All About Me (Michael)

[IFHP]

It occurs to me that I should formally introduce myself to the members of this forum, so here is some personal history relevant to our shared interest.

I’ve always been interested in cars in general, and captive imports in particular (possibly because I lived in Europe for a year when I was 11 & 12 years old (1970/71)). I joined (what was then called) NAEFR in 1995, just because I was curious about English Fords. Receiving (what was then called) The English Ford Lines newsletter really peaked my interest and in 1997 I actually went out and bought an English Ford (a 1960 Zephyr) and a German Ford (1968 20M RS – not running). That same year the then NAEFR manager, David Wiggins, ask me to take over the club and the newsletter – which I was delighted to do. The first newsletter I edited was the Jan/Feb 1998 issue.

When I think back on the past ten years, I am amazed by all of the interesting and intriguing people and cars that have come into my life. I edited the E-Ford Lines through 2005, and then passed it on to Ed Rossier (who has since passed it on to Judy Berrian). I am still the manager of (what is now known as) EFONA and am doing my best to keep the club together and help it thrive. Complicating things slightly is that in the past 10 years I have also (in chronological order) bought a house, gotten married and become a father (twice)... so there isn’t quite as much time and money for the old hobbies as there once was.

Back in 1997, I owned “only” two cars, neither of which were Fords. Now I have an all-Ford fleet of eight vehicles (not counting parts cars). In date order, these are 1960 Zodiac, 1961 Taunus 17M, 1964 Consul Corsair, 1971 Capri 2000, 1972 Cortina 1600, 1972 Cortina 2000, 1972 F-100 and a 2002 Focus ZX5. I have to admit that I probably have more cars than is prudent, but every day is like a car show when I look out my back window.

While I collect European Fords, I am intensely interested in all types of Ford vehicles. I publish an occasional newsletter called The Universal Car, which covers all things Ford - worldwide. The two most recent issues can be seen on the forum section of Fordeurope.net (you will need to join http://www.fordeurope.net/ to see it – but membership is free). Finally, in case anybody is wondering, “IFHP” stands for International Ford History Project, the name of a non-profit organization, I created back in 1997 to facilitate the international exchange of information among Ford history enthusiasts.

Michael MacSems
Olympia, Washington
November 2007


My “one-man car show” October 2007. I feel very fortunate to have been able to find and buy these well-maintained original condition Ford vehicles.



Yours Truly (center), officiating at the 2006 PNW Import Ford Meet (co-host Mark Viskov on left).

[IFHP]

Today was a pretty good day. My friend Kevin and I moved my (P3) 17M across town from my father-in-law's place to mine. I've been trying to do this for over a year and it finally came together. It looks good parked between the Corsair and the (P7a) 20M. I'll have pictures up before too long.

The only bad thing was that in the process of moving my cars around I discovered that my Cortina 2000 (the one that is for sale) has lost its brakes while sitting (I last drove it in late October).

Michael

[IFHP]

Left: Here is my P3 Taunus in tow. Right: My back yard after the 17M arrived (December 07).

[IFHP]

This past week I’ve been a bit distracted with a new Forum that I’ve volunteered to moderate on. Its called LOVEfords and it is a forum dedicated to the discussion of EVERYTHING related to Fords and the Ford Motor Company. The scope is world-wide, but most of the members are American, so it will certainly have an American Ford tilt. I am moderating a niche section of the forum concerning overseas Fords. I consider all three of the forums that I am now moderating to be complementary and not competitive (each has a different focus, though with overlapping topics). Please pay http://www.lovefordsbb.com/ a visit if it sounds interesting.

Michael

[IFHP]

A big truck came to my house yesterday and took my 20M away. It was exciting to see the car move (whether with a tow rope or a winch). But I was also a bit wistful about seeing it go -- the conclution of a ten-year daydream. The good thing though is that it is going somewhere where it will get the attention it deserves.

[IFHP]

Another big day here as my Euro-Ford collection was downsized by two more cars. The 1972 Cortina 2000 and the 1971 Capri 2000 were loaded up on a semi, bound for Dalton Herrick's (and his dad Todds) place in NY.

Dalton, please keep us posted on your progress with these cars.

I'm now down to four Euro-Fords (two runners, two projects) that feels like a good number to stay at for awhile.



Lined up and waiting for the transporter.



Four hours of loading begins.

[IFHP]

The last Sunday in April, I took the Mk III out on the road and drove down to a car show (more of a gathering really) in the rural town of Tenino, WA for something called the Spring Coming Out. Saw some nice cars, had some good chats. Here is the Mk III parked next to line of Model As.

[Dave A]

That's a gorgeous Mk 3 you have there Michael. Love to see more pictures of it. Is that a 61 Pontiac I see sitting across from you?

[IFHP]

Here is another picture and a little more about the car. Yes, that is a '61 Pontiac in front of the Cortina.

http://www.enfostuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=255

[IFHP]

Good news and bad news here at IFHP head quarters. The good news is that after ten years of wanting one, I finally got a carport in my back yard. It is an unusual dimension of 24 x 17 which had me scratching my head until I found Carports.com. That said I am only moderately pleased with it but I think it will serve its purpose okay. The idea with the carport was that I would now have all of my cars under cover (including my daily driver Focus).

The bad news is that I just found out that I am losing a large garage that I’ve bee renting for the last five years (one door opens and another door closes). The garage was just 2 doors down the street and cost only $100. a month – a really great deal. So now I have two more vehicles and a pile of parts that are looking for cover. Basically, over the years my collection has grown to fill the space available and I now see that quality of my fleet has greatly improved over the last five years (hence cover storage is more important than ever).

The long and short of it is that I may need to sell my Corsair and I have a pile of large car parts that I am willing to give away, provided someone picks them up. I will list them latter in the for sale section.

Michael

[IFHP]

Shelton Old Car Show 6/29/08:

A couple of weeks ago I took the Zodiac up to Shelton, WA for their annual old car show. Judy Berrian (E-Ford Lines editor) and her husband Kevin followed me in ther two-stroke Saab station wagon. On site we meet up with EFONA member Mark Christinsen who had brought a 1960 Zephyr and a 1961 Studebaker. The weather was great and there were a lot of interesting (non-street rod) cars to look at. Here are a couple of photos.





Mark's Zephyr. This Zephyr was once mine (three owners ago) and it was nice to see it in as good, or better, condition than when I owned it.

Michael

[stanchfi]

I love the Saab, I've never seen one before.

I took the Anglia to a show this weekend, we didn't win anything considering the competition...a Ford GT, new and old Dodge Challengers....

Still lots of fun and we got some great comments from people. Only one person knew what kind of car is was. He said "nice Anglia"...I said "wow you are the first person to know what it is." he said "I saw another one a couple weeks ago........in Belgium"...I then realized that was most likely where he was from.

My favorite comment was somebody on the way out who said "Thank for bringing your car, we really enjoyed it"

-James

[IFHP]

Here is a photo of my new carport with the cars that I had originally intended to park in it. Since then I have lost my rental garage so two of these cars have had to make way for my F-100 and my 72 Cortina.

[IFHP]

More pictures from my backyard, September 2008

[Dave A]

Very nice cars and carport there Michael. Another good loyal Ford guy!