Ex-politician experiences Dodge déjà vu
Man acquires ’48 droptops 30 years apart
It’s not often you can replicate an amazing time in your youth once you’ve reached your senior years.
But Bill Barlow did just that, acquiring in his 80s a classic car identical to the 1948 Dodge Custom convertible he bought off a used-car lot at age 21.
The year was 1951, and it was amazing to have a convertible in those days. There weren’t many, and the used ones were usually quite worn out. Bill had known this convertible all his life — it was a standout in his hometown of Galt, Ontario, an hour west of Toronto.
A convertible was a rare sight in Galt when Bill was young and he loved the blue one that George Schultz had bought new at the local Chrysler dealership.
“I always admired that car and saw an opportunity in 1951 when I drove by a used car lot and saw it for sale,” Bill Barlow recalls. Then 21 years old, he traded in a 1949 Austin. “I went to see my banker to borrow the money and he said, ‘You’re supposed to trade up, not down’.”
He says the only other convertible in Galt was a black Mercury of similar vintage owned by another young man. They would wave when they passed each other.
Bill got married in 1955. He had taught his bride how to drive the Dodge. But by 1956, the couple was starting a family and it was time to sell the cherished convertible. Bill traded it in on a 1951 Studebaker Starlight coupe.
He had been working for Barlow Cartage and Storage, a trucking company started by his grandfather and operated by his father. “I got my driver’s license at 15 after my father told the license office that I was needed in the business,” he says.
The years went by, with Bill and his wife raising a family and keeping the business going. He was a city councillor for 10 years and a Conservative member of provincial parliament for two terms.
In 1982, Bill spotted an advertisement in the Toronto Star for a 1948 Dodge Custom convertible for sale. He called the owner and held his breath when he asked for the colour. Upon hearing that it was blue, he bought it.
He drove the Dodge home and used it occasionally until 2004, when he committed it to a full restoration. Like his original convertible, this was a very well optioned car.
Powered by a six cylinder flathead engine driven through a Fluid Drive semi automatic transmission, other features include a radio, electric clock, lighter, spotlight, dual fog lights, a backup light, grille guard and an external valve to check the pressure in the spare tire while it is stored in the trunk.
Bill Barlow’s car shows 81,000 miles on the speedometer. Bill is now 81 and has fond memories of cruising his threeyear-old 1948 Dodge Custom convertible all the way to Boston and back in 1952.
He treasures how the memory of that car was brought to life with the purchase of the identical car 30 years later.