Photography: Kenny Kroeker
It’s almost humorous how easy it is to take the act of driving for granted. When you first get your license, the feeling of freedom is unmatched, but the novelty inevitable wears off. Thankfully, with the right car, the right day and the right friends, driving can once again become a truly enjoyable experience.
Everyone has their own special roads, those routes upon which minutes can easily become hours as the kilometers whip by. On these roads, the journey becomes more memorable than the end point and driving necessitates the rare act of living in the moment, facilitated by internal combustion and four wheels.
The importance of going out for a drive is reaffirmed by people like Brian Jones. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who enjoys a drive more than him. Not racing, not showing off, just driving.
“I don’t own a trailer to pull my finished projects around with,” he says, proving his own point. “I build all my cars so they can be enjoyed on the road. I’ve been doing that since my first one.”
Car one, in Jones’ case, was a 1960 Austin Mini that he purchased for a song at just 14 years old. Graduating from model cars to soap box derby racers, Jones was unphased by the fact the car functionally had no brakes to speak of. Unable to legally drive on the road, Jones found another way to get around in it. “The Mini was so small I was able to drive it on the sidewalk relatively easily,” he says. Driving a car willingly on walkways certainly isn’t recommended, but it was nonetheless here where the appreciation for the freedom vehicles could provide was first revealed to Jones.
Kicking over the ignition to his 1928 Model A today evokes the same feelings he had then, only now he keeps his cars off the sidewalk. Jones remarks that his favorite days are those behind the wheel with his wife at his side and like-minded individuals in cars of their own around him.
“I don’t own a trailer to pull my finished projects around with,” he says, proving his own point. “I build all my cars so they can be enjoyed on the road. I’ve been doing that since my first one.”
He has driven to many destinations in Canada and the US in a variety of cars, most but not all of which are American-made. Exceptions are made for “anything cool.” The first true “car guy” in his home, Jones and his teenaged obsession in Tri-Five automobiles prompted his family to wonder where he got the interest from. He attributes the Brantford Ontario neighbourhood he grew up in as an irreplaceable influence. “All of the neighbourhood kids were into cars and bikes,” he says. “We modified anything with wheels as best we possibly could.” They also tested everything they built, sometimes romping through a local motorcycle shop’s jump track in whatever they could pull together.
Jones survived his youthful shenanigans with an appreciation for functional vehicles and, in the years that followed, went on to own and build a variety of them. A millwright, not mechanic, by trade, he gained his knowledge in two ways: trial by fire and swap meets.
The under-praised hero of the car world, swap meets provide irreplaceable wisdom for builders like Jones. Much more than parts can be gained between the sellers’ isles on an early week’s end morning if you know the right questions to ask.
“I usually only sell when I have too many things at home I’ve already bought,” says Jones. But swap meets are typically the excuse for many of the long drives his 1928 Ford embarks upon.
Fittingly, the Model A body that was the catalyst for the entire build was itself a swap-meet find. Ready to leave a meet empty handed Jones spotted the car about to enter the show as he was pulling out. He flagged down the then-owner and left a deposit before the car was able to fully enter the grounds. When he returned with full payment, the car had amassed quite a number of would-be suitors. Some might call the purchase luck, but given the end result it seems more like fate.
The ‘A’ started as little more than an idea and a garage floor full of 2×4 rectangle tubing. There was no singular influence for the build, but rather a collection of ideas gathered through time and chance encounters. The end goal was always a traditionally styled hot rod, something timeless that would defy trend and never go out of fashion.
The car was in exceptional original shape, and some may have left it as such give the opportunity, but like a true 1960s hot rodder, Jones was not shy with the cutting tools. Three inches in total were taken out of the roof and a matching three were channeled out of the floor. To keep the side profile visually correct, the grille shell was also chopped two inches. The complete unit now sits between two 1930 Guide Lamp Company lights.
Stock Ford spindles sit at either end of a Super Bell Axle up front fit with So-Cal hair pins, radius rods and shocks. A Posies front spring keeps the front end in the weeds where it ought to be, and in the rear a hot rod staple, the Ford 9”, sits suspended by owner-built ladder bars. Under the hood, a bored out ‘65 Chevy 283 is complemented by an Edelbrock Triple Deuce intake and Rochester 2-jet carburetors. Edelbrock valve covers add a little bit of fashion and Porter mufflers provide the grunt.
Inside, a modified Chevrolet S10 seat has been redone in red and white vinyl. In front of the seat is a chrome steering column and a ‘40 Ford-style steering wheel. Finally, rolling stock consists of Wheel Vintiques wheels and Coker wide whites.
Working from his no-trailers mantra, the car has travelled every kilometer of its new life under its own power. Furthermore, as a testament to Jones’ meticulous nature, outside of a flat tire, the humble Ford has never left its occupants stranded. Destinations have included Louisville, Michigan and the Grand Rapids. Putting a thousand klicks on the car in a single weekend is not at all uncommon during the summer months.
In addition to the Model A, Jones has a two-door 1957 Chevy Wagon and a ‘30s Ford pickup that have once again sent him back to cruising the swap meets. Many of his drives are under the guise of parts searching, but it’s clear through the passion and enthusiasm in Jones every action that the friendship and memories made along the way are more important than any part will ever be.