Foundation Fund Drive

The Early Ford V-8 Foundation's Golden Shovel Campaign keeps digging away to raise funds for the construction of a museum in Auburn, Indiana, newsletter editor Frank Scheidt said.

A $2,000 tax-deductible donation gets you a certificate, a Gold Shovel pin and your name on the new museum's Wall of Fame. A $1,000 donation gets you a "Silver Shovel.” For those who would like to contribute at a lower level, there's the Friends of the Early Ford V-8 Foundation and Museum. This is an annual contribution of $250 Special, $500 Deluxe or $750 Super Deluxe. Depending on the level of participation, contributors can receive a free one-year membership to the Foundation, a license plate topper, discounts in the museum store, a special lapel/hat pin, their name on an Honor Roll in the museum, a full-color authorized reproduction print of the museum's front elevation, and special recognition in the Foundation News.

YOU need a V-8 engine to power a V-8 museum, and now the Early Ford V-8 Foundation and Museum has the start it needs.

"The donation of the rare 1940 60-hp V-8 engine adds an item the Early Ford V-8 Foundation collection didn't have - that of a running engine on a stand complete with radiator and gauges," Frank Scheidt said. Scheidt is the editor of Foundation News, the publication of the Early Ford V-8 Foundation.

Members of the Northern Virginia Regional Group of the Early Ford V-8 Club donated the engine to the Foundation for future display at its museum, which will be built on 2-1/2 acres of land purchased from the Dean Kruse Museum Complex in Auburn, Ind., in 2604. The future museum will concentrate on honoring Ford Motor Co. history during the flathead V-8 years of 1932 to 1953.

The 60-horsepower V-8 originally powered a 1940 Ford, and is now mounted on a movable display built by Early Ford V-8 Club member Ray Kunsman. Members of the Northern Virginia Regional Group plan on first displaying the engine at the club's 2006 Eastern National Meet in Batavia, N.Y., and then at the 2007 meet in Fairfax, Va. Once it completes its two-meet tour, the engine will be permanently displayed at the Early Ford V-8 Foundation Museum.

To generate funds to build the museum, the Foundation has also established the Golden Shovel campaign. Those who donate $2,000 to th Foundation will receive a Golden Shovel pin and a plaque inside the museum. A similar Silver Shovel program has also been established for those who contribute $1,000.

AUBURN, Ind. - Now that the Early Ford V-8 Foundation's land purchase in Auburn, Ind., from Dean Krusewas officially completed May 19, Trustees are looking forward to ”Phase I" of the museum's development — building an 8,000-square-foot structure to house the museum's growing collection.

Phase I will include the first structure erected on the Early Ford V-8 Foundation's Auburn property, and it will be located behind the location of the future museum. The Art Deco-styled building will initially serve as a storage area for the museum's collection as it moves its holdings from three museum locations to Auburn. Plans for the building have an open floor plan to enable maximum storage space. Once the main museum is built, the museum will utilize the Phase I building for restoration work or as a training facility.

Early Ford V-8 Foundation tour to benefit museum construction Ford V-8ers: fill your tanks and top off your oil, because there's a road trip on the horizon. The Early Ford V-8 Foundation is planning a tour to raise funds for the first phase of the Early Ford V-8 Museum and Learning Center in Auburn, Ind.

The tour will bridge Early Ford V-8 Club Meets in Virginia and California and provide Early Ford V-8ers a chance to attend both Meets with a cross-country drive between. Organizers plan to leave Portland, Ind., on June 6, just after the Early Ford V-8 Club Eastern Meet in Fairfax, Va., which ends on June 3.

From Indiana, the tour will head to Temecula, Calif, in time for the Early Ford V-8 Club's Western National Meet June 11-15.

The event is not limited to Early Ford V-8 members; all Ford enthusiasts and hobbyists are welcome to participate. Enthusiasts are also invited to join the tour at any point along the route, which will include parts of Route 66. The tour will stop in St. Louis; Tulsa, Okla.; Amarillo, Texas; Gallup, N.M.; and Needles, Calif.

"You don't have to travel the whole distance with us; you can join in for a day or even a few hours," said Bill Tindall, president of the Early Ford V-8 Foundation. "This driving tour across the U.S.A. will be just plain fun and it will rekindle everyone's love of the open road and a true appreciation for the 1932-'53 Ford Motor Co. products."

To help raise funds for the Early Ford V-8 Foundation, tour participants are encouraged to seek sponsorship pledges based on a per mile rate. It's an opportunity for drivers to not only benefit the Foundation, but to get lots of smiles per mile from a long drive behind the wheel of their V-8 Ford!

Early Ford V-8 Foundation P.O. Box 31403 Rochester, NY 14603-1403 Toll-Free: 1-888-229-1042