Monday, April 13, 2009

Feats of Craftsmanship

I hope you'll indulge a non-furniture post. I wanted to share the impeccable work my father has done over the last several years restoring a 1931 Model A Ford. This wasn't something he found in a junkyard. This was his father's car. They used it as a tractor to plow a hundred acres for corn in Indiana (and later harvested the corn by hand). He and his brothers weighted down the back with cinder blocks so they could tow other cars out of ditches during snowstorms.





Most of the car is original, some of the parts are vintage and others are new, but it's a faithful restoration. It's an amazing accomplishment, especially since the car sat in a field for several decades and had a tree growing through it. This car, it's fair to say, is in better shape now than when my grandfather bought it used in 1947. I'll bet it's in better shape than when it rolled out of the factory.



I'm very proud of him and inspired by his skill, tenacity and patience. I only wish I could be 1/10th the craftsman he is.

Flickr embedding isn't working, so click here to see some brief video.





3 Comments:

Kari Hultman said...

That's an incredible accomplishment given the condition that the car was in. Your father did a beautiful job. We had a model A with rumble seat when I was a kid and my dad sold it for $5,000 in 1970 (I think). My brother locked me in the rumble seat when I was five and I've been claustrophobic ever since!

modernemama said...

That is a fantastic restoration. I hope he takes it out for jaunts on weekends in the summer

Unknown said...

Great looking car. an a heck of a job father did restoring it.
Joey