Reading today about the passing of Ron Brown’s dad made me start thinking about my dad. He is the man that gave me my love for cars and racing. My dad bought his dream project car (1936 Ford Cabriolet) in 1957. He bought and sold a lot of cars over the years but always managed to keep this one. He worked on it for decades but never finished it as he had four kids and he was always broke. He finally ran out of money and ambition in the 1990s and sort of gave up on it. In 2005 my brother and I took it out of storage and finished it for him. It left his garage as a non-runner in primer and came back two months later running and in blue paint. When he saw it driving and painted it was one of the happiest days of his life. By then his hip was so bad that he could no longer drive it. I drove him around to see all of his buddies so that he could show them that his car was finally done. Some of them had not seen him in over 25 years. Some thought that he had sold the car long ago. Some thought that he had died years ago. After a few years he decided to give me the car. On nice days I would take him for a ride in it. I kept it in his garage and I would back it out of the garage in the morning and leave it outside on his driveway until it got dark and then I would drive back over and put it back in the garage. He would just sit in his recliner all day and look out the window at it. He was able to enjoy his finished pride and joy for 13 years until we lost him in 2018. Getting my dad’s car finished for him in time for him to enjoy it is one of my proudest moments
I am the car’s current caretaker but someday my son, my dad’s grandson, will be the car’s caretaker. My dad's 36 Ford is his legacy.
That's a great story and a fine tribute to your dad. He must have been thrilled to see his dream completed.
Very cool!! My Dad died when I was 15 , 48 years ago. I still miss him. Glad you made your Dads dream come true.
I think I got something in my eye. { That's the Best Story Ever !!! } Also a beautiful car too! Thanks for sharing. Ron....
My Dad wasn't necessarily into cars but he owned a gas station that I started working in when I was 10 after school and full time in the summers until I was about 19. He taught me how to work, why I needed to work, and the rewards from working so hard. Your story made me think of him and the good times we had when I was a kid in that old gas station, and the love of cars that he (mostly) encouraged in me even though it sometimes caused him aggravation and money. Great story, cool 36. Glad it will be handed down.
You and your Dad are both blessed. He raised a great son and you are fortunate to have had such a great Dad. Eve if the car is gone you will still have the priceless memories. Way back in the 1980's I had just bought and was remodeling my second house. I bought it because it was close to my parents who were getting up in age and I loved the area. Life rolled on, the house, a management job, recently married, etc. We worked together on the house to get it finished. Then my Dad was diagnosed with cancer and the real work began. With everything going on my wife said I needed a break and it might be a good time to start a project to get my mind off of everything. I found a '35 5-W coupe that I had sold a decade before when I was in my teens. It was a pile of parts when I sold it and was missing a lot. When I bought it back the car was complete but needed a ground up build. My Dad would ask my Mom to wheel him up to my place every afternoon to see the car and to check how things were going. He lasted 3 months. After the funeral at one of the family dinners my Mom told me that Dad was proud of what I had accomplished in life and that he wished he had not tried so hard to keep me away from mechanics. He wanted me to get a college degree and a good job. She said he was happy how things turned out. I got the education and the management job in fleet services. To this day I still see him in the wheelchair in my driveway smiling when the roll-back dropped off the coupe. He taught me a lot about construction and even more about life. The bad memories faded and now just the good stuff remains. I hope everyone is as fortunate as I was. Thank you for sharing your story and bringing those memories back for me.
Thank you all for sharing your stories. My father also got me into cars. I should say anything mechanical. I was dads tool man, and in the process of watching and listening I learned the skill set that I have today. I'm so happy that my father took the time and with that created alot of good memories. He helped me with many parts of my build project. The wiring job he did is outstanding. My Corvair is a tribute to my dad and all the passion he brings to a project. It's great how are rides can bring us closer and be part of the family. Many thanks for the post. NORM
@36cab thanks for sharing this moving story that is your life around Hotrod/Custom...you have shared the Cabriolet in a Thread I posted some time ago but revisiting past Excellence is always enlightening...
Cool story! My dad was a mechanic for a living so I never got to spend time with him doing car stuff for the love of it, just when it needed to be done when one of our many shit boxes broke down. He never made it to retirement before he passed.
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