MTFCA Forum

Just got the new Vintage Ford. Does anyone know just how many times Ed Archer’s speedster has made the cover?

Andy

Hey there Andy C!
I don't know how many times good ol' Number 4 made the front cover, but I know one time it did not. Must have been the early to mid 1970s when the club had a national tour down in Southern California. I "think" it was one of the tours on Catalina Island, one of the several I did not go on. Somewhere there (I think it may have been near the Airport in the Sky?), editors and staff of the Vintage Ford held a mock race with the several speedsters in attendance, in order to take several pictures. Ed and Karen were there with ol' Number 4, as was someone else that thought ol' Number 4 was one of the best speedsters he had ever seen! (A lot of us thought that, and some of us still do!) However, this fellow had built a near clone of Ed and Karen's car! It looked nice, similar shape to the cowl, shade of yellow was close, and he put the number 5 on it.
Fast forward a few weeks, the tour is over, participants gone home, and the Vintage Ford staff has processed photos. As publishers often do, they are looking at color negatives on a small scanner, trying to chose the one for the VF cover! They spot a great shot of the speedsters rounding a curve, kicking up a lot of dust, and tell themselves that not only is it a great shot of the speedsters, there is Ed Archer proudly rounding the curve!
But it wasn't. It was the near clone number 5, which they didn't notice until the first proofs of the cover came back from the printer. Looking at the fairly large negative on a small scanner, even for people used to doing that, colors all shifted funky, everything backwards, they didn't see clearly which car was actually in the center.
If I recall correctly? (I am missing several early issues that got lost years ago, including that one!) Ed and Karen's Number 4 is actually (maybe on the back cover ?) near the back of the pack of the speedsters! He must have lapped them and is coming up to pass them again!

This taxi is Ed's too, isn't it?

Wayne, I was there on that Catalina tour, 1972, when that race was staged. Took some pictures of my own. Entered one of them in a Hot Rod Magazine photo contest and got a 5th place which was a year subscription to Hot Rod. It was certainly different than the others in the contest.

John S, Nice photo!

Steve J, Yes that bus did belong to the Archers. It eventually sold to another very good friend that used it for several years, then he sold it to another longtime good friend when he bought another car and needed room and money. So the bus is still around and in good hands.

As a fan of Boston Terriers, it made me smile to see the passengers in the back seat of the Tagert's 1923 touring. They were a very popular breed in the early twentieth century.

Aint got mine yet! Always the "last on the list" me thinks. Still haven't gotten my new or rather renewal member card either.