Jim Stimson gets a twinkle in his eye as he revs the engine of his modified 1931 Ford hot rod and takes off down the street.
"I always, always had an interest in vintage cars and hot rods," he says.
Although the restoration and modification of the vehicle wasn't a labour of love for Stimson, it's been the apple of his eye for the better part of the last decade. He'll be showing it off at the Ladner Village Quilt Walk and Classic Car Show for the first time on Sunday.
Stimson, president of the Little House Society, bought the modified fivewindow coup hot rod from friend Roland Kirouac in Dryden, Ontario nine years ago when he was in town for a community substance abuse education event.
Kirouac was supposed to drive him to the airport but asked if he wanted to stop by his house to check out some cars before leaving town.
It was love at first sight as the garage door was raised to reveal the classic car that had been painstakingly rebuilt and modified into a hot rod by Kirouac's late father, Joe Kirouac.
"I just about started drooling," he says with a laugh.
The senior Kirouac made restoring old cars a hobby in his later years. He picked up the '31 Ford in 1976 in a community in rural Manitoba.
It needed some work and he set out to not only restore it but to modify it into a hot rod for Roland.
"It was a technical challenge for him," Stimson says, adding he had only done restorations before that.
While the body of the car is original, it's been modified to include a standard transmission, larger engine (a 302 Mustang), a stereo, air conditioning, power windows and seatbelts.
The car was for sale, but the original asking price was a bit more than Stimson could afford. He offered his friend a lower amount with the promise that it would stay in his family for good. A deal was struck and Stimson spent the next year making payments.
Once the car was paid for, Kirouac and his grandson drove it from Dryden to Quesnel, where Stimson was living at the time.
Stimson has been enjoying it ever since and likes to spread that enjoyment around. In order to keep his promise to his friend, he willed it to his eldest son.
"I wanted a driver," he says of what he was looking for in a collectable car, adding he didn't want one that would just be put on display. "I also wanted to give pleasure to old folk and younger folk."
He regularly drives it around town - as long as the weather is nice - and delights in seeing people's reactions, especially the older generation that remembers the original.
He's always willing to talk with those admiring the car, and sometimes even takes them for a ride.
Photo by Jessica Kerr / Jim Stimson will be displaying his modified 1931 Ford for the first time at Sunday's show.;
