Me and my Model A Ford (and previous Antiques)

[MCHinson]

I have always been fond of old things and especially old cars. Maybe it has something to do with being the son of parents who lived through the Great Depression. I was born in 1960, in Whiteville NC, and my first car when I got my driver?s license was a 1961 Cadillac. OK, it was a 1961 Cadillac Hearse, so the car?s age was not the primary thing that drew attention to it. We had a lot of fun with the hearse. After a couple of years, I had to get rid of the hearse. While nobody said anything, somehow I don?t think the ?old school? members of Whiteville Rescue Unit would have voted in a hearse driving member. Even though it was previously owned by Clarkton Rescue and used as a backup ambulance, somehow I don?t think that it would have looked too nice driving up to a rescue scene in a hearse and jumping out to help the injured.

In 1980, I joined the Whiteville Police Department. About 1981, while working as a night shift police officer, I discovered two old Buicks parked on the back lot of Harold Wells? car wash on Walter Street. Mr. Wells was also the local Oldsmobile and GMC Truck Dealer at the time. He later owned even more Automotive Franchises in Whiteville.

Anybody who has worked as a night shift police officer can tell you that sometimes you have to get out of the car and walk around on slow nights for a few minutes to stay awake. My favorite place for my occasional sleepy strolls was around those old Buicks. If memory serves me correctly, one was a 1938 trunk back Sedan and the other was a 1939 Sedan. I now know that the 1939 is normally considered a more collectible car than the earlier 1938 style, but I liked the vertical grill style of the earlier car. I tried to talk Mr. Wells into selling me the car, but he was not interested in selling. It probably was good that I did not get it, as I would have had very little idea how to go about restoring the car at that time.

I have not owned a 1938 Buick yet, but one day I probably will. I wonder what ever happened to the one that Mr. Wells had? A few years ago, I saw the rusting hulk of the 1939 Buick behind a Highway 130 car dealership that Mr. Wells had subsequently bought and sold since I had first seen the old Buicks downtown.

In 1984 I left Whiteville for greener pastures working for the City of Wilmington Police Department. I got married in 1986 and about ten years later, I got ready to buy my first old car. I did not know much about old cars but my research convinced me that I should start with a Model A Ford. The Model A is a very easy car to work on and parts are easy to locate. I met a great old car guy, ?Pierre?, who rented movie cars here in Wilmington. Pierre had a large number of old cars both in Wilmington and in Michigan. From time to time Pierre sold cars. I told him that I wanted a four door Model A Ford, and that I wanted any color but green. One day, Pierre called me and told me that he had a car for me to look at on a trailer that would be in town in a few hours. My wife and I went to see the car. I pulled in to the parking lot and noticed that the trailer had a Green 1931 Model A Ford and a beautiful Blue 1930 Hupmobile on it. Apparently Pierre remembered the ?Green? but not the ?Any color but? part of our conversation. Pierre told me that I could have either the Model A or the Hupmobile, for the same price that he had quoted me. I started thinking long and hard about that one. My wife, Beverly, who up to this point wanted nothing to do with antique cars said, ?Why don?t you buy them both!? I probably should have taken her up on that offer! I had this immense fear of trying to restore the Hupmobile and finding that I could not get some necessary part so I stuck to my original plan (except for the color). The first antique automobile that I bought was thus a 1931 Briggs Body Model A Ford Town Sedan. When I first bought it, I had a very enlightening experience driving it home. It was starting to get dark. Most of the lights did not work, the brakes were barely existent, and the steering gear had a lot of loose play in it. I picked the car up and thankfully I made it home without hitting anything or getting hit. I soon began the work that made it safe to drive. It was not in as good a shape as this photo makes it appear. I took this photo a short time before I sold it. It took quite a bit of work to get it looking this good.

