More than 100 years old and purring right along
Model T Ford owners recently based in Ocala for a Florida Coast to Coast Tour.
Steve Ellis drives his 1920 Ford Model T during the Model T Ford Club of America Coast to Coast Tour at his home on Southwest 34th Place in Ocala, Fla. on Saturday, March 14, 2026. The Coast to Coast Tour used the Ellis home in Ocala as home base and 32 Model T’s and their owners traveled to Crystal River and Inglis, the World Equestrian Center, Williston, Dunnellon and finally went to St. Augustine, where they spent most of Saturday before heading back. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2026.
Steve and Jill Ellis of Ocala recently organized and hosted a Florida Coast to Coast Tour for owners and lovers of Model T Fords, which included trips in century old cars around scenic Marion County and to several other sites.
“Model T Ford cars are durable, 100-year-old cars. No A/C or power steering,” Steve Ellis commented.
More than 20 Model T owners from around the U.S., many members of the Model T Ford Club of America, and even a couple from Ireland, made the Florida Coast to Coast Tour, according to Ellis, past president of the club. He said the model years of cars in the tour this year ranged from 1909 to 1927. He and his wife made the tour in a 1920 “T.”
Ellis said out of area owners typically trailered their Model T cars to Ocala to make the Florida Coast to Coast Tour.
The tour, held the week of March 9, included a trip to Crystal River, a drive around Marion County horse farm areas and the World Equestrian Center, and an excursion to St. Augustine for sightseeing, shopping and dining.
“We put our toes in the water at Crystal River and St. Augustine,” Ellis joked.
The pace of the tour reflected a bygone era.
“It took about three and a half hours to get to St. Augustine from Ocala; we averaged around 35 mph,” Ellis said.
He reported that on the trip to St. Augustine one car had a flat tire and one blew a head gasket, but those mishaps were repaired en route.
An article at fordcorporate.com states that Henry Ford introduced the Model T in 1908 and the car sold for $260 to $850, with “mass production” savings passed on to the customer.
“The Model T became famous for the stunts it could perform, including climbing the stairs of the Tennessee State Capitol and reaching the top of Pikes Peak. After the test of his own product, the vehicle was shipped to its first customer on Oct. 1, 1908,” the article states.
The Model T — nicknamed the “Tin Lizzie” — was “the first to have its engine block and the crankcase cast as a single unit, the first to have a removable cylinder head for easy access and the first to make such extensive use of the lightweight but strong alloy known as vanadium steel,” according to the article.
More than 15,000,000 Model T cars were built until production ceased in May of 1927, the article indicated.
Tour member John Riesenbach, driving a 1914 Model T, remarked on the scarcity of paved roads in 1914.
The Lincoln Highway Association website states that in 1912 there were almost no good roads to speak of in the United States. The relatively few miles of improved road were only around towns and cities.
“Most of the 2½ million miles of roads were just dirt: bumpy and dusty in dry weather, impassable in wet weather. Worse yet, the roads didn’t really lead anywhere. They spread out aimlessly from the center of the settlement. To get from one settlement to another, it was much easier to take the train. The Lincoln Highway was the first transcontinental road for automobiles in the United States, dedicated in 1913,” running from New York to San Francisco, according to the site.
The Model T caravan returned to the Ellis property in southwest Ocala on March 14.
“Only car problems were a flat tire, a battery failure and one person running out of gas. Pretty remarkable for 100 plus year old cars driven faster and longer than Henry Ford ever imagined,” Ellis said via text message.
“We cruised at 35 to 45 mph and covered 120 miles on our return from St. Augustine in around three and a half hours on secondary roads,” Ellis stated.
“It was a close group of friends that have been touring together for 20 plus years. It’s really all about the people,” he wrote.
According to the Model T Ford Club of America website, the club was organized in late 1965 to bring together people interested in the Model T Ford, its history, evolution and place in the American scene. There are more than 100 chapters in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South America.
“The Model T Ford Club of America strives to preserve and promote the Model T Ford for future generations by educating people of all ages in the history, lore and skills of maintenance of the car that put America on wheels,” the site notes.
To learn about, go to mtfca.com
Support community journalism
The first goal of the Ocala Gazette is to deliver trustworthy local journalism so corruption, misinformation and abuse are not hidden from the public or unchallenged.
