Super Seniors: Bill McColgan and Bob Nickerson

RUTLAND, Vt. (WCAX) - Bob Nickerson has new wheels, but it’s definitely not a late model ride. It’s a 1926 Ford Model T truck with a 20-horsepower engine that struggles with the hills at times.

But for Bob, it’s a dream as he rides around his neighborhood in Rutland.

“It’s the best toy I’ve ever had!” he said.

Reporter Joe Carroll: It was no time like the present to buy this?

Bob Nickerson: It was the time!

Bob is 83.

“You better hurry up is the way I looked at it!” he said.

But little did he know that just around the corner there was a man who also loves vintage cars. Bill McColgan has been holding on to an engine and parts from his Model T for years.

“My father gave it to me as a Christmas present when I was 15,” Bill said.

Now 70, his goal is to turn it into a pickup truck complete with a wooden body.

“I started to resurrect it and when Bob got his it really fired me up a little bit,” Bill said.

Bob and Bill have lived in the same neighborhood for years but didn’t know each other. It wasn’t until Jim the mailman delivered the news about the Model Ts.

“The curiosity got the better of me and I went over myself, I didn’t wait for the mailman to take me,” Bill said.

Bob and Bill have become fast friends.

Joe Carroll: You think you’re going to finish it?

Bill McColgan: Yes, definitely.

Bob Nickerson: Absolutely.

Bill McColgan: Because he’ll ride me if I don’t.

Bill is a retired auto mechanic instructor and Bob’s been tinkering with engines since his early days working on a farm.

“The good part of all of this is we got a good friend in Bob,” Bill said.

And with that, it was my time for a spin around the block with Bob in the Model T.

Joe Carroll: Have you ever taken it up the hill here?

Bob Nickerson: Oh, yeah... Come on baby.

Joe Carroll: Get up the hill.

Bob Nickerson: Ahh, we don’t want to walk today.

Joe Carroll: No!

Bob Nickerson: Even though it’s a good day.

We made it up the hill. But what goes up, must come down.

Joe Carroll: How are your brakes? This is quite a hill.

The brakes worked fine.

Joe Carroll: You’re like a little kid with this.

Bob Nickerson: I hope so. That’s why I go it!

Back at Bill’s house...

“We share our expertise,” Bill said.

A bond over old autos. But it goes deeper than that.

“The cars are one thing, but the personal connections are something else,” Bill said.

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