Gilmore Car Museum offering up the ‘Ford Model T Driving Experience’ again in 2022

The Gilmore Car Museum has a fleet of seven authentic Model T Fords that are utilized in their “Old School” driving classes. Shown are a 1915 Runabout, 1917 Touring car and 1919 Depot Hack. Gilmore Car Museum

Hickory Corners, Mich. - An opportunity for car enthusiasts to spend a day as a “time traveler” is available at the Gilmore Car Museum, through its popular Model T Driving Experience program, presented by Grundy Insurance.

Gilmore’s driving experience teaches students all about driving and operating an authentic Model T that Ford built between 1908 and 1927, right out of the museum’s fleet of vintage vehicles. Each class lasts a few hours and will soon have you driving along some three miles of paved roads on the Gilmore Museum’s historic campus with an experienced instructor.

“Think of it as going back to driver’s training - old school, that is!” states Gilmore Car Museum Curator Jay Follis.

Drivers will encounter an entirely different driving experience as compared to modern vehicles, as Model Ts are not equipped with a gas pedal, stick shift, fuel gauge or speedometer. Instead, students will find themselves operating three foot pedals, a hand-operated clutch release and emergency brake, column-mounted throttle control, and spark advance lever.

If experiencing this type of “time travel” in antique cars sounds appealing, you’re in luck. The Gilmore Car Museum — located in the picturesque Michigan countryside just north of Kalamazoo— has offered summer Model T driving courses to the public for more than a decade. Classes sell out quickly, so several additional dates have been added, bringing the total to 30 available sessions for the 2022 season. The complete schedule can be found at www.GilmoreCarMuseum.org

Henry Ford introduced the Model T as a sturdy, low-priced car for the masses. It became affectionately known as the “Tin Lizzie,” and was soon chugging off the assembly line and into history. With over 15 million vehicles produced, it became the world’s best-selling automobile until the Volkswagen Beetle surpassed it in 1972.

While the vehicles themselves may appear very simplistic by today’s standards, they do hold a challenge for drivers of modern cars.

One of the Model T Ford Driving School instructors at the Gilmore Car Museum demonstrates how to crank start this 1917 Touring car as students look on. While the electric start was first offered by Cadillac in 1912, the Ford Motor Company didn’t offer it until 1919. Gilmore Car Museum

Are you or someone you know up for the challenge? If so, you’re in good company. Most antique car enthusiasts have never driven a Model T, and most students are perplexed by the three pedals and hand controls until they begin to drive one.

The Gilmore Car Museum’s Model T Driving Experience makes for a fun and interesting experience, and is a rare opportunity to interact with these authentic vehicles. The “old school” driver’s training takes about three hours, and each session is taught by long-time Model T owners and enthusiasts. Each class includes practice driving in several different genuine Model T Fords around the Museum’s campus. Museum historians provide engaging backstories of Henry Ford and the early Ford Motor Company, as well as up-close inspections of various Model Ts during the course’s special guided tours.

The cost of the Model T driver’s training is only $125.00 per student, and is open to any licensed driver or those with a valid learner’s permit. After successfully completing a road test in a genuine Ford Model T, each student will be presented with a Certificate of Completion and souvenir booklet. Class size is very limited and sell out quickly, so make sure to visit www.GilmoreCarMuseum.org to reserve your spot today.

About Gilmore Car Museum

The world-renowned Gilmore Car Museum – North America’s largest auto museum with more than 400 vehicles on display -- is located midway between Chicago and Detroit, just 20 minutes north of Kalamazoo, or 45 minutes south of Grand Rapids. The museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, whose mission is to tell the history of America through the automobile. Learn more at GilmoreCarMuseum.org

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