It has been Simon Neubert’s dream to participate in the exclusive Ocean to Ocean Model T tour since he was 15 years old.

On Saturday, Neubert, 25, of Jefferson Township packed up his bride, Katie, hopped into his newly restored 1924 Ford Model T touring car, and took off for Seattle with an “aa-oo-gah” of the klaxon.

The event saw 35 Model Ts leave New York City to make the 4,800 mile, 28-day trek to Seattle.

The trip commemorates the 110th anniversary of the first Ocean to Ocean event, a road race across the country entered by automobile companies worldwide.

The route taken by the current group, which is touring and not racing one another, will remain as close as possible to the one taken by 1909 winner Henry Ford.

Neubert, whose entire extended family are Model T enthusiasts and restorers, said the 1909 race jump-started sales of the Ford Model T because prospective car buyers figured it must be a good car to make it all the way across the United States.

“The race helped him promote this car that changed the world,” Neubert said.

The pack of “Ts,” which will travel in groups of three to four, have preset starting and stopping locations at hotels along the way where they will stay.

The expensive trip is being sponsored by Butler County Ford on Main Street, where Model Ts were sold 100 years ago when the dealership opened.

Neubert visited owner, Cathy Glasgow and her husband, Denny, in his newly restored car at the dealership on Friday, but explained that Katie had to stay home and pack for the trip, during which she will ride alongside her husband and help with the driving. Dennis Glasgow explained that the Model Ts were shipped to Butler by locomotive, and workers went to the train tracks under the Wayne Street viaduct to retrieve the crates containing the partially assembled cars.

Rails on the second and third floors of the dealership helped workers wheel a car’s shell from area to area, where parts that workers had hung on hooks would be connected or installed.

The wooden crates were used for floorboards in the Model Ts, Glasgow said.

“Henry Ford didn’t like to waste anything,” he said.

Butler County Ford is glad to sponsor Simon and Katie Neubert’s trip across the country.

“I’m impressed that he is so young and so into Model Ts, and his bride is too,” Dennis said.

Neubert said a distant cousin who is a Butler native bought a 1924 Model T touring car, and then was delighted to notice an original “Butler County Ford” name plate on the dashboard.

“So, there are still Model Ts on the road that were bought here,” Neubert said.

Neubert said Ford’s success in the Ocean to Ocean race was also commemorated in 1919, 1986 and 2009 with large groups of Model Ts traversing his cross-country route.

Neubert just finished the overhaul and restoration of the ’24 on Thursday, which is why he and Katie are taking the car to the Big Apple on a trailer instead of driving it.

He credited his bride, who, like her husband, is a teacher, with the timely completion of the restoration because she offered no complaints while he worked on the car every night for six months.

Katie also participates in any Model T Club events that come up. The couple married on Oct. 27.

“I love her dearly and I can’t thank her enough for everything she’s done,” Neubert said. “She’s been so supportive of me and she’s a very special woman. I don’t take it for granted.”

He said because almost all systems on the ’24 are new, the ride to Seattle should be comfortable for the couple.

“We really padded the seats,” he said.

He said almost all Model T parts continue to be manufactured to this day and are easily available through a catalog.

“The hardest task was completely re-wooding the body,” Neubert said.

He explained that the frame of the car’s body is made of wood. When he bought the ’24, he thought the wood was in sufficient shape.

When it was found to be bad, Neubert custom cut and sanded all the necessary wood pieces and installed them in the car’s body.

“It’s an incredible amount of work to restore a vehicle, but Simon made it look great,” Glasgow said of the ’24. “It’s quite a challenge.”

After almost a week on the road, the Neuberts will stop next Saturday in Detroit, where the ocean to ocean cars will be greeted with a red carpet and several events on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

The trip will then take the 140 skinny tires through Kansas and Colorado and north to Wyoming and Idaho before they arrive in Seattle.

“I was told that at the end it becomes a fight with yourself because you’ve been on the road for 28 days,” Neubert said, “but a bunch of 65 year olds told me that, so I might be OK.”

He said he packed a box with a grill and accessories, so he can cook out every night to avoid the cost of eating out.

“With the help of the folks at Butler County Ford, it’s going to be a little bit easier (financially),” Neubert said.

Cathy Glasgow beamed at Neubert and his shiny black touring car, which is covered in various decals, including “Butler County Ford, Butler, Pa.”

“It’s just wonderful that this young man is so involved with the Model T event,” she said. “We are happy to support it.”

The Glasgow family has owned Butler County Ford since 1926.

“We are happy to be on Main Street all these years,” she said.

Dennis Glasgow was also thrilled about Neubert’s lifelong dream of participating in the Ocean to Ocean Model T touring event.

“This is a very big deal for him,” he said.