Kenny Albers' daughter Kami remembered playing in the old 1929 Pontiac roadster that her grandparents were married in. So last summer, she asked her dad if the car could be fixed up in time for her wedding. Amazingly, after the car was dragged out of the barn where it had sat for more than 60 years, it was restored in 90 days, just in time for her marriage to Casey Poell.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The most unusual feature of the car is the flipped manifold system, which routes the exhaust up through the hood, instead of down toward the ground. The vertical exhaust pipe was necessary to prevent fires in the hay fields when the car was used to pull a hay rake.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Kenny Chapman adjusts the galvanized exhaust stack that pokes through the hood of his family's rare 1929 Pontiac Sport Roadster. He chose to keep the unusual exhaust system intact as part of the car's heritage, which included pulling a hay rake back in the 1940s.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Although the grille shell and Indian head radiator cap were badly pitted, they were saveable and the finished plating on those pieces is smooth as glass.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Amazingly, the original wooden-spoked wheels survived highway and hay field use and then more than 60 years of barn storage. They show some signs of age, but the wide whitewall tires and red pinstriping make a perfect match for the original hubcaps, one sourced from Australia.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
As the project looked at the beginning. Kenny Albers' late mother, Lois, was able to see the car restored and used in granddaughter Kami's wedding to Casey Poell in September, 2010. The car had been used in the wedding of Clyde and Lois Albers more than 80 years earlier.
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Kathy Albers / Kathy Albers
The bride and groom's compartment for Casey and Kami Poell's wedding reveals the level of restoration that went into the family treasure.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A page from Kami and Casey Poeill's wedding album reveals just how much fun her dad had, chauffering them to their wedding reception in the restored Pontiac roadster.
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Cory Keller / Keller Photography & Design
The big 4-spoke steering wheel had a segment missing, but the piece was found and put back in place; new pleated leather seating was installed during the restoration process.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The 1929 Pontiac Sport Roadster was built with a more stylish body constructed by the W.F. Stewart Co., rather than the more common Fisher body. The 82-year-old beauty has spent its entire life in the Albers family and last year underwent a whirlwind 90-day restoration, right down to the through-the-hood exhaust stack at Bright Built Hot Rods near Salina.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Gary Martin of Goldfield Trim and Upholstery in Lindsborg recently created a tight-fitting new canvas top for the roadster, using the original wood bows. Note the nifty oval rear window.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The Stewart-bodied Pontiac had features not commonly found on affordable cars in the late 1920s, such as this beautifully ribbed fuel tank below the rumble seat opening.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
There was enough paint on the car's body to allow restorers to match its original cream and dark brown paint scheme. The old Pontiac roadster was in remarkably complete condition for a `barn car.'
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
With the top down and the rumble seat open, the '29 Sport Roadster looks ready to hit the road, complete with its polished steel exhaust pipe jutting up through the hood.
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Justin Bright / Justin Bright
Time had taken its toll on the big 4-spoke steering wheel, with one segment having broken off and another part of the rim split in two. Fortunately, the missing piece was found and the steering wheel restored to like-new condition.
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Justin Bright / Justin Bright
As it arrived for restoration, the Albers family's 1929 Pontiac Sports Roadster showed plenty of `patina' but lots of promise, after an estimated six decades of barn storage.
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Justin Bright / Justin Bright
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