[dean from bozeman]

When I was a kid my dad would tell me stories about the cars he owned before World War ll. He spoke fondly of the Model A's that he had owned. When I saw a Model A for the first time there was something that I liked about it. I saved every penny that I made from the third grade on so I could eventually buy an "A". That actually happened the summer before my sophomore year in '66.

I found a '29 Tudor in a want ad. I bought it, brought it home and started restoring it. I spent every non working minute working on it in our inner city garage. I spent every available penny I had getting parts for it. I had finished the chassis and did all the body work. All I needed to do was to put the final coat of paint on it. College approached. Since I worked my way through college, I had no money to spare. I moved away and thus it sat for 35 years.

When my son asked about it, we drove the 1300 miles to my dad's house to pick it up. However someone had beat me to it. My dad's garage was nearly empty. Someone had stole everything except for the chassis and the body. Gone were all the sheet metal parts: fenders, gas tank, doors, aprons, hood, etc. The parts were gone but not the dream.

The Tudor will be restored after we finish A495 (a phaeton) and A7191 (a coupe).