Page 9 - Issue 37

Sitting ar
Sitting around a wood-fi red stove in his garage, we ound a wood-fi red stove in his garage, we
were surrounded by a three-deuce 327 Chevy, tons
were surrounded by a three-deuce 327 Chevy, tons
of Ford fl athead parts, and such eclectic pieces as a
of Ford fl athead parts, and such eclectic pieces as a
fi ve-carb manifold for a GMC inline six and shelves
fi ve-carb manifold for a GMC inline six and shelves
full of old generators, carbs, coils, some camelback
full of old generators, carbs, coils, some camelback
heads, and an assortment of shock absorbers. Not
heads, and an assortment of shock absorbers. Not
to mention a ’35 Ford pickup with achingly perfect
to mention a ’35 Ford pickup with achingly perfect
patina sitting directly behind me. And that’s just one
patina sitting directly behind me. And that’s just one
garage. An earlier jaunt over to the next garage
garage. An earlier jaunt over to the next garage
revealed an original paint ’29 Ford Tudor, a 100%
revealed an original paint ’29 Ford Tudor, a 100%
original fenderless ’28 Ford roadster, and a super
original fenderless ’28 Ford roadster, and a super
slick customized ’36 Ford convertible. We could talk
slick customized ’36 Ford convertible. We could talk
all day about each of those, but we’re here to talk
all day about each of those, but we’re here to talk
about Dick and a couple of his more recent builds
– a ‘33 Plymouth coupe and a ‘32 Ford pickup. Oh
yeah – and the ’41 Harley-Davidson sitting in the
back or the ’32.
He drove his fi rst car, a Ford Model T at the
tender age of 15. When he was 16, he had the
opportunity to purchase ’29 Model A from a
gentleman who had lost his sight. At
the time, Dick was a member of his
high school’s track and swimming
teams. But once he drove that
Model A he was totally hooked on
cars. Says Dick, “I wasn’t an athlete
anymore. It ruined me for life!” That
was about 1950. After that ’29 he
built a succession of old Fords. Back
in the early ‘50’s he put a Chrysler
Hemi in a ‘36 Ford. “I used my mom’s
wash line, a come along, and some
2x6’s to get it in. In the middle of
winter.” And that was a Wisconsin
winter. Yes – he was ruined for sure!
Over the years he’s built countless
cars and trucks. Dick has no idea how
many, but to give you some insight, he
knows that he owned 48 cars before
he got married at the age of 22. Most
of them were vintage Fords, but one of
the cooler ones we saw while perusing
his many photo albums was a Chevy-
powered Austin Healey that saw some
drag race duty.

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