Eugene man collects clues, cultivates history for 1931 Speedster

Wes Scott, of Eugene, waited 40 years for a car that may have belonged to Charles Lindbergh

(India Garrish/News Tribune) Wes Scott stands Tuesday where the engine will be in his 1931 Franklin Dietrich Speedster in his garage in Eugene. Scott is restoring the car, which he believes could have once belonged to American aviator Charles Lindbergh, in preparation for a Mid-Missouri Old Car Club car show in September. “I enjoy getting (a car) back on the road that hasn’t been there in a long time,” he said.
(India Garrish/News Tribune) Wes Scott stands Tuesday where the engine will be in his 1931 Franklin Dietrich Speedster in his garage in Eugene. Scott is restoring the car, which he believes could have once belonged to American aviator Charles Lindbergh, in preparation for a Mid-Missouri Old Car Club car show in September. “I enjoy getting (a car) back on the road that hasn’t been there in a long time,” he said.

Wes Scott, of Eugene, has been restoring cars since age 16 - and doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon.

Scott co-founded the Mid-Missouri Old Car Club in 1971 as a charter member and moved to Eugene in 1974. In his years of restoring cars, there was one that had evaded him: a 1931 Franklin Dietrich Speedster from St. Louis. Nearly 40 years after his request to buy it, he is finally its owner.

And as he said, "The story gets better."

Scott realized through talking with another Franklin owner this rare model could have belonged to American aviator Charles Lindbergh.

"I like a car with a good story, and I had a good story with this one," he said.

Building a passion

Scott has been interested in cars since 1960 when he read an article about the science and mechanics of a Model A Ford. At age 16, he fixed up his first car - his dad found one for $50, which he thought was too expensive but bought it for Scott anyway. He later embarked on a career as a mechanical engineer, always remaining interested in old cars.

As he continued restoring - some with minor repairs, most completely restored from the inside out - the mechanics became secondary to the story behind them.

"The history was the important part to me," Scott said. "(Restoring) is like I'm breathing life back into it."

'The clues'

In 1983, the 1931 Franklin Dietrich Speedster caught his eye. Scott wrote a letter to the car's owner expressing his interest in buying the car, but the owner wouldn't sell. Scott kept in contact with him over the years, to no avail on the sale of the car. After his death, a woman from Fort Smith who inherited his belongings found the letter Scott had written more than 40 years ago - and offered the car to him. He was unsure he still wanted it.

"I thought about it a lot, and thought if I wanted that car 40 years ago, I guess I still do," Scott said. "It's a really special model, which I knew all along."

It was only later he realized how special the car was. Its brown paint and make indicated it was one of six models known today - and possibly belonged to Lindbergh.

There are a few "clues" Scott has found that could point to it belonging to the famed St. Louis aviator.

Lindbergh is known as the first pilot to complete a solo transatlantic flight in his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, which was named in honor of Lindbergh's supporters from the St. Louis Racquet Club in his hometown of St. Louis. He was given the Speedster by Franklin for free, which Scott thinks is because the cars had air-cooled engines, which were also used in airplane engines.

Scott's Speedster is also from St. Louis and was built in April 1931, which gave it specific modifications that match Lindbergh's model: Both of the cars don't have stripes on the back fender but do have customized strips around the doors and hood.

Then there's "the best clue:" Scott found a photo from 1935 during the kidnapping trials of Lindbergh's son, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr., that shows a scratch on the left running board of the car. Scott's model has the same scratch.

Although he's found increasingly more clues pointing to its authenticity, he recognizes deeper research could prove him wrong.

"I hate to really research it because I'll find out it's not," Scott said. "But no one else in the Franklin club has claimed it."

The price for fame

If Scott did prove the car's authenticity, would he sell it?

"No," he said. "Somebody else can sell it. But it would make it worth a lot of money, although I try not to let that influence me."

His goal is to keep on keeping on with restorations. Now into retirement, Scott gets up early each day to work on the car, taking time in between to spend time with his wife and occasional car collaborator, Betty. She has helped him with upholstery and has an eye for detail in restoration, but she loves going riding in them the most.

"She's a good car wife," Scott said, smiling. "If I'm trying to make one really slick, she'll come to check the bodywork before I paint it and give her opinion on it. But if she wants to do (something else) that day, we'll do it."

Scott plans on getting it drivable again for a Mid-Missouri Old Car Club show in September. Unlike his other cars, which he completely restores, he wants to preserve the historic details of the Speedster, leaving it "just the way it came out of the barn," with the original paint - and the trim with the scratch in it.

"It's more work to do it this way; that's really the hardest job of it," he said. "I have to work to keep the enthusiasm alive, but I enjoy getting (a car) back on the road that hasn't been there in a long time."