Vintage Adventurer aims to set new world record in U.S. ocean to ocean challenge

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Vintage Adventurer aims to set new world record in U.S. ocean to ocean challenge

Just over one year ago I featured the story of Australian "vintage adventurer" Ron Wade and his intention to drive his 1930 Ford Model A from Beijing to Paris in the Peking-Paris Rally, then across the continental U.S.A. and finally from London to Cape Town - and trying to break world records into the bargain!

Now Mr Wade and his car have made the news again and I'm delighted to see that they are on the verge of embarking on the second stage of their around-the-world adventure - the "Ocean 2 Ocean America Challenge" - having successfully completed the gruelling Peking-Paris Motor Challenge in a remarkable 33 days earlier this year!  I never doubted that they would do it and the old Model A has proven to be a sturdy motor car I knew it would be.  (Incidentally if you ever get the chance to read the account of the original 1907 Peking-Paris race by Luigi Barzini Jr. - son of the journalist who travelled with the winning car - I can highly recommend it.)

The next challenge for Ron Wade and his Model A begins, fittingly enough, on Columbus Day (the 14th of October) when they begin the Ocean 2 Ocean challenge - to drive across the U.S.A. from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific (and, in a nice touch, Mr Wade will carry a bottle of water taken from the Atlantic Ocean and empty it into the Pacific upon his arrival!).  Here they hope to break their first record - to undertake the journey in less than 60 hours!  Will they do it?  Well, you can follow their progress on the Vintage Adventurer website; I for one am sure they'll manage it.

I'm equally certain they'll beat the London-Cape Town record too, although that attempt has yet to be confirmed.  No doubt we will hear of Ron Wade and his Model A again when it is; in the meantime, good luck to him in the Ocean 2 Ocean and "good on yer, cobber!" for being such a gentlemanly good sport all in the name of charity and "vintage" adventure.

Vintage adventurer hopes to break record

Ford Model A, similar to Mr Ward's 1930 example.  Australian Model As were built
in Geelong, Victoria

Vintage adventurer hopes to break record

Last year I did a post about a chap in Michigan who ran a Model A Ford as his main car every day for a whole year (and who still drives it frequently today).  Now a "vintage adventurer" (what a great term!) from Australia's Gold Coast is planning to beat the current record - set in 1936 - for the fastest journey time from London to Cape Town by a Model A in his own car, according to this article that popped into my inbox this morning.

Mr Wade sounds like the archetypal adventuresome Aussie (and seems to be proof that an active lifestyle can be good for the health) and all-round good egg, much like his compatriot I reported on at the beginning of the year, who similarly drove his Model T Ford across Australia and then from Durban, South Africa, to Moscow. 

Not only is Mr Wade aiming for the London-Cape Town record but he intends to take part in the Peking-Paris race beforehand and then ship the Model A to America and drive it from New York to Chicago to Los Angeles - in short here is another vintage car and driver who will have travelled around the world by the end of next year!

Whether successful or not vintage man and machine will have followed in the wheeltracks of many an historical endurance racer in famous long-distance journeys such as the Peking-Paris race, the London-Cape Town route and the myriad others who continue to this day to prove what the motor car was and is capable of.  It will be a testament to the car's longevity and strength that it should be able to undertake this trip, although Mr Ward has taken care to refurbish all the mechanical components which is fair enough.  It should be remembered, though, that cars of this vintage were engineered for rough use simply because the road networks that were in existence at the time were limited at best.  A round-the-world trip should therefore be quite possible even in a 1930 Model A.  I fully expect to read about Mr Wade's adventures and arrivals in Paris, Cape Town, Los Angeles and finally his home town of Wongawalla in 2013 and I'm sure the documentary he will be making en route will be a fascinating record of the endeavour.  The best of luck to him and his car.