FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Car enthusiasts heard a restored 1924 Bay State Sedan for the first time in 75 years at the inaugural Bay State Motor Festival in Framingham.
It was eight years of hard work and dedication from Ken Lamoine, a self-proclaimed local history buff and car lover, that made this special moment possible. He is no stranger to antique restorations as he owned several other classics.
The 1924 Bay State Sedan was manufactured by the historic R.H Long Motors Company, based in Framingham, Mass. The company began producing car body parts after World War I, when the industry was just taking off.
“They were still using horses and buggies at the point when this car was being produced,” Lamoine told WBZ NewsRadio.
The car had features that would have been considered luxuries a hundred years ago, like roll-up windows and a six-cylinder engine. The company only made about 2,500 of these cars, and Lamoine believes the sedan in his possession is the last one in existence.
He spent 30 years searching for one of the two models the Framingham company made, the 1924 Bay State Sedan or the 1925 Roadster.
The car he has now “was a broken-down pile of parts in a dilapidated green house in 1979,” he said.
When Lamoine gained ownership of the vehicle, he spent the last eight years repairing the vintage relic back to its former glory, or as close to it as he could.
“Everything I’ve done from this car has been pretty much from a drawing or some sort of artworks at the history center [in Framingham],” he said, adding that those resources, as well as the internet, were “instrumental” in helping him in his restoration process.
Lamoine’s iteration of the sedan featured a dark-green exterior and original hood ornaments. The interior is also as close to the original as possible with plush New Zealand wool seats, and walnut trim.
He displayed the final product at the Bay State Motor Festival’s special “Made in Massachusetts” exhibit on Sunday, June 8, when all his blood, sweat, and tears culminated into the moment when the engine roared back to life for the first time in decades.
WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.