Skip to content

‘In this car, I’m 18’: Eighty-year-old eager for upcoming Northwest Deuce Days

Nearly 1,400 classic cars to be showcased in Victoria
17596455_web1_190706-VNE-DeuceDaysPreview_1
Jack Mather, 80, has been volunteering with Northwest Deuce Days since 2007. His 1940 Ford Standard, pictured here, will once again be showcased at this year’s event, alongside another car, a Track T Roadster, he’s yet to unveil. (Kevin Menz/News Staff)

Nostalgia drove Jack Mather to his current 1940 Ford Standard.

The 80-year-old, who grew up in the Victoria area, owned the same model of his current classic car during his late teens, but eventually sold the vehicle to pay for his honeymoon.

He started purchasing the first parts of his most recent version of the car in the early 2000s, after deciding to restart the hot-rodding process.

“I thought, ‘I’m always going to have another ’40 Ford,’” he said, “so I bought the remnants of an old one and started again.”

The car, completed in 2006 with help from Northwest Deuce Days executive director Al Clark, takes Mather back to his teenage years.

“I love driving it,” he said. “In the family car, I’m 80. In this car, I’m 18.”

He’s been displaying the vehicle at car shows, including Northwest Deuce Days, since 2007 and is planning to once again showcase the car at this year’s Deuce Days event. He’s also planning to bring another car, a Track T Roadster, he’s yet to unveil.

“It hasn’t seen the light of day yet, but on Deuce Days… it will be here, and as subtle and stock-looking as this car [the 1940 Ford Standard] is, the new car will be the total opposite,” he said.

READ ALSO: 1,400 classic cars come to Victoria as Northwest Deuce Days return

Mather has been volunteering with Northwest Deuce Days since 2007. The four-day event, usually held every three years in the Greater Victoria area, runs from July 18-21 this year.

Day one will open at about 1:30 p.m. with an arrival ceremony as a number of classic cars arrive via ferry to Victoria’s Inner Harbour area. A “poker run,” which will see participants drive from one Greater Victoria landmark to another, and a gala are also planned during the weekend, while the event’s marquee celebration will land on July 21. The marquee event will see nearly 1,400 pre-1952 classic cars — including more than 600 Deuces, hot rods produced in 1932 — showcased across the Inner Harbour and B.C. Legislature areas.

“We’ve had up to 1,385 cars registered,” Clark told a group at the Hotel Grand Pacific on Friday at a preview for the event. “A few have dropped out, so I’m not exactly sure what the number is yet, but we’re definitely more cars than you’ll see in one day.”

Both Mather and Clark are particularly excited about the arrival event. One group of car owners has booked the entire Coho ferry set to arrive on day one.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Clark said. “You see all these cars roll in.”

Mather, of course, admits he also loves simply showing off his cars.

“It’s what us hot-rodders get our kick out of — people looking at cars and thinking, ‘Oh, wow! Oh, look at that,’” he said. “There’s plenty of that.”

Northwest Deuce Days started 21 years ago. This year’s festivities mark the ninth iteration of the event.


Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

17596455_web1_copy_190706-VNE-DeuceDaysPreview_3
17596455_web1_190706-VNE-DeuceDaysPreview_2
A handful of classic cars were stationed at Victoria’s Hotel Grand Pacific on Friday as a preview for the July 18-21 Northwest Deuce Days, which, with its marquee event July 21, will see nearly 1,400 cars showcased throughout the city’s downtown. (Kevin Menz/News Staff)