Go Devil Garage

This is a special story about a very common car – a 1930 Model A Ford Coupe.

For about 35 years it probably led a very normal life until it became a pile of miscellaneous Model A parts in someone’s barn in upstate New York. A few years later my Dad began looking for a Model A (a Model A was his first car) and became acquainted with the owner of the parts pile. About a year later (ca 1974) some of the parts pile was thrown together and became a drivable 1930 Model A Coupe registered to Albert J Clarke Sr. A few years later Al Sr. moved to Wilton, NY (oh yes, the car tagged along) and settled into a home near his son Albert J Clarke II. This put Al Sr. in close proximity to his grandson Albert J Clarke III (no imagination in this family). By this time the car was showing need of a ground up restoration and the grandson (still in school) was showing signs of becoming a talented restoration artist; so with a great amount of trust the Coupe was rolled into the garage and returned to a pile of parts. In less than a year, the Grandfather and Grandmother were touring Eastern New York in grand style. But times catches up with all of us and by the late 1990s, Al Sr. had to give up his driver’s license. By the early 2000’s the car was back on the road again, licensed by his son. After a few years the car passed on to the grandson (who now has his own business “Go Devil Garage”) working on antique cars and engines and there it remains, licensed & ready for a road trip.

A Model A licensed to three generations of the same family is special but not too unusual – but how
many of those cases involved three generation with the same name?!