I?ve always loved antique cars. When I was little, I had antique car coloring books and antique car matchbox cars. Other fathers & sons went to ball games, we went to car shows. Dad would hold me up to see in the car windows and explain the differences of each make and model. By the time I was in kindergarten I could identify the most common cars from the 20?s to the 50?s. A cousin of my parents belonged to the AACA and would give me his back issues of the AACA magazine. My dad would buy gas at a certain gas station who?s owner restored Model T?s, just so I could go in and look at the cars while he filled the tank. I was always trying to talk dad into getting an antique car, but never would. Eventually I got old enough to ride my bike around to area junkyards. Sometimes I?d buy parts of old cars. I figured if I couldn?t have a whole antique car, I?d at least have parts of them. But, I always dreamed of having an antique car from the 1920?s. Maybe it was because that?s the era my father grew up in. Or maybe it was because that was the era that the automobile matured. But, it was probably that the classic lines of that era just appealed to me.
When I got to be driving age, my first car was a 1956 Buick Roadmaster sedan. It needed quite a bit of work. Two years worth of work and most of my money. But, my parents figured that as long as I was in the garage, I was off the streets. And if I was spending my money on car parts, I wouldn?t have money for ?other? things. By the time I was 20, I had 3 cars. But, then the happy days of car indulgence ended with college, marriage, children, and other assorted adult responsibilities. So, my antique car addiction dwindled down to reading books and attending shows.
But, as time wore on, I finally bought a house with a garage, and my antique car days could return. Thankfully, I have a very indulgent wife, who encouraged me to pursue my dreams of having a ?real? antique car. We had a few neat old cars. But, nothing that really struck me like the cars I dreamed about as a boy.
After selling another old car that I had grown tired of, a friend asked me what I was going to get next. I said that I had always wanted a Model T touring car. The car I had dreamed of owning while staring at those Model T?s in the gas station when I was a little kid. He said that he had a friend that had a Model T touring and was talking about selling it. It turned out this fellow had a nice collection of brass era cars. But this Model T was his first antique car and he had kept it over the years as other cars in his collection had come and gone. It was the car that he and his bride-to-be had spent evenings together working on. It was the car that his young children had ridden in. And although it was considered ?too new? compared to the other cars in his collection, he couldn?t bring himself to sell it. Now it sat at the back of the garage, dusty, and unused. He figured that now this Model T would be better off with someone who would enjoy the car and drive it. Our mutual friend introduced us, and after a short visit, it was decided that I would be a good owner for the Model T. A deal was struck, and I finally had one of the cars I had dreamed about as a child!!!
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For the past 6 years I?ve driven this Model T regularly. If more than a couple of weeks goes by without a ride, I go through withdrawal. Since we?ve had the T, we?ve pretty much gone through it mechanically, and replaced the top. We?ve gone on a number of tours with it. But mostly just enjoy those beautiful slow summer drives through the countryside. Sometimes when I?d come home from work, my wife would be waiting out front and say ?lets go for a ride in the T?. Of course it doesn?t take much convincing.
Even though I have my Model T, like just about all car guys, I watch for other cars that are for sale. Just out of curiosity. One week I saw an ad in the local paper for a 1929 Model A Ford roadster. After a week, I was still wondering what that Model A was like. So, one evening I asked my wife if she?d like to go with me to see it, just for kicks, if it was still available. She said OK and I called to find out it was still for sale. We went to see it and my wife really fell for it. It was dark green with straw wheels, dual side mounts, and whitewalls. After going for a ride, she said ?I really like this car?. I said ?enough to give up your Z28 convertible??. She said ?yes!?. So, we made a deal and the 1929 Model A roadster joined the 1921 Model T touring in the garage. So, how?s that for a good wife? She not only is OK with me having an antique car, but she wants her own! Now when I come home from work she?s not waiting for a ride in the T, she?s out with her Model A!
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My addiction was satisfied, or so I thought. Now, one of my childhood dreams had been to own a Model T touring. My other childhood dream was to own a ?grand? touring car from the 1920?s. I?ve always been drawn to these cars at shows and dreamed about what it would be like to sit behind that big wooden steering wheel and look out over that big hood and at the back of those drum headlights. Then last month, my AACA magazine came. And like every other month, the first thing I turn to is the cars for sale section. This month there was a 1923 Buick 6 cylinder touring car for sale. The price wasn?t bad, and it was in Pennsylvania (and so am I). Just out of curiosity, I measured the garage, then measured the cars, and figured that with a little maneuvering I could get another car in the garage? if I got rid of the riding mower, and the snow blower, and a few other things. I checked out the phone number and it was in State College, about 3 hours away. However? my wife was due to come home from her business trip the next morning. And she was coming home from Bloomsburg, PA, the exact mid-point between home and the Buick! The sales pitch to my indulgent wife was easy ?Honey, there?s a car I want to see, and you?re already halfway there!?. Being the indulgent wife she is, she said ?OK?. On the way to see the Buick I told myself that I won?t make any decision unless I sleep on it. Don?t want to make any hasty decisions. Besides, it?s probably one of those tacky restorations from the 1970?s. Well, when we arrived and saw the Buick, it was anything but a tacky restoration! It was an older restoration, but it was a professional restoration. The Buick was beautiful! The burgundy body, black fenders, natural finish wood wheels, big wooden steering wheel, drum headlights, and it was BIG. Wow! Inside I was feeling like I had to have this car. One of the cars of my childhood fantasies, here, now, tangible, within my grasp, a possible reality! But, I tried to temper my emotions by telling myself that it probably drove horribly. We went for a test drive, and it drove beautifully. The owner and his wife were wonderful people. The car was a wonderful car. I knew that if I didn?t buy this car, the next person to see it would. I bought it.
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Now, remember when I was a kid, I couldn?t have an antique car, so I?d go to junkyards and buy parts of them. There was one junkyard near my home that had been in business since the 1930?s. They had a storage building that had parts from the 1920?s that were stripped from cars and stored. When I was a kid, I had found an axle with a 1920?s Buick hubcap on it. It was dented and scuffed, but it was part of an antique car. I had dreamed of the big beautiful car it must have come from. I bought it and added it to my small collection of pieces. I had kept it to this day with a few other ?treasures?. When my Buick arrived home, I got out the hubcap from my childhood out, put it next to one of the hubcaps on my Buick? and it matched!
Dreams do come true.
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