I was recently asked, “What age did you become interested in cars?” Personally speaking, I cannot recall not being interested in cars. I remember my dad buying a new 1950 Dodge, in 1952 he traded it for a Packard. I was born in 1947, and so it’s amazing to me that all this time, I have been interested in cars. On family vacations my two sisters and I would keep track of the number of Fords, Chevrolets, Dodges, etc. that we would encounter along our way to destination. This fascination with cars transitioned to building AMT model cars and reading Hot Rod magazines plus other $.25 Rod & Custom books cover to cover.
My good friend, John, and I, would talk and dream about purchasing an old car to work on, and hopefully be able to take it to the dragstrip. Truly a dream, however, this kept us on alert to visit the local car dealerships, looking on the back row for that special, potential car. During the summer of 1961, after finishing my paper route, I met John, and we began to look at cars on the back row at the local Ford dealership. All of a sudden, we noticed this 1939 Ford Standard two-door sedan sitting on the back row. The paint was good, the interior was like new, the odometer read 37,000 miles, and there were no missing parts. The downside was that every fender, the grill, and the trunk were all dented, not majorly dented, but you could tell that it had been too close to whatever caused dents. John and I got so excited that we immediately went up to the dealer and asked about this 39 Ford sitting in the back row. Ullie, the Ford dealership owner, said, “Boys, that car is broke, and it won’t move. I don’t know what is wrong with it.” We told Ullie that we were interested in that car, and basically he said you need to talk to your parents. Well, John’s parents said absolutely not! My mom and I talked a great deal about this, and I think she realized that I needed a project, and finally, she said yes……….and only yes if I promise not to drive it on the public roads and keep it at the farm until I was 16. Of course, I said yes. The price, $60. I drove the car around the barn, around the orchard, and up and down the lane for two years while working on this 39 Ford. The fix for the car was quite simple by replacing the key in the rear axle. I replaced the V8 60 motor with a 50 Mercury at age 14, then after attempting to rebuild the 50 Mercury, replaced that motor, due to a cracked block, with a 1957 Corvette motor that I rebuilt/modified in the basement of my mom‘s house. At age 16, I had one of the coolest cars to drive to high school. I would drag race this car modestly; however, after destroying three transmissions, blown head gaskets, and other minor issues, I turned my attention from cars to dating my future wife. After college and starting a family, I took the 39 out of storage and returned it to its original form with the exception of the motor. I kept the original interior, restored frame up, and painted it black lacquer with clearcoat. Today, after 65 years of ownership, my thrill to drive this car still gives me great excitement. So many wonderful memories!