return to Shepparton on Saturday night after touring to Echuca from the city in the morning.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
The cars will again assemble at the Grahamvale Rd rooms on Sunday morning for breakfast before touring Shepparton and visiting Tatura Museum in the afternoon.
To see the horde of historic automobiles head off, be at the Overlander Hotel on Saturday, May 24, at 9am.
10°C