FLAT ROCK, MI – If there’s one place that Mustang fans visiting metro Detroit always ask to see, it’s Ford’s Flat Rock Assembly Plant (FRAP) – where’s today’s Mustang dreams are built. Not throwing shade on nearby Dearborn Assembly, whose mega F-150 Factory Tour staged out of the Henry Ford Museum’s Greenfield Village draws thousands of the Ford faithful each year to see how the venerable F-Series comes to life. It’s just that, like most all Ford factories, FRAP is not open to the public.
Except, however, for a car show that’s been held in August the last couple of years known simply as the “Flat Rock Assembly Plant Veterans Car Show.” As its name implies, the show’s proceeds benefit local veterans and is hosted as a joint effort between Ford and volunteers from the plant’s UAW workforce. Not only does your $10 entry fee at the gate go toward a good cause, but it gives all attendees access to plant tours and unique photo opportunities as well as the wide variety of unique mostly Ford vehicles on display.
It doesn’t last long – parking opens at 10 a.m. and the show runs only from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. But that doesn’t discourage hundreds of Mustang and Ford owners and fans from making the 30-minute drive south of Detroit along Interstate 75 to the Downriver community of Flat Rock and filling the factory parking lot to enjoy the plant tours, the cars and even some music and a food truck.
As you might expect, our super-enthusiast Ford retiree-turned-photojournalist Bill Cook attended the show and sent us more than 100 photos, along with this note:
“On Saturday, August 23rd, I drove down to Flat Rock, Michigan, for the annual FRAP car-show fundraiser for veterans. It was open to all makes and models, but was dominated by Ford Motor Company products. During the show, the Mustang plant offered (very rare) tours (via shuttles with guides) from 11 in the morning to around 2 in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the plant was idle that Saturday, but everyone still liked it a lot!”
Indeed, there was much to like at this event, and although we can’t show you photos from inside the factory, we can show you some of the cars on display outside in the galley below that we assembled from the many pics that Cook had sent us. Enjoy!
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FORD RACING PHOTOS / COURTESY BILL COOK
