John owns two 1931 Dodge DH6 business coupes. One has wood spoke wheels and the other, wire spoke wheels. Both originally came with wood spoke wheels. He got his first car seen here, primer red currently under restoration, when he was just fifteen. He has been in the process of restoration ever since, but has gotten a few miles out of it by driving to and from high school everyday as a teenager. This photo shows him at age sixteen.

John’s cars were lucky to have escaped a production cut at the Dodge production plants in 1930 whereby models were discontinued as company bosses looked only to produce a few models with six and eight cylinder engines. Ten years later these models, including John’s model, would be redesigned and ready for production. Sadly, they never made it past the assembly line after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 put the Dodge assembly lines into full wartime production.

John got his second car, the dark blue one, in 2004, and has been restoring it back to its original form ever since. This includes reversing alterations made by a previous owner.

“I have been doing restoration related upgrades since I got my second car. Right now, I am in the process of replacing the clutch. It had a cobbled on dual exhaust setup on it when I got it so I took it back to original with the old updraft carburetor” said John.

The practice of altering classics was very common in the 80’s and 90’s as enthusiasts wanted to have the functionality of modern gearboxes and electronics with the style of a classic car. Unfortunately, reversing the process is often easier said than done. Older cars are more fragile and need to be treated as such. However, you may think that finding parts for a car of this age would be difficult, but John says “I am still able to find parts on the internet more so than before the internet was available”.

This is due to a vibrant community in the classic car world with many owners trading or selling car parts at events or online. John has been a member of several classic car clubs including heading one up as its President.

“I was a member of the Antique Auto Club of America in Detroit, Michigan when I was 17 years old. I used to be the president of the W. P. Chrysler Club Regional San Diego group when I lived there. At the same time, I was a member of the Horseless Carriage Club of America. When I moved to Oregon, I became a member of the State of Jefferson Antique Car Club here in Phoenix, Oregon and I still belong to the national W. P. Chrysler Club.”, says John.

Clubs are the main driving force behind the classic car scene, especially to keep the culture of cars pre 1960 going. Until recently, there was little media attention that cars of the 60’s and 70’s got in films and pop culture.

I asked John about how he first became interested in classic cars and the passion that comes along with them. He said that he first began to enjoy cars when he was seven years old.

“My dad took us kids to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village “Old Car Festival” in Dearborn, Michigan when we were young. I have had the bug ever since.”

When he got his first car he said it was the overall shape and style that attracted him to it as a young teenager. Many cars of this era are criticized for looking the same but on closer inspection they have great differences. His favourite aspects of the cars are the low roof, long hood, short deck and "smiling" front bumpers. He also loves the attention the cars get whenever he parks them. “They ALWAYS draw a crowd” says John.

Driving old cars however is in some ways better than driving a modern cars. For one thing, despite fuel economy, John said that “it is actually cheaper to drive and maintain my old 1931 Dodge because newer cars cost so very much to diagnose and repair.” However, like any classic car owner John has had his fair share of small problems with his vehicle. At the moment he is in the middle of repairing the clutch on his blue DH 6.

“Right now, it needs the new clutch installed before I can drive it again. It also needs the front suspension reworked a little because when I hit a bump it starts to shimmy. I was driving my blue car every day until the clutch went away. After the clutch replacement, I will be driving the car daily, as before.”

Finally, I had to ask John a burning question of mine. You see, the thing about classic car owners is that they always keep their eyes open for the next one. I asked John what car would be his dream car.

“If I could choose ONE car? That is a really hard question. It would have to be a 1929 L-29 Cord Cabriolet. The draws for me would again be the long hood, short deck, low profile and overall beauty.”

By Dean Sherwin

Dean is based in Ireland and has extensive writing experience, especially in the area of the auto industry writing car features, reviews and blogs, as well as other cultural and sporting events, and the gaming industry.

http://www.artofstinginess.com- Owner and Editor

www.deansherwin.com Freelance Technology, Culture and Opinion Writer