[SamIyam]

I was born into it, really.

My dad was a car lover and bought our families Model A in 1972 and we joined the Modesto Area A's in '72... I was two years old.

I joke with people that I have been going to the Turlock Swap Meet since I was a fetus... which, I actually have been.

My mom was pregnant with me in January of 1970... and then I was born that March. I've been every year since.

This will be my 41st year going... and I'm 40 years old! Top that! hahaha!!

Through the years my dad had built a couple of other Model A's... and owned a few more...

Highlights are the monthly tours that we went on and all of the Northern California Round Ups that we attended.

Then of course there was the trip we took from California to Kansas when I was 9 years old. Family of five in a Model A coupe pulling a Mullins trailer... very fun, and one hell of an adventure.

My dad had built a Model A coupe almost identical to his for my grandfather in 1974... and then we took it to him in I think 1975...

When he became too old to drive, he gave it back to my dad... this was about 1988.

He then sold our familie's Model A in 1991... and it disappeared.

On a cold January day in 1995 my dad passed away... at the time, my dad and I were planning on buying a Model A to build a hot rod out of. My mom ended upo giving me my grandfather's Model A... which I proceeded to turn into a hot rod.

Since building that car... I have built several other hot rods, drag cars and a Bonneville car... and a handful of other cars for others. I think I have owned somwhere in the neighborhood of 60 cars cince my first car, a '55 Chevy, that I bought when I was 14 in 1984.

Anyway, during a search for a Model A for a friend (to build a hot rod out of) I found our families original Model A.

I found the car on e-bay... but the auction ended early.

Through several e-mails and some phone calls... I tracked the car down. It was in Bentonville Arkansas!

I called the guy on a Sunday to seal the deal... wired him the money the next day... called a shipper and he said "You're in luck! I have a truck going through Bentonville tomorrow!"

I had the car that Friday...

I put my hot rod up for sale to buy the stocker back... and actually got more than twice what the stocker was worth.

But you know, I'm having a lot of fun with my dad's old A... the car is virtually unchanged from when he built it in the early 70's... same paint, same interior... everything.

The last two years of my free time have been taken up with work on our Model B powered Bonneville car... so now that THAT is done... I have drug out dad's A and have been messing with it.

Got her running real sweet and decided to take the A to my mom's for a Thanksgiving dinner. Well, we lost a rod about 45 min into the trip. Pulled the motor tonight and want to go through it.

In short... that's how I got into these little cars!

Sam