Dad’s Car
I’ve wanted to write this blog and share this story for a while and I’ve told it to a handful of clients and with Father’s Day in the rearview mirror I figured now would be the perfect time.
Dads and cars have gone together like PB&J or milk and cookies since the invention of the automobile. Many car enthusiasts begin telling a story about their Dad’s car as to why they got into cars and continue to indulge in all things automotive. Reminiscent memories of helping Dad work on the car, Dad proudly driving his completed project to the local car show, or even not shining the flashlight properly are retold with a smile undoubtedly on their face.
Memories are created and time is well spent. As time moves on, Dad gets older and he might not go to the shows anymore. He's still out there every Saturday washing and detailing as if the judges were going to pull up into the driveway any minute.
Then the call that no one wants to answer comes. Dad’s gone.
The funeral and memorial are held. As the invisible wounds begin to heal, they are slowly reopened as his belongings, estate, and trinkets are passed down to their respective family members. Each box opened or artifact found brings a flash from the past.
There’s a looming question that still hangs in the air. What are we going to do with Dad’s car?
What DO WE DO with dad's car?
Sometimes a family member is able to adopt the car and bring it home for it to continue to live its life. With storage space and time at a premium the difficult decision to sell Dad’s car is the next logical choice.
I’ve shot a handful of cars that were passed down and sold by family members. The energy is always different than if I were shooting a Porsche that the owner just wants to flip and buy the newest version. I always try to chat about the car or truck, and get the seller to tell some stories. I don’t know, at least try to be a small positive cog in the grieving process. I wanted to share, to the best of my memory, a story that was shared with me during a shoot I did in July of 2025. Some parts are dramatized.
1941 Ford Deluxe Business Coupe
1997, Ontario, CA - Ontario and other parts of the Inland Empire serve as a secondary distribution hub for the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. Storage warehouses take up large swathes of land and the rail system spiderwebs out to meet America’s demand for goods and material from overseas.
Dad worked on the railroads based in Ontario and his line would take him through the Grapevine and into the Tehachapi Pass. Side note, the Tehachapi Pass is home of the Tehachapi Loop, a railroad engineering marvel, if a train is long enough it will pass over itself. It’s pretty cool, Google it.
He would routinely see this blue ‘41 Ford in front of a barn and it looked like it didn’t get driven much. One day, he had the day off and went to knock on the door to see if the owner might be interested in selling it.
“I’ll sell it to you under one condition. Don’t turn it to a fuckin’ hot rod.”
Knock knock knock, a woman answers the door,”hello ma’am I’ve noticed that blue Ford in the fro……”. “Ralph! It’s for you!” shouts the woman, interrupting Dad’s opening pitch.
An old man dragging an oxygen tank makes his way to the front door. “Yeah? What do you want?”, the cigarette stenched man says.
“Well sir, I’ve noticed that Ford in the front. I work on the railroad and see it all the time. I was wondering if you were interested in selling it?”, says Dad.
At first the old man was reluctant and some back and forth went on. Finally the old man was in a position that he was comfortable with.
“I’ll sell it to you under one condition. Don’t turn it to a fuckin’ hot rod.” the old man said.
Both men shook on the terms and Dad was the owner of this 1941 Ford Deluxe Business Coupe.
Dad kept his word; he didn't rod it out. Somewhere between now and then the car made its way from CA to OH. He worked on it, restored it, and repainted it. From talking with the son/seller of the vehicle his Dad loved this car and loved working on it. He was banged up about having to sell it, lack of time and lack of storage.
One of the cool things about this shoot was that we met behind a movie theater in Willoughby, OH. The back lot must serve as a shortcut for patrons of the large shopping center the theater is situated in. Every five minutes or so a car would turn the corner, drive towards us, slow down, roll the window down and shout “Nice car!” or “Is that yours?”. I also feel that the shopping center’s security guard patrolled that lot more than usual during that timespan even though I got his blessing to shoot there before I started. The owner was always gracious with the compliments and would answer any of the questions that passers-by may have.
Unfortunately, it did not meet its reserve on BaT as it was only bid up to $10,400. I’m assuming the owner still has it? I don’t know if it was sold off site or its current whereabouts. LISTING LINK
If you or a loved one are in a position where you have to sell Dad’s car on auction or even Facebook. Give me a call, shoot me an email or fill out a form. Let’s make sure to get the right images for Dad’s car.