Steampunk Model T draws fair crowds
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Visitors to the Whidbey Island Fair may have noticed a striking 1927 Ford Model T covered in steampunk-themed vinyl wrap on display.
The unusual vehicle belongs to Alan Sands, a longtime entertainer who returns to the fair each year with comedy, hypnosis and a healthy dose of Victorian-era fantasy.
The Model T is part of Sands’ steampunk exhibit, which features games, puzzles and other interactive displays. Sands has spent four decades touring fairs and festivals as a magician and comedy hypnotist. About 10 years ago, he added a traveling steampunk exhibit built around interactive displays and the eye-catching Model T.
Sands said before he came into possession of the Model T, he had no interest in old cars. But one fateful day in Ohio changed that.
Rather than shopping for a vintage automobile, Sands stumbled into ownership almost by accident. While driving from North Carolina to Montana, he detoured through Ohio to visit one of the state’s many museums.
“I had a choice of a cash register museum or a Packard museum, and I said, ‘Okay, I’ll go to the Packard museum. I don’t know what a Packard is,’” he said.
Until that day, Sands had never even heard of a Packard. During the museum tour, his 84-year-old guide casually mentioned that he owned a Model T. Sands asked the man if he was interested in selling it, to which the man said yes, and the rest was history.
“I was at the right place at the right time,” he said.
Sands drove a trailer all the way from his California home to the museum and back again to transport the Model T. Now, he transports the car all the way to Whidbey Island to present it to guests at the annual fair.
Aside from the vinyl wrap and some mechanical restorations, Sands’ Model T is “all original.” That means the car probably won’t be seeing much use out on the roads.
“She goes 35 miles an hour, 37 on a good downhill,” he said.
Fortunately for fairgoers, the Model T makes the trip to Whidbey on a trailer, not at its top speed of 37 mph.
