We met him outside a thrift store in Van Nuys, my 15-year-old son and I. He liked to go there to look for old toys and things.

Gary Hendrickson, 76, had parked close to the door in a beautiful black and gold, restored 1915 Ford Model T, with wood-spoked wheels. He’d had the car since he was 19 and restored it in the 1960s.

As it turns out, Hendrickson will not own a car that needs smog checks or seat belts. And he owns 18 of them.

Wearing a top hat Gary Hendrickson drives his 1915 Ford Model T. Hendrickson says he will not own a car that needs smogging or seat belts. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Wearing a top hat Gary Hendrickson drives his 1915 Ford Model T home. Hendrickson says he will not own a car that needs smogging or seat belts. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

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Gary Hendrickson’s 1915 Ford Model T. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Gary Hendrickson’s 1915 Ford Model T. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Gary Hendrickson’s 1915 Ford Model T and 1929 Chevrolet Fenton in his backyard. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)



Gary Hendrickson in his backyard framed by the wooden wheels of his 1915 Ford Model T. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Gary Hendrickson in his garage where there is just enough room to get to the work bench. “My big problem in life is space, I’m always fighting for a few inches,” says Hendrickson. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

A chassis in Gary Hendrickson’s backyard. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Gary Hendrickson’s backyard holds some of his treasure hunt finds. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Wearing his hillbilly hat, Gary Hendrickson sits in his rusty Ford Model T, one of his favorite cars which he says gets a lot of attention when he drives it. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)



Gary Hendrickson’s rusty Ford Model T, one of his favorite cars which he says gets a lot of attention when he drives it, has only springs left in the seat. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Gary Hendrickson holds a 1963 Popular Hot Rodding magazine that pictured his 1915 Model T hot rod with a Corvette engine. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Wearing a top hat Gary Hendrickson drives his 1915 Ford Model T. Hendrickson says he will not own a car that needs smogging or seat belts. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Wearing a top hat Gary Hendrickson uses the hand crank to start his 1915 Ford Model T after the car did not start. That night he said he repaired the starter. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Gary Hendrickson says he will not own a car that needs smogging or seat belts. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)



In his San Fernando Valley home’s back yard everything is in its place.

Some of the cars are covered by blankets. A patio, sheds and even a 1936 travel trailer all contain parts.

A tool bench under a citrus tree holds some small car parts next to where the Model T is parked.

The garage holds the tools and lots of them. There is just enough room to get to the workbench.

“My big problem in life is space, I’m always fighting for a few inches,” says Hendrickson.

“Every part of this car is art,” he says as he walks around showing my son and I the Model T. “This car was a basket case, I made that (driver) door using this door as a guide.”

Some of his cars, like puzzles to assemble, started with just a chassis and a few parts. Not all of his cars are from the Teens. He also owns Ford Rancheros from 1961, the only year he likes.

He worked at Hanna-Barbera, painting special effects, and as a painter at Lockheed. Now he rents cars to the studios, and most of the time he drives them there.

A headline in a scrapbook reads “Car Salvaged from River Bed Now a Sparkling $5,000 Gem,” about another 1915 Model T he built into a hot rod and which made the cover of Popular Hot Rodding in 1963.

The car was also in the films “Son of Flubber” and “Muscle Beach Party.” It stays covered, unlike one of his favorite Model Ts, which sits in the sun making its rust glisten. This one is so rusty, all that’s left of the seat are springs. He says the rusty old car gets most of the attention when he drives it in parades.

He invites us for a ride in his restored Model T. It started with a chug and a rattle and then we were off and Hendrickson told stories of weekend road trips, wherever his car took him. He spoke of each car’s nuances and how difficult it is to drive.

He is so confident of his cars that he made a challenge to the MTA.

“I will race, obeying all laws, my 1915 Model T across the San Fernando Valley parallel wherever possible with the Orange Line route and I will get there first.”