Rosell’s Auto Repair’s tidy but unimposing workshop situated on a quiet woodsy intersection in River Vale, NJ appears to project a compelling gravitational force. This extraordinary power seems to exert an especially attractive draw on forlorn classic cars left abandoned but not unloved. Most of these once tantalizing treasures have for decades silently developed unmolested shrouds of dust. A hoary patina grows as these ever more weary beauties remain overshadowed by life’s greater demands, until each forgotten treasure’s place in a family’s history, like a good-natured telltale heart, could no longer be ignored.

The following offers six joy filled tales celebrating rediscovery and rebirth at the hands of Al Rosell.

Every Car Tells a Story, Here are 6 Good Ones

 

When asked, Al Rosell, owner of Rosell’s Auto Repair, makes it clear that he loves what he does but he does not go looking for vintage car resurrection candidates. The cars seem to find him. Al says, “I don’t have a website. I don’t advertise.” He relies on the power of third party testimonial. He references one customer who like many of Al’s loyal clients went to a car show looking for recommendations. We will call the customer, Carl. Carl came to Al saying, “I was at a car show and asked four different people where to bring my car. All four said go to “this guy,” he will take care of you. Well, Al is “this guy.” All of his business comes by word of mouth. Al sums up his successful marketing philosophy saying, “People talk.”

As of late, Al has observed a new trend developing. He says, “A guy or a guy and his son will come in to talk about a car that has sat in their garage for 30 years, 40 years or longer. Dad flat out says, ‘I’m getting old. I want to get this car going.’ Al continues saying, “I can’t tell you how much that has started to happen in the last two years. My God they are coming out of the woodwork.” Interestingly, people are not looking to sell the car. They want it to be enjoyed by the next generation and the generation after that. Al, with a mix of incredulity and resignation says, “I have six of them here right now.” So let’s take a look at the resurrection stories of 4-wheeled family treasures residing inside Rosell’s Auto Repair.

 

1970 Plymouth Duster

The story begins in 1970. Bobby, not his real name, not yet 18-years old wanted a car to race. He needed around $2000 plus to buy a new Plymouth Duster. He had half the cash. The other half he borrowed from his parents. Al says, “The day in 1970 that he got the Duster he ripped out the motor, tore out the transmission. He converted everything to accept a 426 hemi.” The upgrade included a 4-speed trans and a Dana rear.” Al continues the story saying, “He laid the green color right over the brand new Burnt Tan factory paint and, then, he raced it for the next three years until it blew up.” Bobby then pulled the blown hemi and the 4-speed to sell them for parts. Al says, “The car was never registered over the first few years. It was just raced. I think it only has about 14,000 miles.

Then, as young men did at that time, Bobby got married. As for the Duster, for the next 50 years it sat in various family member garages. For that subsequent half century, when it came to revisiting the Duster, well, life would just get in the way. Ultimately Bobby would move to South Carolina. The Duster did not make the trip with him.

Then one day Bobby’s older brother came to Al with a plan. The brother wanted to surprise Bobby on his 72nd birthday with the restored Duster. Game on.

Al recalls, “The brother brought me the engineless car in about a million pieces.” Installing a 360 cubic inch Mopar motor that Al rebuilt, a 4-speed and a new rear end, brought the old Duster back to life. They retained the vintage American Racing wheels from 1970. Al says, “It is going to be one heck of a shock for Bobby. We built him a real ‘time machine’.”

A few months later word came back to Al from South Carolina. Birthday boy Bobby is reliving some of the best days of his life. Al smiled.

 

1961 Corvette

Every time Al picks up the phone there is a good chance the caller has an old classic car and a story he wants to bring to Al’s Shop. This time a 50-year-old man explained that his 84-year old father bought a 1961 Corvette new and still has it, in storage. From new, his dad drove it to college. He took it to work. It wore snow tires for the winter. He relied on it as his everyday car. Then life got in the way. In 1973 with 76,000 miles on the odometer dad stashed it in the garage. This part of the story is the kicker. Al says, “The son told me his dad tried to sell it for $400 but got no takers. Then the son said, my dad just let it sit.” First it sat in the father’s parent’s garage. After the parents died his dad moved the car to the his sister’s garage. Recently, after 32 years, the sister passed. At that point and with no garage, the father decided to either sell it or fix it. They decided to fix it.

The son explained that the car is in good shape. An all numbers matching survivor, it retains its original 270 horsepower 283 with solid lifters, dual four-barrel Carter WCFB carburetors and Borg-Warner T-10 4-speed transmission. The original paint scheme, Roman Red with Ermine White cove, has rough spots and the bright work appears not too bright.

Mechanically the father wants to do the whole car over. For the interior he wants new seats and carpet. For the exterior they intend to have the original paint buffed out. As to the interior, they understood that new seats, new carpet and a thorough cleaning were in order. The father made it clear, he does not want a concours show car. He wants the Corvette refurbished back to where it would be a respectable driver for him and more importantly his son.

With the father and son having visited Al and his shop, the Corvette arrived by flatbed a few days ago. The Corvette’s arrival at Rosell’s Auto Repairs provides a lesson in perspective as to the meaning of the descriptive phrase “good shape.” Did this car possess a vast majority of its original parts and paint? Yes. Did the condition of said original parts provide a sound basis for an affordable return to original condition? Doubtful. Could the car be refurbished to a grade 3 quality good driver? Absolutely.

 

1963 T-Bird

The original owner ordered this 1963 Thunderbird just the way he wanted it with black exterior and red interior. He owned it for a long time. During which time a man we will call Jerry, not his real name, started dating the T-Bird owner’s daughter. Ultimately Jerry married the daughter. By the 1980’s the original owner, who really liked his son-in-law Jerry, gave him the T-Bird.

During that time Jerry first used it as his everyday driver as a Rutgers college student. Note the Rutgers sticker in the back windshield. As time passed the T-Bird saw less and less road time until Jerry left it to sit for the past 15 years. Now Jerry has decided to make the T-Bird road worthy and pass it on to his son with the hope that it will keep being passed on to the subsequent generation.

Al observes that with the T-Bird only having 46,000 miles on it, his shop had a lot to work with. Al affords the T-Bird his ultimate compliment when he calls it an “Honest” car. For Al, “Honest car” ranks as a high accolade. He says, “It means a radio swap was never done. The bottom of the car is rock solid. The key turns smoothly. Nobody did body work. It has never been repainted. Wires haven’t been cut and spliced. Nobody put stupid antennas on it.” For Al to be an honest car means it remains the way it was from day one. With an approving grin, Al says, “This Thunderbird is an honest car.”

Once in the shop they subjected the car to a thorough inspection of all systems and structures. This resulted in a total rebuild of the brake system; a complete replacement of all fluids, replacement of the gas tank and installation of an electronic ignition system as part of a comprehensive tune-up. New tires and new shock absorbers as well as suspension bushings returned the Thunderbird to full road worthiness.

In reflection Al says, “To work on an honest car like this transcends the skillful wrenching of nuts and bolts. It means bringing back to life personal connections that span generations. Our work not only returns a classic vehicle to functionality, it revitalizes a life connection that dates back to the day this car left the showroom over 60 years ago.

Al offers a half smile and says, “The son-in-law came here yesterday with his father-in-law who is now 90-years-old. He looks 70.” In their comments and expressions you sensed the future joy they envisioned ahead like going to kids’ baseball games, out to dinner or just driving to drive.  Clearly the money spent represented a wise investment destined to return significant dividends in contributing to a life well lived.

1931 Model A

The year 1951 saw this 1931 model A cabriolet along with a 1929 Model A pickup truck purchased by the owner of DeAngelo’s Farms in Dumont, New Jersey. The pickup worked for a living making deliveries for De Angelo’s. The cabriolet enjoyed a more leisurely existence. However, as time passed both cars aged out of usefulness and took up permanent residence in a barn on the farm. Years passed and in 2013 the local and beloved DeAngelo’s farm sold to feed the court imposed affordable housing monster devouring New Jersey’s last open space and character. Ultimately the granddaughter came into possession of both vehicles. With the pickup truck, which had suffered over its years of service sold, attention turned to the cabriolet.

About three years ago the 1931 Model A cabriolet arrived at Rosell’s Auto Repair in the hope of getting it running. With the engine and manual transmission in poor shape, Al chose to replace it all with an inline 4-cylinder engine and automatic transmission drivetrain from a late 1970s Ford Pinto. When asked why a Ford Pinto drivetrain Al says, “It was the smallest Ford 4-cylinder. We then converted the car to a 12-volt system with electronic ignition, put all new 12-volt lights and horn in it. We upgraded the mechanical brakes to a hydraulic system.” As to the exterior it looks 100% original from the outside, but it’s modern now on the inside. When asked as to the exteriors  originality, Al says, “I think it had one repaint in the 1970s. Certainly the top is not original.”

In reflecting on what the refurbishment achieved Al says, “It’s a great rumble seat car. Turn the key, it fires right up like a modern car and drives effortlessly. You can comfortably cruise at 50 miles per hour.” The granddaughter is now in her 50s. She has no intention of letting it go. Seventy five years after her grandfather bought it, it continues to bring joy to the family.

Al says, “It’s just a great multi-generational story.”

 

1955 Cadillac

Mike Valentino the owner of the 1955 Cadillac says, “The first time I saw this Cadillac, I was riding my bicycle on Abbott Boulevard in Fort Lee, New Jersey. It was the 1960s, I was 11-years old.” Back then owning a Cadillac was a big deal. The General Motors price ladder in those days went something like this: Chevrolet sat at the low end with the Cadillac perched at the top. In 1955 when this Cadillac was new a new Chevrolet cost $2,000, Pontiac $2,500, Oldsmobile $3,500, Buick $4,000 and Cadillac topping $6,000. Around that time the average middle class working man’s salary fell in the area of around $3,500 a year. No doubt owning a Cadillac was a big deal indeed. A source of pride and the subject of affection and attention, that 1955 Cadillac not only brought joy to the life of the owner but, as well, to the young boy who would pedal by.

Time passed, Mike then 17-years old learned that ‘his” Cadillac had been sold to a man in Leonia, NJ. It would be another twenty years before Mike would see that Cadillac again. Now the 1990s, Mike, appearing in a Memorial Day Parade in Cresskill, NJ with his 1964 Cadillac found himself positioned in line behind “his” 1955 Cadillac, now driven by its third owner. Mike says, “Over the subsequent 20 years or so he and the third owner would serendipitously see each other in random encounters.”

Mike says, “In 2018 the son of a good friend who lives in my town and knows my interest in old Cadillacs mentions that his next door neighbor has an old Cadillac in his garage.” He believed it was a ’57 or a ’58. Anyway he thought Mike should stop and take a look. One morning while driving down the friend’s block Mike saw the neighbor’s garage door open. The car inside while covered in blankets did have its front exposed. Mike says, “I pegged it as a ‘55.”

Mike says, “I stopped and introduced myself to the owner Lou.” When Lou pulled off the covers it revealed to Mike “his” 1955 Cadillac that he first saw as an 11-year old. I gave Lou my whole back story and my affection for the car. Lou had purchased it from the estate of his uncle who had lived in Leonia. Mike says, “At that time I gave Lou my card and told him to definitely call me first when he decided to sell.”

Five years later Mike’s phone rang. The caller said, “Mike, it’s Lou with the Cadillac. I think I am ready.” So was Mike. And here Al enters the story.

Mike has relied on Al to maintain the Cadillac since he purchased it. Al says, “Mike has brought it here now to refresh the motor and transmission.” The car in Al’s opinion stands pretty much original. He says, “The paint is original. Mike wants to repaint it. I try to discourage that. I love the patina on it.” Al backs up his assessment saying, “Look, all the door panels and all around them are original. He just re-did the front seat.” Whatever the outcome, a half century after young Mike first set eyes on ‘his” 1955 Cadillac, it is now officially his.

 

1980 Corvette

Unlike all the previous stories of old abandoned cars brought back to life, this 1980 Corvette time capsule brings a significant twist to the prevailing theme. This one never left.

In 1980 a woman in her mid-30s told her husband that she wanted a Corvette. Nothing on a dealer’s lot could satisfy her. She wanted a burgundy car with a four-speed, the T-tops, air conditioning, and cruise control. She wanted the rear window defogger. She wanted every option she could get. She opted for the bigger tires. It had the L48 350 cu. in. V8 with 190 horsepower.

She had to special order the car. After a six-month wait the car arrived. From day one she only drove it on Sundays. She emphasized that it had never seen a drop of rain. Her husband never drove it. None of her kids ever drove it. No one else ever drove it. She washed it, she took care of it and she only drove it here and there. She made sure she satisfied its every need. Looking at it now after 45 years and only 17,000 miles, immaculate best describes its condition.

Al says, “I have been servicing this car for ten years. The interior looks like nobody ever sat in it. You know, she would put a towel on the seat when she drove. The original tires were replaced 2-years ago. I replaced the fuel gage when the float rotted, It has a new battery. I have changed plug wires and things of that nature.

While the Corvette still looks like 1980, the 37-year old woman is now 82 and a realist. Al says, “She really hasn’t driven it much in the last couple of years. It’s hard for her to depress the clutch.” In speaking with Al she mention that maybe the time had come to pass it on. Al could not resist. He responded to her saying, “Well pass it on to me.” So she did. Al says, “I couldn’t turn it down.”

The gravitational pull of Rosell’s Auto Repair not only seems to heal cars after long term abandonment but, as well, bring joy to the lives who endured the separation.

 

 

I will be taking the next few weeks off for vacation. Drivin’ News will return after Labor Day.