Hagerty team conquers Hershey ‘100-hour challenge’

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. _ A team of classic car experts from Hagerty built a drivable 1930 Ford Model A in less than 100 hours using only what they sourced from the recent Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Eastern Fall Meet in Hershey, Pa. Beginning with only a rolling chassis, the team of four Hagerty employees completed their self-imposed “Swap to Street” challenge.

In an effort to illustrate the accessibility of the collector car hobby, the total cost of the project was less than $10,000. After completing the build, the team took on an additional challenge: the 700-mile drive back to Hagerty’s Traverse City, Mich., headquarters. Overcoming a persistent oil leak, dead starter and some minor repairs along the way, the team traveled two days at an average of 30 mph covering nearly 300 miles of the trip. Reluctantly, the team loaded the car in a trailer to be hauled the remainder of the way to save time.

“I consider the ‘Swap to Street’ build a total success, even though we did have to trailer it the rest of the way home,” said Davin Reckow, Hagerty parts supply specialist and project welder. “The decision wasn’t because of mechanical issues we couldn’t overcome — it was merely to save time. We all have day jobs and families that we needed to get back to and at the rate we were going, we would have been on the road for a couple more days.”

It was Hagerty’s second annual “Swap to Street” challenge, after successfully rebuilding a 1946 Ford pickup last year. While last year’s pickup came with a dilapidated cab and a few other parts, this year’s vehicle started with nothing but the rolling chassis. Every other part used to build the Model A was sourced from the AACA Hershey Meet.