Dave Crawford's 1936 Ford Phaeton

Dave Crawford's first Ford was a 1935 roadster that he drove in college. His fascination with cars, especially Fords, has been lifelong.

Crawford, of Leawood, grew up in Kansas City and went to Paseo High School. He came from a family of five boys and three girls. Two of his brothers, Mitch and Griff, eventually owned car dealerships in Kansas City despite losing their sight at a fairly young age. Crawford said he grew up buying, selling and fixing up cars with his brother Mitch. "We like to give the girls a ride in the rumble seat," he said.

Crawford and his wife, Carol, have owned a succession of Henry Ford's cars, and their stable now includes three pristine convertibles: a 1941 convertible with 37,000 original miles, a 1936 roadster and a 1936 phaeton. They bought the 1941 in Portland, Maine, 25 years ago and drove it home. They say it drives as nicely today as it did when they got it with 19,280 miles on it.

Except for the '41, which has never been overhauled or painted, Crawford has restored all of his cars himself. He said he learned mechanical skills while keeping the '35 running in college , but in the last 20 years he learned to paint, do body work and install upholstery because he didn't like waiting while his car sat in the dark corner of a body shop until someone got around to working on it.

Crawford's most recent restoration is the phaeton four-door convertible. He has owned it the longest, but it took the most work to get it back like the day Henry Ford built it. Crawford believes in restoring his cars to original condition, and then driving them. He proudly proclaims that he doesn't own a trailer.

The Phaeton is stunningly prepared. Crawford built a paint booth under the deck of his house with sheets of plastic and painted the car one piece at a time. Once the paint was dry, he removed imperfections with 2000 grit sandpaper, polished it with compound and then buffed it with a power buffer. The finish is mirror smooth.

The engine has aluminum cylinder heads and intake manifold, just as it did when new. Although reproduction aluminum heads are available, they don't meet Crawford's standards, so he prefers originals. It took him six years to track down two.

Crawford and his wife love to drive their cars. As soon as the phaeton was completed last summer, they loaded it with luggage and drove back to Detroit for a car show. They have driven it 3,000 miles since July.

With the phaeton complete, the Crawfords are pondering the size of their stable. Three cars may be too many, they say, but choosing one to sell is like deciding which child you love best. Until, or if, they decide to sell one, they continue to revel in the unique joy of each car.