Car passion fits him to a T
CLAYSVILLE – Ever since he was a teenager, Harry Davis of Claysville has loved antique cars. Now at the age of 66, Davis has obtained a collection of his own that keeps growing as he finds more cars to drive and restore.
“I’ve always liked old cars, I don’t know, I just enjoy it,” Davis, a retired coal miner and president of the Cantankerous Model T Ford Club, said. “It’s nice transportation, fun to drive and easy to work on.”
The 1920 Ford Model T in his collection is the oldest of the bunch and one of his most prized possessions. He’s owned it for the past four years and has already had many memorable experiences with it.
“First time I got it running, I almost went through the garage door,” Davis said with a laugh. “If you’ve never driven one before, don’t take it out into traffic.”
Davis explained that his Model T only has a high and low gear. The brakes are in the transmission and he learned how to drive it from a friend who owned one.
He said he enjoys taking his wife and grandchildren in it for small trips through town. With the top speed maxing out at 35 mph, the Model T is best suited for these types of journeys.
Davis joined the Cantankerous Model T Ford Club in 2013 and was elected president in 2015. The group has been around for decades, with some members in their 90s. Around 35 out of the 50 of them meet a few times a year.
While Davis enjoys his nearly 100-year-old Model T, it is not the only antique in his collection. He has a 1929 Ford Model A Roadster, a 1934 Dodge Plymouth Coupe, a 1963 Chevrolet Two Nova, a 1954 Chevrolet pickup and a 1975 Chevrolet Corvette.
For Davis, restoring these cars is a hobby he loves and it is how he spends most of his winter on the farm he shares with his wife, Terri. He explained how the cars of the past are more gratifying than the cars of today.
“These cars of today, you gotta go to MIT to work on them,” Davis said. The older cars “are easy to work on and I just like old cars,” he continued.
The Davises will be attending the Classics on Main Annual Car Show July 16 in Washington, where Davis hopes to meet others who share his passion of cars from the past. His Model T will be located in the Showcase Pavilion alongside a MOPAR antique vehicle collection from Bill and Colleen Toe.