1931 Ford Model A Town Sedan

In 1997, I traveled to Colorado and purchased my next antique auto. I guess I was missing the old Hearse, so I bought the closest thing, a 1965 Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine. We brought the limousine back to Wilmington from Fort Collins, Colorado on a towbar behind a 1996 Suburban. It was a once in a lifetime trip, but I can laugh about it now. It was an interesting vacation, but I will leave that for another story! This is a scanned version of an old snapshot taken on the side of the road shortly after we left Fort Collins.

1965 Cadillac Limousine

In 1999, The Cadillac was totaled when a tree fell on it during a hurricane. The insurance payment enabled me to expand my garage so that I now have a garage deep enough to park both a Model A and a Cadillac Limousine, back to back, should I decide to buy another Cadillac (or a 1938 Buick).

Eventually, In 2001, I decided to do a full frame off restoration of the Town Sedan. I could not bear the thought of not having a Model A to drive, so I began the search for another Model A to drive while I restored the Town Sedan. I ended up finding a 1930 Deluxe Coupe that had been restored by the recently deceased Norbert Hayes, a fellow member of the Cape Fear Chapter. This photo shows the Coupe. After buying the coupe, I decided to freshen up the restoration and correct a few things that had not been done quite to my satisfaction. About a year later, I realized that I had almost totally re-restored the Coupe and still had not done anything with the Town Sedan. I ended up selling the Town Sedan to a nice young couple in Virginia and my family was content with the Coupe for a while. My then 3 year old daughter, Maryellen, especially liked riding in the rumble seat. Since she was not tall enough to step onto the bumper step plate and then onto the fender step plate, she developed a technique of climbing onto the running board, grabbing the edge of the rumble seat opening, crawling up the fender, and climbing into the rumble seat. The first time she did this resulted in a slight scratch on the right rear fender. After a few times, I finally figured out that since the paint was not quite as good as it should have been anyway, all of the scratches on the fender really did not matter. The smile on my daughter?s face was worth putting up with the scratched up paint.

1930 Ford Model A Deluxe Rumble Seat Coupe

As luck would have it, finances eventually dictated that I divest myself of my antique car. I sold the coupe, used the money to pay off some high interest loans and soon thereafter, I began the search for my next antique automobile. In 2003, I stumbled across a 1964 Model Ford Truck while searching Ebay for my next Model A Ford. I liked the fact that the truck was similar to one that my brother Steve had owned when I was a young boy hanging around his shop. I bought it. This photo shows the truck when I first brought it home. It is sort of sad looking, but it is a good dependable original ?driver? of a truck.

1964 Ford F100

I don?t think my daughter ever really got over wanting another Model A, and I know that I had to have another one. As luck would have it, I reached the point in time that I was ready to buy another Model A. I had decided that I wanted a 1930 or 1931 Phaeton. I searched for a while but just could not seem to find the car that I wanted. After making an announcement at a Cape Fear Chapter meeting about what I was looking for, David Smith, a new Cape Fear Chapter member, told me of a guy who had a Model A Phaeton for sale locally. David had bought a 1930 Model A Coupe from Ted Hewlett, and Ted also had a Phaeton for sale. It turned out that it was a 1929, instead of a 1930 or 1931, but when I saw it, I decided that it was destined to be mine. A few days later, it was mine. This car was restored in 1989. It sports a Red Bird from 1990. It ended up being stored for over 15 years until I bought it. It was dirty. It needed some detailing and the engine needed to be repainted. The steering gear turned out to need to be rebuilt, but other than that, the car needed very little work to bring it back into condition. Here is how it looks now. I somehow seem to still be buying green antique cars!

My Current Model A - 1929 Ford Phaeton

[Guest imported_MrEarl]

Matthew, I thoroughly enjoyed your stories. Thanks for sharing!!! You have owned some really nice and cool autos. Personally I like "green" old cars. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Looks like you're saving the best for last.... the 38 Buick. Good luck and I'll keep my eyes open for a nice old green 38 Buick for ya. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />