CAR CLUBS


GIUSEPPE CASTRUCCI Capital A cool:


Leaving the fast guys behind


Established in 1975, the Capital A’s


club is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the Model A Ford. I had the pleasure of sitting down with


Arnold Saunders recently to discuss the club and how it all began. The smiles and laughter of the interview still resonate in my mind. “So, Arnold,” I asked, “How did it all


begin?” “Well, Peppe,” said Arnold, “I’m sure


that since the dawn of time, when two cars gathered in one spot, a car club of some sort began − and the bragging started!” “No, Arnold,” I said, “not car clubs in gen- eral (but thanks for that tidbit), the Capital A’s!” I knew I was in for a great chat from


that moment forward. Many of us remember cruise nights at


the A&W and local drive-in theatres (the excitement of the 50s and 60s), where car clubs began. Prior to 1975, Capital A purists be-


10 BOUNDER MAGAZINE


longed to the Antique Automobile Club of Ottawa. Almost any car qualified, and as such there was a wide variety of originals,


from hot rods to Model A and everything in between. As the engine size and muscle increased, the little Model “A” 4-cylinder just could not keep up. Arnold recalled how, in 1975, Joe


Amendola and Colin Lawson, two of the earliest members, and the rest of the group, made the decision to restrict the club to ‘A’ originals only. I remembered that the car was only in


production from 1928 to 1931. “Did the guys not think that would be


too restrictive?” I asked. Arnold reminded me that in those short


four years Ford built five million Model A cars. (Maybe this is what happens when you conduct an interview at a pub. You forget that those years were the start of the great industrial revolution and the produc- tion line.) So what are the costs associated with a


Model A? “Glad you asked,” said Arnold. “You


can get yourself into a Model A for about $18,000 and because the cars are kept as built, you are looking at insurance rates that sit at or around $200 a year.”


www.bounder.ca


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64