Ford Model A foundation makes funding push to get museum launched

More than 4 million copies of the Ford Model A were produced from 1927 through 1931. As the Model T's acclaimed successor, it evolved into nine different body styles.

More than 80 years later, there are more than 100,000 Model As said to still be out there, but owners and early collectors are thinning out. The Model A Ford Foundation sees this as a critical time to construct a permanent facility dedicated to preserving the Model A era.

There is an effort to build a museum at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Mich., but the foundation is short of funds needed to complete the project.

So far, the organization has raised $700,000 of the $900,000 needed to build the museum. It's confident that a groundbreaking on the Gilmore campus is feasible for spring 2012--if enthusiasts are willing to help. The Gilmore campus hosts various collections along with its own, such as the Classic Car Club of America Museum.

Owners and Model A lovers can support the effort to bring the Model A Ford Museum to the Gilmore campus. In addition to making a cash donation, engraved bricks for the museum walkway are available for donors to commemorate the Model A, with space for a 60-character message on each brick. For an order form or to send a cash donation, visit the foundation's Web site at www.maffi.org.

By Michelle Koueiter