For nearly 50 years, Winnipeg’s World of Wheels show has been an annual tradition among car enthusiasts. This year marked the debut for one Ritchot man whose car drove away with not one but two esteemed titles.
Brad Neufeld is the owner of a 1929 Essex Super Six custom roadster. On March 22, his vintage beauty took Best in Class as well as Most Outstanding Hot Rod, an award of the International Show Car Association.
To qualify in the roadster class, Neufeld says, a car must have the characteristics of a convertible without the rollup side windows.
“I bought it when I was 19 years old, living in Transcona,” Neufeld says. “I didn’t touch it again until I was probably about 35 years old. Kids and sports and business, they came first. And then there were times when it sat in my shop for five or six years at a time without being touched.”
The problem for a lot of creative car rebuilders like Neufeld is that they never have just one project on the go. In the last few years, though, Neufeld decided it was time to get hyper-focused if any of those projects were to reach the finish line.
Last summer, Neufeld proudly rolled the Essex into its very first car show at the Morden Corn & Apple Festival. Out of about 400 vehicles on display, the Essex won Best in Show.
It’s the kind of recognition that means a lot to a custom designer and builder like Neufeld. Out of the vehicle’s mechanical, electrical, body, and interior components, not one piece was outsourced. What he didn’t know, he learned. Everything was done with slow, methodical precision.
“I ordered Italian leather and then I bought myself an antique sewing machine and taught myself how to sew last winter,” Neufeld says of the vehicle’s custom upholstery.
Even the final paint job, a part of the process that few rebuilders would dare tackle, was done by Neufeld in a special paint booth he created in his home workshop.
Although the Essex has a range of fully unique features, Neufeld decided to remain true in terms of the paint colour. He found a portion of the body that still had a bit of factory paint, then had the colour analysed at an autobody supply store.
Upon discovering that the colour was called Lorilei Blue, Neufeld was more convinced than ever of his choice. After all, his daughter is named Lorilee.
Growing up in St. Vital, Neufeld remembers the thrill of working on a custom car project with his father in the family’s single car garage. On weekends, the duo ventured off to car shows or to watch Neufeld’s uncle race at Keystone Dragways near Ste. Anne.
At the age of 13, he purchased his first project car, a 1934 Chevrolet Coupe. With his dad’s help, Neufeld was driving around in his own classy wheels by the time he hit 16.
Since then, Neufeld’s owned a range of project and classic muscle cars, including Corvettes, Chevelles, GTOs, and old pickups.
Today, alongside the Essex, seven more vehicles await their turn for restoration. According to Neufeld, he’ll need to live to 120 to get them all done.
So he’s busy passing his vintage restoration passion on to the next generations. His son has his own workshop and projects on the go. Neufeld’s two grandsons, at five and three, are his latest protégés.
“My grandsons are just nuts about cars, so we started on a 1926 Chrysler truck,” Neufeld says.
For now, Neufeld is enjoying the fruits of his labour and expects to keep the Essex as a showpiece, at least if his family has anything to say about it.
“I’ve never built a car for awards or trophies,” he says. “I build them as a hobby. It’s an expensive hobby unless you do everything yourself. Just don’t count your hours.”