"I restored this at a point in my life where I was so involved in my work, I was starting to stress out. I found by restoring the truck, it relieved some of the pressure."
Scott said he first got his hands on the truck "as a pile of bits" in 1986 and eventually got it going on the road in 1989.
"When we first took it out on to the road, we went straight to Taupo and on to Blenheim
. . . with the kids in the back."
The truck has since been around most of the North Island and down to the South Island twice.
Scott said receiving People's Choice was a "fuzzy" feeling, but it wouldn't have mattered if someone else got it.
He took pride in the truck's quirks such as the hand-operated crank that tipped the truck's tray, and the many steps involved in simply starting the engine. The same tray that once carried Scott's children around also carried his mother's coffin to her funeral service.
No amount of money could compete with the vehicle's sentimental value and many other vintage car owners would feel likewise, Scott said.
"It's a very special truck," Scott said.
"It's part of our soul."
Club member Ken Frew said the day had been one of its biggest, with some people travelling from Auckland and Gisborne to view the cars.
"It was a big crowd, an excited crowd, with lots of people from out of town," he said.
"It couldn't have gone any better."
Frew said the club managed to sign new people to its contingent of 450 members, making the vintage car club the fastest growing in New Zealand.
More about Ford AA's
The Ford model AAs were produced from December 1927 through February 1932. The initial AA chassis had a 131-1/2" wheelbase.
The term "Ford Model AA" was coined because Ford assigned an "AA" prefix to any chassis or body part number which was unique to the 1-1/2 tonne Ford commercial vehicles (i.e. these were parts not used with the Ford passenger or commercial "A" chassis).
Source - aafords.com
