zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Culture
/
Meet The Canadian Who's Driven The Same Model T For 70 Years
Meet The Canadian Who's Driven The Same Model T For 70 Years-July 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:12:56

Image for article titled Meet The Canadian Who's Driven The Same Model T For 70 Years

How many of you still have your first car? Canada’s 87-year-old Randall Pitman does, and it’s honestly one of the cutest stories I’ve heard.

Pitman purchased his first car at age 17, saving up his ten-cents-an-hour salary pumping gas part-time, s. When he reached a full $50in 1949, he took his earnings down to the auction house where he knew a 1927 Ford Model T would be up for sale. His retelling of that moment is actually pretty great:

“Eventually, I bid $45 and the auctioneer, as auctioneers do, kept saying, ‘Forty-five! Who will give me 50?’” he remembers. “I stupidly said ‘Forty-seven fifty,’ and he said ‘Sold!’”

Just like that, Pitman had his car.

I think the best thing about this whole story is the fact that the car wasn’t even new when he bought it! He was investing in something that he loved but that could pretty much already considered a classic at the time. And he’s been practically religious about maintaining it.

The truck still functions like the day it rolled off the production line, but Pitman has been more cautious about driving it long distances these days. Parts for a car that old don’t come cheap, and it can be tough to find those parts while you’re traveling far from home.

I don’t know how many of you still have your first car, but I can’t imagine it’s in as good a condition as this Model T. My dad still has the 1970 Barracuda he bought when he was in high school, but that poor thing hasn’t seen the light of day in a long time.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Culture
I Can't Get Enough Of This YouTuber Who Builds Tiny, Fully Functional Scale-Model Cars
I Can't Get Enough Of This YouTuber Who Builds Tiny, Fully Functional Scale-Model Cars
I love tiny, of . I have a that is roughly half the size of a normal cat, and she’s perfect. I own a 2013 , which is like the miniature version of a normal-sized vehicle (at least here in Texas) — but beyond that, I also own a Hot...
Jul 23, 2025
I Entered My Lifted Miata In A Real Off-Road Race, Here's What Happened
I Entered My Lifted Miata In A Real Off-Road Race, Here's What Happened
I have two automotive loves: The first is the Miata, the second is off-road racing. For a while I raced air-cooled Volkswagens in the deserts of California and Nevada and I was lucky enough to co-drive in a class 11 stock bug in the Baja 1000 a few years...
Jul 23, 2025
Toyota Is Moving A Prewar 700-Ton Press Machine Halfway Around The World
Toyota Is Moving A Prewar 700-Ton Press Machine Halfway Around The World
closed its São Bernardo Plant in November 2023, marking the end of its first overseas production facility. The closure caps off a period of continuous car production in São Paolo, , lasting over 60 years. The plant was home to a Komatsu 700-ton press that predates itself. And now...
Jul 23, 2025
Watch ABS Fail When MotorWeek Tests A 1997 Chevy S-10
Watch ABS Fail When MotorWeek Tests A 1997 Chevy S-10
MotorWeek’s is some of the on the internet. The long-running automotive news magazine has a treasure trove of tests after being on the air for over 40 years. Where else can you find detailed instrumented testing of long-forgotten cars like the or a ? MotorWeek’s recent Retro Review upload is...
Jul 23, 2025
2024 Kia EV9: What Do You Want To Know?
2024 Kia EV9: What Do You Want To Know?
At long last, we are about to get behind the wheel of for the first time. Sure, , and sure, , and sure , but hey — what can you do? Anyway, before we get behind the wheel of this three-row electric beast, we want to know what you...
Jul 23, 2025
Subaru Had It Right All Along
Subaru Had It Right All Along
When first came to the United States, it sold small funky cars that were decidedly un-American. As the company grew its own identity and became more established in the U.S., it became the first automaker to offer an all-wheel-drive passenger car in 1975. Subaru was also an early-adopter of...
Jul 23, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved