This Windsor, Ont., car enthusiast is selling his 100-year-old Model T and yes, it's still driveable - Action News
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Windsor

This Windsor, Ont., car enthusiast is selling his 100-year-old Model T and yes, it's still driveable

After driving the relic for 12 years, car enthusiast Wayne Dumaine is selling the "museum piece."

The car was used in a bank robbery in Argentina before finding its way to Canada, according to the owner

This 100-year-old Ford Model T has brought plenty of smiles and waves for one Windsor man

2 months ago
Duration 2:06
It's a 100-year-old car, a 1924 Ford Motel T that can still be spotted out on the road from time to time. Wayne Dumaine has taken care of the car for 12 years. Now, he says it's time to entrust the car with a quirky history complete with bullet holes and original paint to someone else. Dumaine took the CBC's Michael Evans for a ride on the streets of Windsor in 100-year-old touring sedan.

A 100-year-old Ford Model T with a lively history is for sale in Windsor.

After driving the relic for 12 years, car enthusiast Wayne Dumaine is selling the "museum piece."

"I've enjoyed it for 12 years and I think it's time that somebody else [has] some fun with the car," said Dumaine.

The 1924 touring sedan was built in Detroit but assembled in Florida before being shipped to Uruguay. The car stayed there until 1935 when it was used in a bank robbery in Argentina, according to Dumaine.

He says federal police shot at the robbers, leaving behind two bullet holes in the car one in the driver's side door and one in the floor of the passenger side.

A man stands to the right of a very old black car
Wayne Dumaine is selling his 100-year-old Ford Model T for $19,000. (Michael Evans/CBC)

The Model T spent over 30 years in an impound lot in Argentina, until two Canadians visiting the lot found the vehicle and brought it north,according to a written history of the car in Dumaine's possession that indicatesthe story was uncovered throughan appraisal.

Dumaine says being impounded likely helped preserve the vehicle from the elements. "The hot sun has baked most of the lacquer on the car, but it did preserve the hickory wheels and the engine components and the rest of the car," said Dumaine.

And while the car does run, inits hundred-year history, the car has never been restored, according to Dumaine who hopes to keep it that way. He won't sell the car to anyone who wants to restore it.

The side of an old black car is visible with a small hole in the side of the drivers door.
According to Dumaine, police shot at the car during a robbery in the 1930s in Argentina, leaving bullet holes in the vehicle. (Michael Evans/CBC)

"[It] takes 60 years to crack that lacquer on this paint. It can't be replicated. It just has to be preserved," said Dumaine.

While Dumaine has been restoring cars since the 1970s, he says this Model T is the most fun car he's ever owned. He took it to a 150th birthday celebration for Henry Ford, plenty of car shows and even gave Santa a ride in it once.

Wherever the destination, Dumaine says the car never fails to garner lots of excitement.

"People take pictures, they wave," said Dumaine. "Quite often, I come home and my cheeks are sore from smiling so much."

A man with a blue shirt, small sunglasses and a grey mustache inspects under the hood of an old car.
In the car's 100 year history, it's never been restored, according to Dumaine. (Michael Evans/CBC)

As much as he's enjoyed it, Dumaine says it's time for the car to find its next home.

"I'm 70 years old, and, you know, I think that maybe somebody else would enjoy the car as much as I have."

The asking price is $19,000.

The brass and silver hood ornament of a car, with the name
The Model T was built in 1924 in Florida before being shipped to Uruguay. (Michael Evans/CBC)

With files from Michael Evans.