Jody Kerzman poses last week with her father’s beloved 1949 Lincoln at her home in Franklin. When her father died, the car was sold out of the family, then later bought back. It happened a second time, and again the car has returned to the family.
Posted on 10/24/2009 5:56:50 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Only half-joking, Jody Kerzman said she's thinking of putting a sign in the window of the '49 Lincoln.
"Will never be for sale," it would say.
Her father, Jack Franken, loved this car. Turned it into a street rod. Drove it everywhere, especially car shows. Scored cool grandpa points with his grandchildren who saw the world zip past from its sofa-like back seat.
For Jody, the car is a powerful connection to her dad, a south side Milwaukee truck driver who died in 1997. So you can understand her distress when the car got away from their family - not once but twice. And you can appreciate her passion to get it back.
"This is our baby - old baby and new baby," Jody said when I met her and husband Rick in the driveway of their Franklin home. We cruised a few blocks in the Lincoln, far enough to get thumbs-up from two people who watched us rumble by. This car is very similar to the '49 Mercury that James Dean's character drove in "Rebel Without a Cause."
When Jack bought the car in the early 1980s, it was black and pretty much all original. With help from buddies in the Brewtown Cruisers car club, he painted it candy apple red, replaced the interior and dropped in a 400-cubic-inch engine and transmission from a '74 Impala and a suspension and front disc brakes from a '76 Camaro. It's a hybrid in the old sense.
People are always asking where the door handles are. The Lincoln has "suicide doors" and a secret way of getting in. Did I mention the fender skirts? Sentimentality aside, it's a cool car.
"Jack was like everybody in our car club. You hope your family takes over and gets the car," said longtime friend Rex Grimmer, who once toyed with the idea of being buried in his '49 Mercury until his wife got wind of the idea.
With his health failing, Jack told family members that he wanted the car to go to Jody's son, Nick. That's how Jody tells it. But after Jack died of lung cancer at age 60, his wife - Jody's mother - sold the car to one of Jack's friends. This opened a rift in the family that remains today.
Eight years later, Nick was talking to one of Jody's brothers who told him the name of the Milwaukee man who bought the Lincoln. Nick contacted the guy and bought the car.
"Unfortunately, my son had to pay $5,500 to get the car back that was supposed to be given to him for free," Jody said.
Nick took the car to Sarasota, Fla., where he was living then and now. He enjoyed the car for a couple years, but ran into financial troubles. Without telling his family, he sold the beloved Lincoln in November of 2007.
The buyer was Jim Lamm of Sarasota, who is semi-retired and has a few other vintage cars. It so happened that he had lived in the Milwaukee area for 45 years before moving to Florida in 1985 on a job transfer.
Nick finally told his mother the car was gone. Jody was crushed, but not about to let it go without a fight. She called Jim Lamm and asked to buy back the car. He said he wasn't interested in selling but would keep her name and number if he changed his mind.
She called every few months to ask again. In December of last year, during a visit to Nick, Jody went to see Jim in person. She saw the car and sat in it.
"I became very emotional because I kept seeing my dad sitting in the driver's seat," she said.
"I could see what it meant to her," Jim told me. "She was sobbing. I told my wife, 'I'm going to sell this car back to her because she's really emotionally attached to it.' "
Jim had paid $8,800 for the car and put time and money into making it look great for his daughter's wedding this year. He sold it to Jody for $9,500.
The Lincoln came home in September, in time for the Oct. 4 wedding of Jody's daughter, Cassie. There's a photo of Cassie sitting on the car as a 3-year-old, and now there's one of Cassie and husband Rick Ziller with the car at their wedding - the way Jody dreamed it would be.
She had "Papa's Toy" decaled on the trunk lid where Jack's nickname for the car had been painted over. Next to it, she also restored his favorite expression: "Being old is cool."
Jody and her husband own the Lincoln, but their other son, Andy, will be driving and working on it. An auto mechanic who lives in Oak Creek, Andy remembers going camping with his grandpa and cruising the lakefront in the Lincoln.
Andy hopes to have the body completely restored and then painted, maybe deep purple this time. He has reconnected with Jack's car club friends.
"It's my interest to redo this entire car. It's not going to be a trailer-queen car. It's going to be driven for years to come," Andy said. "I intend to pass it on to children or grandchildren someday."
Somewhere Jack Franken has to be smiling about that.
Jody Kerzman poses last week with her father’s beloved 1949 Lincoln at her home in Franklin. When her father died, the car was sold out of the family, then later bought back. It happened a second time, and again the car has returned to the family.
Jody Kerzman’s daughter Cassie, then 3 years old, was sitting pretty atop her grandfather’s 1949 Lincoln 21 years ago. The car was twice sold out of the family, but the Lincoln came home in September, in time for Cassie’s Oct. 4 wedding to Rick Ziller.
Aw! Neat story Diana!
: )
I love stories with happy ending. Especially when they involve cars, motorcycles, airplanes, women, children, and dogs.
I hope her Son restores the original hood, while he’s at it. ;)
I liked the story, too...but I think the two that SOLD the car need a swift kick in the arse...and NEVER get to ride in it again!
This brought tears to my eyes. God bless all grandpas.
Bumping the good news story...
Adding: the car I remember most from my childhood. It was a pretty ivy green 1960 something Chevy Impala sedan. I’ve seen restored ones on the road. Sure would be fun to have one again.
What a jerk that Nick was! His own Grandfather said he wanted him to have the car. So much for Grandpa. Far better that Andy is the current caretaker.
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| 1949 | 2009 |
Unnngh.
We had a perfectly restored ‘57 Bel Air that my husband sold in ‘85 or so to a rich kid (never forgave him for that one). I’d love to track it down and see what’s up with it. We did all the work except upholstery and chrome. My grandson loves classic cars, wish we still had it.
I grew up with ‘classic cars,’ too. Mainly old Volkswagon vans, LOL! My Dad has had 17 Volkswagons throughout his life and drive a VW Golf these days. ;)
So many cars look thuggish and 'gangsta' these days. SIL drives one of those Dodge/Chrysler 300s. I always expect to see the end of an AK47 poking out the window when she drives up, LOL!
"Glad they've learned their lesson," marty said again.
I know a lot of people who had those stupid K-Cars in the 80’s. The military even bought a lot of them. Yeesh!
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