Visiting the garage of Dick and Connie Knies, Plandome residents for 46 years, and viewing the contents of that garage, is like turning back the clock 100 years.
Because, in that garage, you’ll find a 1912 Ford Model T, a 1911 Overland and Dick Knies’ favorite restored, street ready antique vehicle, a 1910 Buick. All three, somewhat narrower than today’s vehicles, fit neatly side by side by side, ready to go, whenever the couple, married 58 years, feels the need to take a trip into New England or even to Canada.
“That’s the flagship of my collection,” said the former Wall Street executive of the Buick he first bought in 1970 but didn’t start working on until 1998. “I like working on mechanical things.” It took eight years for him to fully restore it. A fraternity brother at St. Lawrence University first got him interested in restoring cars in the mid 50’s. Knies and his wife, who grew up in Williston Park, first met at that upstate school.
Area residents are probably more familiar with another one of his restorations, a 1912 Metz, which is now owned by the Plandome Fire Department. The bright red two seater, referred to as “The Chief’s Car,” made its most recent appearance at the Department’s 100th year celebration with Knies behind the wheel. He’s been a member of the department for 45 years.
“We had this car,” explained Knies, who has lived in the Manhasset area all his life, “and years ago a former chief complained that he didn’t have a ‘chief’s car.’ So we outfitted it with a siren and a spotlight. The car was made in Massachusetts and at one time it was one of the most popular cars in the country. All the farmers up there owned one. I don’t own it anymore but I’m still responsible for running the car and when it doesn’t start, they always call me.”
Knies and his wife, who have three children and four grandchildren, at first had trouble obtaining the Buick. “It was owned by an older woman in Northport,” his wife said. “She wouldn’t sell it to us. So we set out on a campaign to get her to sell it. We sent her Christmas cards and Easter cards every year.”
“I dragged the Buick out from under a barn,” her husband recalled. “I’m only the 2nd registered owner of the car. It was in terrible condition. I brought it home and took it apart. I thought it would take me a year and a half. It was a mess.”
He had a bit of difficulty with the project, as not all the parts he needed were available. “ A friend of mine was very good at bending metal, so he made new fenders for me,” Knies said. “It’s got a very primitive engine.” The car gets 14 miles to the gallon and runs on unleaded gas. Lead wasn’t added to gasoline until the 1920’s.
When Knies and his wife take any one of their cars on a trip, they bring it along on a trailer. They’ve stopped driving the cars locally. “We don’t drive around here much anymore,” he said. “We used to. Traffic’s gotten so heavy. When I first started driving, people understood what hand signals were. Today, if you use hand signals, other drivers think you’re just waving at them. They wave back and then they pass you just as you’re trying to make a turn.”
“It’s not a question of how fast you can go,” he continued, “it’s a question of how fast you can go safely. The Buick can probably go over 50 miles an hour. The Ford will probably do 40 or 45 and the Overland about 40.”
“You’ve got very primitive suspensions,” Knies explained. “There are no shock absorbers. You’ve got no front wheel brakes. All you’ve got is rear wheel brakes. If you hit a bump on the road it’s apt to pull the steering wheel right out of your hands.”
Knies still has his eye out for special antique autos. “I turned down a 1909 Cadillac,” he said. “I looked at it about a year ago, but it’s a lot of hard work. I’ve got arthritis in both knees and you have to spend a lot of time crawling around under the cars. It just takes a younger guy to do that kind of work.”
Knies and wife, though, will continue to take several weeklong trips a year with one of their cars. “It’s just a lot of fun,” she says. “People always stop us on our trips,” her husband adds,” and ask three questions: ‘Where do you buy your tires, how fast will it go and how much is it worth?’”
