Model Ts spend week in Kanab

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Model T enthusiasts roll through Zion National Park on Friday as part of a week-long rally in Kanab that ended on Friday.

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Kanab » They are old, slow and an irritant to other drivers, but the Model T Ford that put Americans on the road a century ago, is still puttering down the country's highways -- especially in southern Utah.

Anyone rolling into Kanab this week would have seen about 200 of the vintage cars and their owners from around the world showing off their classic vehicles while sightseeing and swapping stories.

Russ Furstnow, tour director with the Canyon Country Model T Club based in Flagstaff, Ariz., said 404 people from as far away as Maine, Canada and England showed up for the confab. It included tours of the area's national parks, a parade through Kanab and the swapping of experiences of the day's travels at nightly dinners.

"We've had a wonderful time and have been treated well in Kanab," said Furstnow, whose club is under the umbrella of the 7,000-member Model T Club of America.

Furstnow, said the meeting -- the third in Kanab since 1995 -- provides a social medium for people who have embraced the mystique of what was nicknamed the "tin Lizzy."

"It brings people together to talk about something they have in common and if they need something [parts], where to find them," he said.

The Kanab location is perfect for a "hub" tour, he said. Unlike a circle tour, a so-called hub tour allows people to return to a base location after a day of driving to specified locations, such as Bryce Canyon,

Furstnow said the median age of club members is the mid-60s, with the oldest member, 95-year-old Herbert Cook, this year receiving the, "Every-day-I-get-out-of-bed-is-a-good day-or-I-can't-remember-what-I-had-for-breakfast award."

"We have a lot of fun," said Furstnow, adding the group also plans several other awards, including one for best radiator cap.

Kay Giles, director of the Kane County Office of Tourism, said the group is expected to bring a healthy infusion of cash to the economy through food, oil, gas and lodging.

She estimated that at least 200 motel rooms were rented to the group during a week-long stay.

"We sponsored an ice-cream social in their honor for the public at the park," said Giles.

While most of those at the Kanab rally towed their antique Model Ts on trailers, one man drove 2,000 miles from Tennessee, picking out a route along alternate roads to avoid the interstate system.

Furstnow said his club encourages members to replace the old lights on the cars, originally designed to burn kerosene, with electric ones and install some type of brake lights, something the early models never had.

Many states will license the cars under special antique-car provisions.

Ron Mazzucchi, traveled with his relic from Santa Rosa, Calif., and looks at his 1922 Model T coupe as a hobby.

He said parts for the old cars are easily found on the Internet, in catalogs and from friends.

Parts are still being made, many in China, he said, with the skinny tires for the vehicles now being made in Vietnam.

Mazzucchi said that it is even possible to build a Model T from scratch.

"You can get everything you need down to the littlest detail," said Mazzucchi, whose wife, Bobbie, also helps keep their 87-year-old car in showroom-quality condition.

"I polish all the brass," she said proudly, pointing to the original gleaming headlights on many models.

For Dean Murphy of Coldwater, Mich., the cars are an object of love.

"My wife and I are celebrating our 60th wedding anniversary," said Murphy who has been tooling around in his 1926, three-speed roadster for 35 years.

He said before Kanab, the couple attended similar, smaller rallies in Colorado and Wyoming.

"We drove 500 miles on it before coming here where we put on another 600 miles," said Murphy. "All you do is drive, eat and sleep."

Furstnow said once infected with the car's legendary status, collecting becomes a passion.

He owns several Model Ts. He bought his latest one in Illinois -- he describes it as "barn fresh" -- on his way to a birthday party in Indiana.

"I was sitting in a Dairy Queen in [a Model T] and this guy said he knew a guy who had one in a barn," said Furstnow. "So I found it... and bought it. It was a neat car and neat find."

mhavnes@sltrib.com