First Ford to climb Pikes Peak appears in Virginia - July 1st, 1916

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb started in 1916, and among the entrants that year was a small fleet of four Ford Model Ts. A Ford didn’t win until 1922, but they did make it to the top in ’16. Amazingly, the very first one of those Ts survived, and the 1914 Touring is coming up at Regency’s Bluefield, Virginia, auction October 22.

Our first thought was “how can they be sure?” We spoke with auctioneer J.E. “Eddie” Pauley Jr., who said the owner’s documentation includes a period letter with this car’s VIN, as well as newspaper clippings and more, and Eddie will have those in his possession by time you read this. Eddie said there’s a reserve, but doesn’t see any trouble reaching it. (UPDATE: The documents are now online (15MB pdf))

There are 45 assorted vehicles in the sale, and it’s also worth mentioning their 1925 Reo roadster. The Standard Catalog doesn’t list a roadster between 1923 and 1925, and hypothetically, a ’26 will have a first-year handbrake instead of the hill-holder clutch/brake. We don’t think we’re looking at the ’27 Flying Cloud roadster, as it doesn’t appear to have that car’s hydraulic brakes, and they’re generally on artillery spoke wheels.

Flat tires, dust and surface rust say many of these have been stored for a long time, so don’t expect too many of then to fire up right away. But that’s what the long winter is for, right?