Race Against The Clock To Restore 1926 Ford

Re-building a 1926 Ford Model T from a pile of components in no more than 16 hours is the challenge a team of dedicated car enthusiasts has accepted.

The scale of their task is heightened by the fact the car will have to pass a stringent MoT test within hours of being completed and then be driven the 840 miles from Lands End to John O'Groats!

The challenge was issued by the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in Hampshire and the enthusiasts, from the Ford Model T Register, will set out to beat the clock over the weekend of the world famous International Autojumble, September 12 – 13.

Lord Montagu of Beaulieu commented: "We're very excited about the challenge we've set this year at the International Autojumble. We are doing it to celebrate not only the centenary of Ford Motor Company but also a truly remarkable car, the Model T. And the run from Lands End to John O'Groats should prove the quality of the work!"

The rules are simple: the entire car has to be assembled from scratch during the hours that the Autojumble is open to the public and it has to be finished and running before the event ends on the Sunday evening. At any one time no more than six people can work on the car, but it need not be the same six throughout the weekend.

Visitors to the Autojumble will have the opportunity to guess the number of seconds it will take for the work to be completed, with the winner receiving an £800 Snap-On Tools kit. For those unable to attend the Autojumble, regular updates on the team's progress will be posted on the National Motor Museum's website (www.beaulieu.co.uk ).

The Ford Model T, acclaimed as the Car of the 20th Century by a jury of international journalists, was credited as being the car which 'put the world on wheels'. Affectionately known as the 'Tin Lizzie', the Model T was introduced in 1908, and when production ended in 1927 over 15 million had been built and sold around the world.

Around 300,000 of that total were built at the Ford factory at Trafford Park, Manchester between 1911 and 1927 – Henry Ford's first assembly plant outside of North America.