By Doug Hill

For The Transcript

How many times have you heard someone say something like, “I wish I’d kept that ’56 Chevy Bel Air I had in high school?” Or, “I wish I hadn’t flipped that ’68 Austin-Healey Sprite into a ditch when I was in college.” Not many people get their sweet ride back once it’s gone for good.

But Roy Bendure did. Now that he has his 1931 Ford Model A Roadster pickup back, he’s not letting it go again.

The saga of Roy’s Ford started, of course, when the truck was a baby. In 1931 it rolled off Henry Ford’s assembly line at his new plant in Long Beach, Calif. The facility had only opened the year before. Because of the Great Depression it would be closed a year later until re-opening in 1934. The initial owner of Roy’s truck must have had plenty of do-re-mi because times were tough from sea to shining sea.

Roy didn’t see the truck for the first time until 36 years later in 1967 when he bought it for $100 from his folks’ neighbor in Corpus Christi. The truck was not in running condition so Roy rebuilt the engine and drive train himself. He painted it with a can of black spray paint. It was pretty enough to pick his girlfriend Judi up in for dates. Although he also owned a late model Mercury, there was just something about the Ford truck’s character that appealed to Roy.

In 1968 Roy and Judi decided to get married, so he sold the truck to a local service station owner for enough money to buy an engagement ring. The truck was gone but not for good. Through moving to Norman in 1978, earning a university degree, being happily married to Judi and raising two sons, Roy never forgot that old Ford truck.

In 1996, while visiting Texas to see his mom, Roy cruised by the service station on a whim. To his amazement and delight the truck was parked right on the corner. He approached the owner and introduced himself as the kid who’d sold him the truck 28 years earlier. The owner was about to retire and offered to sell the vehicle back to him. Roy and Judi decided to buy it.

Naturally, the price mark-up after nearly three decades was considerable, but they were both glad to have the Ford back in the family. And it really is part of the family.

The truck has its own scrapbook with photos taken during the various stages of restoration because he had to re-build the truck a second time.

“Fortunately, mechanical parts are still easy to get,” Roy said. “Ford didn’t have main bearings that were like roller bearings. They were cast babbit material and that was laying in pieces in the oil pan. I found a gentleman in Oklahoma City who had been rebuilding those old engines for 50 years. He did the machine work that I don’t have the equipment to do. I took a couple of days off work and assisted him when it was ready to be reassembled. The only modification I made was to have hard seats poured in the valves so I could burn unleaded gas.”

Roy explained that he made the decision not to balance the piston rods, fly wheel and crank shaft to make it run and idle smoother, unlike lots of Model A owners.

“I really wanted that Model A feel with the vibration and all,” Roy said. This statement caused a personal epiphany of sorts, helping understand why people love Fords.

The 1931 has a single barrel, cast iron carburetor that was made by Zenith. Roy said it’s easy to adjust.

“You actually make adjustments to the operation as you drive. You’ve got the spark and gas on the steering column. The spark controls the distributor, advancing or retarding the spark,” Roy said.

Explain that to your kid who’s never been in a car that didn’t have Intel inside.

The Ford has no fuel pump. The gas tank is mounted above the engine (right over the passenger’s lap) using gravity feed to the carb. The brakes are mechanical.

“You step on the brake pedal which pulls a rod which pushes another rod that pulls the key inside the brake drum that expands the shoes against the drum,” Roy said. “You can stop on a dime if you keep them adjusted, otherwise they’ll lock up on you.”

Another decision Roy had to make was whether he should restore the truck for show competition or to be a driver. It’s a driver.

“I actually use it as a pickup, hauling appliances and going to the lumber yard. I have three granddaughters and they love to go for rides in it to Braums. They can climb all over it and don’t have to worry about it getting scratched up. I have fun driving it.”

Roy made the right decision for a truck that came back into his life after being gone all those years.

Have you seen a cool car around Norman? Writer Doug Hill’s always on the lookout for future Dig My Ride columns. E-mail him at Hillreviews@hotmail.com.