Some Old Ford
A story about a man and a car.
“I’m just a guy that kept an old car. Once I got used to the idea of keeping it and enjoying it, and became more aware of how much I liked it, I got a big smile every time I fired it up.”
Gathering the story Bill is a mechanic who builds our custom camera equipment (including camera mounts for whitewater rafts and a portable dolly system). One day he motioned at an old car under a tarp in the corner of the shop, and asked if we wouldn’t mind shooting him taking it out for a spin.
We filmed on the Canon 60D and placed a few shop lights around the car, but otherwise used natural light. In the garage, the camera slider added motion to what would otherwise be static shots, and out on the road, we shot out the back of a minivan.
After assembling the video, we went back to Bill and asked for a short interview to revisit some of what we’d been chatting about while uncovering the car. A quick conversation is all it took to record his feelings about the car; it’s pretty clear that he loves the old gal.
Getting around We were pleasantly surprised when Some Old Ford racked up tens of thousands of views overnight and made the front pages of Jalopnik and Autoblog. It’s such a simple piece, just a guy taking his rusty old car out for a spin. Why does this work? Why do viewers connect with it? We think it has everything to do with the simplicity and authenticity of the story.
A simple style Like the car itself, the film is unornamented, and it doesn’t try to be flashy. We leave plenty of empty space to hear the roar of the engine. And sometimes leaving details out can be more evocative than putting them in: the moonshiner’s way of dealing with trespassers, for example, is enough to draw his character; we don’t need to know what he looks like or what he was wearing. Leaving negative space and allowing the audience to fill in the blanks is important.
More about the car
- 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL
- Factory “Z” code car, originally with a 390 cubic inch engine and factory four-speed
- ‘63 “R” code 427 engine with a big input Toploader four-speed
- Factory cast iron long tube headers with two-inch exhaust and stock mufflers
- 427 rebuilt to stock specs in 1978 or 1979 by Leifert Automotive
- 3.91 Traction-Lok rear
- 15″ steel rims and radial tires
Since filming, Bill has added new (used) bumpers and he is planning to rebuild the engine. On the outside, though, he’s going to leave the car the way it is. He says, “The car sort of ‘fits’ me, and at this point, any cosmetic improvements may sort of take away from the uniqueness of the car. I’ve grown to really appreciate it for what it is.”