Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 21, 1993 TAG: 9310200336
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY WALKER SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
For more than four decades, Croy held on to his 1931 Ford Model A, despite its deteriorating condition.
"I looked around and saw it, and said, `What in the world is he holding onto this thing for,' " said Pency Croy, who became Earl's second wife in 1986.
Croy, 67, held on because he dreamed of having the car restored to showroom condition - a dream that finally has come true.
The story began in 1952, when Croy bought the three-speed, two-seater from Bill Leary in Covington. "It had a paint job on it, and everything was on it, but it was a little on the rough side," says Croy, a Covington native who has lived or worked in Covington, Radford, Christiansburg, Dublin and Hopewell.
At the time, Croy wasn't interested in the car's antique value. "I just needed transportation and it was running good and the guy didn't want but $100 for it. At the time I was probably making $1 an hour wages. It wasn't anyone but me and my wife and the two kids was small, and we could crawl up in it."
The car's last inspection had been in February 1954. "I just parked it and got another car and put it under a car cover in the backyard," Croy says.
But the car wasn't forgotten. "I wanted to restore it but I also wanted to save some money on it. Each time I saved some money, something would happen with my family," Croy says. The house needed a new roof, the children needed separate bedrooms. "I felt like the other priorities were more important."
The engine was rebuilt in the early '60s, and then the car languished for 30 years.
By the early '90s, Croy was retired, remarried and living in Cloverdale. He was also the owner of a cabin on Craig Creek.
One day in May 1992, Pency Croy realized that time was running out on her husband's dream.
"Years don't stretch out," she says. "You've got to do what you're going to do now. I just said, `Why not sell it [the cabin], take the proceeds and get the car fixed?' "
That's what Croy did. That November, he towed the car to Bob's Auto Shop near Harrisonburg, where mechanic Bob Varner went to work. Varner checked the four-cylinder motor.
"He said it was so perfect it was like a brand spanking motor," Croy says.
The body was also in good shape; the car has never been wrecked, as far as Croy knows. Varner took the car apart. He installed stainless steel valves and tappets so the car could run on unleaded gas. He painted it green, replaced the upholstery and installed a rumble seat, which was an option on the original car.
By September the job was done. Croy would rather not tell how much it cost, but the car is insured for $40,000.
On Sept. 25, Varner delivered the car to Croy. One of its first trips was to Lovell's Exxon, where it was inspected for the first time in nearly 40 years.
And, how does it feel to finally get behind the wheel? "It feels wonderful but I'm a little bit scared," Croy says. "I had a total knee replacement on my right knee, and I don't have the flexibility I used to have." As soon as he feels more comfortable maneuvering the pedals with his right foot, and as soon as he gets a water pump fixed, Croy plans to take his prize possession on the roads around Cloverdale.
"I didn't restore it just to leave it in the garage," he says.
Memo: NOTE: Also ran in Current November 5, 1993.