These car buffs only drive model A's One-of-a-kind club
These car buffs only drive model A's One-of-a-kind club
| Above, members of the Superior A's Model A Club start their trip Saturday morning from Ishpeming to Munising, where they planned to meet up with club members driving from Newberry and Paradise. The group toured waterfalls and had lunch in Alger County. Inset below, Bob Saxwold of Ishpeming puts down the hood of his Model A Ford after adjusting the water pump before the trip to Munising. (Journal photos by Don Lhamon) |
By SCOTT SWANSON Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE — Steve Pellinen and a few of his buddies enjoyed a quick day-trip to Munising Saturday.
However, the Ishpeming resident didn’t pack up the minivan or the SUV — a restored 1931 Model A coup was his preferred mode of transportation.
Pellinen left Ishpeming Saturday morning with five fellow members of the Superior A’s — a recently-formed chapter of the National Model A Club of America.
Meanwhile, seven other members of the Superior A’s left from the Newberry area, where they planned to meet the Ishpeming contingent in Munising for an afternoon of waterfall touring and lunch at the Brownstone Inn.
“You go out in the street and there’s a lot of old metal that are good head turners — Chevelles, Mustangs, whatever,” Pellinen said. “But when a Model A drives by, you always get a thumbs up and a big smile. That’s the difference.”
The Superior A’s was officially chartered by the national club earlier this year, Pellinen said, but its members are no amateurs when it comes to shooting the breeze about their hobby.
“We’ve been at this for a couple years now,” Pellinen said. “It started just as a get together with the old Model A buffs, a pot of coffee and the sweet rolls my wife put on the table. We met once a month and thought we ought to become a chapter.”
Pellinen, who purchased his Model A in 1998, said he’s rebuilt the engine, transmission, radiator and front and rear axles, among other improvements. While he’s had several Model A’s over the years, he plans to hold onto this one.
“I’ve been interested in Model A’s since I was young,” he said. “My grandfather had one, my dad had one ... it’s kind of in my blood, I guess.”
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