The great looking red 1922 Ford Model T fire truck was one of the first vehicles I saw this morning when I stopped in at the seventh annual Cruisin’ Hines cruise.
It’s bittersweet when the car cruise takes over Edward Hines Drive in Westland, Michigan.
As much as I love car shows and car cruises, when Cruisin’ Hines comes in late August, I know summer is almost over.
I remember attending the inaugural Cruisin’ Hines in 2011, chatting with the car owners.
One car owner even invited me to sit in their red Cobra convertible!
Thankfully, good weather was in store for today’s seventh annual cruise.
Though the day started cloudy with a slight mist in the air, the gray clouds parted for sunny skies by early afternoon.
As I walked down the side of Edward Hines Parkway gazing at the gorgeous cars passing by, I met up with Ryan Eberhart of the Westland Historical Commission who spoke with me about their historic red fire truck.
Never in service as a fire truck, the vehicle was a therapy project for patients at the former Eloise Psychiatic Hospital, who helped build it.
The fire truck is now one of the most popular attractions at the Westland Historic Village Park.
I chatted with volunteer John Grace about his work renovating the truck, something he’s been doing in his spare times since the mid-2000’s.
Grace explained some of the updates he made: rebuilding the generator, taking the transmission apart, and replacing the fuel line which allowed them to get truck running for more than 20 seconds.
If you’d like to see the truck yourself, visit the Westland Historic Village Park on Saturdays between 1pm and 4pm.
Check out some of the other great looking vehicles I saw this morning at Cruisin’ Hines!
