Last Chance Garage in Unionville, PA

[trulyvintage]

When was the last time you heard of a full service garage that handles
everything from wood body and metal restoration work along with
complete mechanical services done ' old school ' style by real mechanics ...


Model A and Model T and all early Fords ....


Turn back the clock and enter a bygone era


Meet a 93 year old enthusiastic car lover and hear him recount
his memories dating back to 1935 with the car he still owns and drives


" She had been backed into the garage while I was at church
on Christmas Eve of 1935.

Her odometer read 00007 miles when I opened her door and
met that wonderful smell of a new car.

How could Dad have given me such a beautiful Christmas present?

I didn’t even have a driver’s license and wouldn’t until I turned
sixteen two weeks later. "



Daybreak at the Vince Lombardi Service Plaza in New Jersey.
I had arrived late the night before and fueled after picking up in rural Connecticut.
I don't like driving at night, but crossing the GW Bridge on I-95 is best done when
most drivers have retired for the day.
Dropping a 1969 Chevelle SS at the Jersey Port, I slowly made my way towards Unionville, Pennsylvania.



" Dad had already given me new Indian Sport Scout last spring
to drive around the place” and it now had 4100 miles on it,
so he knew it was doing a good deal more than just driving around the place.

Now I must really behave myself with this beautiful Oldsmobile F-36 touring coupe
(two door sedan with trunk), black with two red pinstripes that extended
along the body bead from the headlights to the trailing end of the rear windows.

I lifted the hood and found the engine was just like the F-36
four door touring sedan that served as a family car since October. "



Waiting for me there was a 1931 Model A Roadster destined for California.
I was ahead of schedule so I called Lou at The Last Chance Garage to see
if I could pick up that afternoon.
I made my way thru the twisting Pennsylvania late afternoon countryside.


" My birthday, January 8th, fell on a Sunday so I had to wait another
whole day to go to the Motor Vehicle Department to apply for my Driver’s license.

Cap Walsh was going to drive me there after school, but instead,
he met me before school and handed me my driver’s license - - just like that.

No trip to the Department, No test, there it was.

I later found out that Cap and the Secretary of State of Delaware
were both 32nd degree masons, so voi la, - - a driver’s license. "



I saw the 31' from the road, it was tucked back on Cemetery Lane.
Following Lou's advice, I parked at the Fire Station and walked over.
Lou was at the door to his garage.
I had no idea what awaited me inside.


" 1953 transferred me back to the home office In Wilmington, DE.

F-36 continued as a go-to-work car, but living only two miles from the office,
I rode the bus or walked on most workdays.

She was an ideal car to leave at the airport, being almost immune to theft,
but she was not appropriate for picking up customers or driving with a boss.

Alas, in 1956 she was put in the back of the garage and replaced by
a 1956 Volkswagen Convertible.

Six years later she was reactivated by my daughter and later continued
as a fun car until her 1969 registration ran out.

By then my job got such that there wasn’t any time to do maintenance
needed to pass state inspection and my enthusiasm flagged.

I drove her illegally (unregistered vehicle) to 1997 “One Hundred Years of Oldsmobile”
at Hagley Museum.

After that, she just sat in the garage with 155195 miles on her odometer.

A borrowed battery allowed her to go around the farm once in a while,
but there was no fire in my belly to fix her up ... "


Lou drove the 31' with me as passenger across the road to the back of the trailer.
He was going to be around for awhile longer so I headed back after loading up to visit.



" Eleven years later, An amazing thing happened.

I took my 1918 Cadillac to the Last Chance Garage to have the clutch
worked on and one thing lead to another.

In June of 2008 the garage proprietor, Lou Mandich, was making
the F-36 Oldsmobile touring Coupe into a roadworthy vehicle.

Brakes, shock absorbers, fuel pump, exhaust system and a
hopeless spring shackle mount were all good as new.

Four new tires replaced the flat-spotty nylons of fifty years ago.

Even her amateurishly touched up original finish was polished
to give an actual shine in some places.

It took a day and seventy miles of driving to visit all the locations
that the Delaware Department of Motor Vehicles could dream up
to assure themselves that I had a clear title to the car
I have owned since it was new.

I even had to go to a detective’s office to have his signature
verifying the VIN which anybody could see on the frame
beside the steering box.

By the end of the day the F-36 was insured and registered
with a proper license plate.

Now at age 88 I get more of a thrill out driving that car
than I got on Christmas Eve, 1935.

Back then, it made me feel older.

Today, it makes me feel younger!


Ir'en'ee du Pont, Jr "


How many folks do you know that have owned the same car since 1935 ?

How many of those are still driving that very car today ?

I had never heard of Lou or The Last Chance Garage.


I had never heard of Ir'en'ee du Pont, Jr.

The passages above recount one mans' love of his 1936 Oldsmobile
from Christmas Eve 1935 until 2008 (when his story was put to paper).


Today, at 93 Ir'en'ee still visits Lou.


Two of his cars were at The Last Chance Garage on this day.

One was that very same 1936 Oldsmobile.

If you live in the area, you owe it to yourself to visit Lou.

Housed in a building dating back to the 1800's is The Last Chance Garage.

Lou is a retired teacher of English.

Lou is a lover of old cars.

Last Chance Garage
13 Cemetery Lane
Unionville, PA 19375

Phone: (610) 347-2394

I hope you enjoy the pictures of The Last Chance Garage !


Freighter Jim