Automotive Centenarian Displayed for Transportation Students

Published 09.28.2010

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School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies News

Automotive students greet a 20th-century guest John R. Cuprisin, associate professor in the Ford ASSET major, points out the vehicle's inner workings Spanning more than 100 years, old and new Fords share lab space in the ATC Chris J. Holley, an assistant professor on the automotive faculty, seizes the moment Getting a closer look at a vehicle usually cordoned from hands-on attentionStudents in Penn College's School of Transportation Technology had the rare opportunity Tuesday to touch a piece of automotive history: a 1908 Ford Model K 6-40 "Gentleman's Roadster," which paid a visit to main campus on its return trip to the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum in Hershey. Separated by 102 years (and about 6 feet) from the newest member of the school's instructional vehicle fleet a 2011 Ford Mustang convertible the Model K was displayed in the Ford ASSET lab in the Parkes Automotive Technology Center and in the collision repair area of College Avenue Labs. The automobile, estimated to draw $400,000 in today's market, sold for $2,800 in its day and was "guaranteed" to reach a speed of 60 mph. The visit is just the latest fruit of a beneficial relationship with AACA; students last year restored a 1965 Mustang for display at the museum and, this year, are working on a 1978 Pontiac Firebird Esprit on loan from the facility.