More than four decades after graduating from Pindry High, Rob Gibby experienced a high school fantasy.
No, it wasn’t finally dating that cheerleader he had a crush on, but for Gibby, it may have been an even more meaningful fantasy—he had found the actual Model A hot rod that he drove to Pindry High in 1959.
Rob Gibby (driving) purchased a stock Model A Ford for $50 on his 14th birthday in 1956. With the help of his dad and the local junkyard, he installed a Chevy engine and had the coolest hot rod in high school. ROB GIBBY
The romance with this certain Model A coupe began in 1956 when Gibby paid $50 for the bone-stock car on his 14th birthday. “My dad took me to a junkyard in New Jersey,” the 70-year-old Gibby says. “They gave me a push start with a crane and it started right up. I drove it home from there.”
His father also bought him a junkyard 265 cubic-inch Chevy, and the young Gibby was on his way to building his high school hot rod. He installed a ’37 Buick gearbox and a ’40 Ford rear end, and drove the car until he left for college in 1960, when he sold it for $300.
In 1987, he began looking for his old ride. A “want ad” turned up a red coupe that looked familiar. “I asked the owner a few questions and realized I found my old car!” Gibby says. Of course he had to buy it.
The car had been modernized over the years, but Gibby, along with pal Bob Outwater, returned the Model A to its 1950s specs. In 2010, Gibby drove his rebuilt hot rod to his 50th class reunion. It was an immediate hit with his classmates.
Gibby declined to say whether he drove home with one of the cheerleaders.
This is how Gibby’s Model A looked when he repurchased it almost 40 years later. It was equipped with a modern drivetrain and air conditioning. Gibby is now rebuilding the car to the same condition as when he drove it to school in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. ROB GIBBY