TACOMA, WASHINGTON
IN LATE 1962 I turned 16 and was already on my eighth contemporary car rebuild. It was also the year I started a subscription to , which fueled my antique car interests, particularly a desire to find and restore a Ford Model A. After weeks of unsuccessfully searching the length of Long Island—where I lived at the time—I was heading home and something behind a garage caught my eye. It was a 1931 Model A woody wagon. All the wood was intact but also full of dry rot. The metal bodywork was dented but rust-free and easily restorable. So, too, was the stainless hardware, nearly all of which was with the Ford. The mechanical systems were in crates. I talked to the owner, who told me he purchased the car and had planned to convert it into a beach buggy to use on Fire Island. Fortunately, he was in the
