6 minute read
Ready to Shine
BY FRANCESCA PACCHIANO
The restoration and enjoyment of classic and antique cars has been part of the Bell’s family for generations. When Fred was a boy, his father bought Mighty White, a 1913 White touring car, and fixed it up.
“My dad got the remains of it in 1966, and he put it together, you couldn’t really call it restored. But he put it together and made a car out of it.… It’s got wooden spoke wheels, and you crank it to start. It was put together out of all the old parts that he could scrounge up.”
The antique vehicle, which looks more like a horse-drawn carriage than a modern car, changed hands several times before Fred managed to buy it back. “It was my favourite car when I was a kid, and [my father] sold it in 1972. And it changed hands and went into decline over the years. And by 1990, it was in bad enough shape, so nobody else wanted it enough that I bought it back. And then I worked on it.”
That experience was formative for Fred, but for most of his life, restoring cars was a hobby he didn’t have time for. It’s only been in the last few decades that he’s made time for it. “I’m as interested in antique cars as I’ve ever been, but the biggest problem with antique cars is that this island has grown up so much and there’s so much traffic that they’re very difficult to drive.”
Modern cars and roads are often too fast for antique cars. “Driving an antique car from 1913, it’s like driving a car with virtually no brakes compared to the cars of today, and people don’t understand that, and they’ll cut in front of you.”
The hot rods, however, may look old, but those classic cars are often more modern in their driving capabilities. “Driving down the highway to get to Victoria – that’s just fun.”
Fred had just returned from the Deuce Days in Victoria when I met him at his home and workshop in North Oyster. The Deuce Days is a three-day long festival, the largest in the world, to celebrate hot rods. “The Deuce is a 1932 Ford, and they’re generally considered to be the ultimate in the hot rod world.”
While Fred enjoyed the drive down the Island, some people were shipping their cars internationally to attend the event. “There was somebody who brought a car from New Zealand. There was one gentleman with a 1932 Ford sedan who drove it from Vermont.”
The classic cars he owns are a Deuce pickup and a two-door sedan. He bought the pickup over forty years ago and restored it slowly, but the sedan he’s had for less than two years. “I got some help on the second one because one of the things that I’ve come to realize in life is there’s a difference between being capable of doing something and being capable of getting it done.”
The pickup is fully restored, with gold paint and a sparkling trim. The drive stick is nothing short of excessive and is higher than the dashboard. The engine coil is housed in a Lucky beer can. It’s details like that make restoring and keeping these classic cars a joyful experience for Fred. “I get more questions about the beer can than anything else,” he said.
The restoration process – and staying close to the original –is important to Fred because of the nostalgia. “So, there’s all kinds of different genres and people that are interested in cars that were built in 1955 or cars from the forties or fifties. The cars that were hot-rodded in the 1950s are totally different from what was done in the eighties or nineties or today. That nostalgia era of the sixties – that’s the one that interests me the most because I grew up in the sixties, and I can remember those times.”
The sedan has only recently been restored to a drivable state. A few months ago, it was little more than a husk and a frame. Now it looks powerful. He’s kept the original paint job – a matte red with lots of scrapes from its years of disrepair. It’s easier to drive it, he said, knowing that he’s not going to chip the paint.
He said he likes the sedan because the backseat allows him to fit his grandchildren into it and take them for a spin. The memories he made of working in and being around cars with his father is something that he hopes to share with his grandkids.
He will be taking his cars to the upcoming Rod Run and Show ’n’ Shine in Ladysmith. The Rod Run, on Friday, August 15, is a route for the registered hot rods to drive, winding through the town of Ladysmith, down Chemainus Road to the roundabout at Henry Road and then back to the A&W just north of Ladysmith.
The Ladysmith Show ’n’ Shine, on the following day, Saturday, August 16, is an opportunity to see these classic cars up close. It all starts at 10 am and wraps up at 3 pm. Registration begins at 8 am at the north end of First Avenue. The popular car show is hosted by the Ladysmith Lug Nuts Society, known formerly as the Ladysmith Show & Shine Society. You can still register but hurry. For more information and how to volunteer or participate please email showandshineladysmith@gmail. com
“If you want to walk up and look at them and ask questions, pretty much everybody’s receptive to that.”
It’s also an opportunity to appreciate all the hard work that has been put into refurbishing and restoring these cars. It’s truly a labour of love.
“I hope people enjoy seeing them as much as we enjoy working on them and driving them. If you see them on the road, try and give them a little bit of room.”
