Probus Fall Auto Tour Report

by Kirk Benson
for Contact the Probus newsletter

Twenty-six Probus members, spouses and friends gathered at the Mississaugua Golf Club on a sunny, cool Monday morning for the Fall Auto Tour. After a roll call and a short drivers’ meeting, three groups of cars were formed under the capable leadership of Charlie McBeigh, Ed Mitchell and yours truly.

Staying on “back roads” all the way, we went north on Mississauga Road to Belfountain, east on Forks of Credit Road to Hurontario/Hwy 10, south to Olde Base Line and generally east on Castleberg Side Road and Hwy 9 past Schomberg. Then we took Canal Bank Road past Holland Marsh to Tim Hortons in Bradford. From there it was a short drive to our destination, the Guild of Automotive Restorers. The Guild is a well known restoration shop for antique, classic and custom cars.

We were greeted by David Grainger, owner of the Guild. David gave us a tour of the “front end” of the shop. To the surprise of many, David is a pilot. He pointed out a small single seat airplane (without engine and wings) in the showroom and regaled us with the story of restoring the plane, crashing it on its first attempt to take off and surviving to plan a second restoration. David showed us some of the cars on display including a vintage Rolls Royce and a “barn find” 1948 Delahaye cabriolet being restored after it was purchased (sight unseen) in Spain. After answering questions, David turned our group over to Paul Taylor, the Guild’s Project Manager.

Paul took us through the “back end” of the shop. Resplendent in the upholstery shop was the beautiful 1935 Bugatti Aerolithe Coupe the Guild is recreating to concours standards. The magnesium body has been hand crafted from patterns and mated to the earliest known Type 57 chassis. The car is nearing completion after several years of work; it is spectacular. Then we checked the assembly and disassembly area, looked through a plastic curtain wall into the body shop and inspected a Lincoln being heavily customized in the metal shop. One of the highlights of the tour was a demonstration of how an “english wheel” is used to form complex shapes (such as a fender) from sheet metal. Paul patiently answered questions; the best questions were from the spouses.

The climax of the tour was to see a beautiful blue 1939 Oldsmobile coupe, previously restored by the Guild, and returned for our enjoyment by the proud owner, Gaston Comeau. Gaston bought the car when he was a teenager and it followed him around for decades until it was restored over a four year period. Gaston had the honour of being invited to display the car at the Meadow Brook Concours D’Elegance several years ago.

For further information on the Guild, check their website: http://www.guildclassiccars.com. Gaston’s Oldsmobile is featured on the header of the home page. David Grainger writes regular articles for the National Post “Driving” section published every Friday. David is currently being followed everywhere by a film crew for the new season of the reality show “Canadian Restorers”. The season premier will air shortly on History Channel. Gaston Comeau has his own website for his Olds: http://www.oldsmobile1939.ca.

The tour was followed by a late lunch in the “Coach’s Corner” at Don Cherry’s Sports Grill, located around the corner from the Guild. Everyone was on their own for the return trip; some chose Hwy 400, others retraced the back roads route to Mississauga. Prior to the tour (at a recent Applewood cruise night) Bruce Burns and Frank MacTaggert were seen accepting a ride in a Model A Ford with Frank issuing directions from the rumble seat! However, Bruce would not admit to making any major purchases at the Guild. Joey must have been a restraining influence.