Hobby puts get up, go in Model A

Published 5:00 am Monday, October 23, 2000

An appreciation of antiques and the preservation of Americanhistory is driving a Lincoln County man down an interesting roadwith a “new” mode of transportation.

Bob King has always liked to look at old cars, so when he hadthe opportunity to buy a 1930 Model A Ford Coupe, he couldn’t passit up.

He saw the Model A eight years ago sitting in a yard in Alabama,and he knew then he had to have it.

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“I’ve always liked the ’30s. They have a really classy look,”said King.

King realized the car needed some work, but he decided a littlepatience, sweat and elbow grease were well worth putting into anAmerican classic.

He began rebuilding the coupe six years ago, beginning fromalmost scratch.

“I’ve rebuilt it from the floor up,” said King. “I know everypart of it.”

King even stripped the car down to the frame, then sandblastedand painted everything. He also replaced all the non-working partswith remanufactured parts, which are hard to come by.

“The old parts are really rare now,” he said. “There’s onlyabout 10 companies that will remanufacture parts.”

King didn’t mind having to find the parts and pay high pricesfor them, because he wanted to make his 1930 Model A as close tooriginal as possible, something he has succeeded in doing.

“It’s about 92-to-93 percent original,” he said. “I wanted it tobe just like it came off the showroom floor, and it’s pretty close.I think Henry Ford would like this one.”

King said Ford would probably have appreciated his attention todetail. King has studied every inch of the coupe, making sure herecreated its original look exactly. He even made sure to paint thecar the same dark color it was 70 years ago.

“That’s the way Mr. Ford wanted it, and that’s what I restoredit, to every nut and bolt,” said King.

Now that the 1930 Model A is close to finished, King isn’t surewhat he’ll do with it. He doesn’t plan to drive it around, now thatit is fully-functional.

“Taking it out for a drive doesn’t even interest me,” he said.”It’s the rebuilding that I enjoy.”

In eight years, King has added only 20 miles to the vehicle’sodometer. He may add a few more in the future, though, because hehopes to one day become more involved in antique car shows andcompetitions.

“It would probably place pretty high in a show, and one day I’mgoing to put it in one,” he said.

King has enjoyed the rebuilding hobby so much that he has takenon a second antique car to fix, a 1929 Ford sports coupe. This carwon’t be finished for several years, he said.