Don Bivens has Passed today!!

[msmaron]

A big loss again to the Model A Community.. It is with great sadness that i inform the membership of the passing off Don Bivens this afternoon. Don was best known for his knowledge on Early 28 vehicles and was a long time member of the JSC and former chairman. Don has been a member of MARC for over 45 years and was also the owner of *A616*, a HENRY Winning vehicle at the MARC National in Lexington Ky 2013. For those who had the privilege of knowing him and learning from him, he will surly be missed. There are no arrangements at this time and our sincere condolences to teh entire Bivens family and those that knew Don.

 

[Joop]

So Sad.

 

[McMimmcs]

our hobby continues to get weaker as we lose the icons ! His knowledge, skills anD abilities are lost forever. Rest In Peace Don and my sincere condolences to family and friends! Wayne

 

[itsana]

R I P My friend

Say hello to our friends for me. see you on the tour .


Jerry Lyons

 

[burner31]

Sad to hear of Don's passing. The knowledge that he shared will always live.

Sound your horn for Don, and picture his smile hearing 1000's of Ahooga horns

My condolences to the Family

 

[dean from bozeman]

So Don was restoring A616 about the time that I was restoring A495. He actually had a head start of a few years (read "many"). It seemed like he had been dragging his feet for a few years though. He was so close to having it done but it also seemed to me that he did not want to finish it and have it judged for some reason. So when he and I met at the MARC Meet at French Lick 1 he shared a photo album of the work on A616 with me. Just as the album closed I said to him, "Don, I'll bet you $500 that I will finish A495 and get it judged before you do". Well, he smiled and shook on that. He knew that he was a lot closer to getting his car done.

Soon we met up at the MARC Lexington meet. He approached me at my swap space. 'Hey Dean, you owe me $500. A616 is here and it's going to be judged.' I told him that yes we shook on $500 but in reality he should remember that without that impetus he probably never would have finished or showed A616. He smiled. We did agree to a lesser figure that was not in the form of cash but rather a pile of early '28 parts that he picked out from those that I had at my swap space.

For those of you who are not familiar with Don's A616 let me tell you what I know. That this Tudor was given to Henry Ford's illegitimate son. It was subsequently driven by that son from Detroit to Los Angeles at a break-neck speed to show the durability and speed of the new Model A. There is also a photo of Henry Ford sitting in that particular Tudor. Also, when Henry Ford died his wife wanted that car found and destroyed.

Well, many years later Don Bivens found the owners and talked them into showing him the car. Don said that it had been totally hidden under boxes and other things so that no one could find it. Eventually he bought it and then started the process of restoring one of the most historic Model A's ever. It won a Henry at Lexington and then at French Lick 2 A616 and A495 were displayed side by side for fine point judging.

Don will be missed. He loved this hobby and made it the focus of his life. His tireless work at the archives greatly increased the knowledge we have about the Model A and the early '28 Model A's in particular.

RIP Don.

Dean

 

[al's28/33]

I have the magazine article about his restoration on A616. MARC or MAFCA i do not remember now.....Rest in Peace and condolences to his family.

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

For those who knew Don, he had a very unique personalized license plate on his vehicle. It was a Michigan plate that had 'FORD' on it.

 

[henry's 31]

I did not know Don personally but I did read about his rare Model A. I know of his love of the Model A and hope the great memories will give his family comfort. We have lost another great Model A person, may he rest in peace.

 

[Gary Karr]

Don's passing is indeed a tremendous loss to the Model A community. His history, research, and knowledge of the Model A and Ford's production methods were unmatched. Don's machining abilities were also a masterful addition to us restorers. If not for people like Don Bivens and their contributions to the Restoration Guidelines and Judging Standards, they would not exist as we know them today. Rest in peace Don.

 

[WTSHNN]

Don was incredibly generous with his knowledge on these early A's. Always looked forward to seeing him at Hershey or a National.

A616 was a showpiece vehicle for Ford like Dean said. Here are some pictures of it on display while still owned by Ford.

It was used for promotional images for the movie The Patsy, starring Marion Davies. It was not actually used in the movie but I think both companies recognized the cross promotional charm.

This car was unique in that it had a dual wiper set up from the factory. You can also see a spot light mounted inside the windshield as well as the 1927 Michigan Manufacturer's License Plate.

It was obvious that A616 was important to the Ford Motor Company because they put it on display at the 1934 World's Fair in Chicago alongside other noteworthy cars including the 15 and 20 Millionth Fords and other cars from Ford history.

Finally, like Brent mentioned, Don had the very desirable FORD vanity license plate on his pickup. I always worried that sticky fingers would take it while parked in the red field at Hershey but it was safe.

-Tim

 

[d.j. moordigian]

So Don was restoring A616 about the time that I was restoring A495. He actually had a head start of a few years (read "many"). It seemed like he had been dragging his feet for a few years though. He was so close to having it done but it also seemed to me that he did not want to finish it and have it judged for some reason. So when he and I met at the MARC Meet at French Lick 1 he shared a photo album of the work on A616 with me. Just as the album closed I said to him, "Don, I'll bet you $500 that I will finish A495 and get it judged before you do". Well, he smiled and shook on that. He knew that he was a lot closer to getting his car done.

Soon we met up at the MARC Lexington meet. He approached me at my swap space. 'Hey Dean, you owe me $500. A616 is here and it's going to be judged.' I told him that yes we shook on $500 but in reality he should remember that without that impetus he probably never would have finished or showed A616. He smiled. We did agree to a lesser figure that was not in the form of cash but rather a pile of early '28 parts that he picked out from those that I had at my swap space.

For those of you who are not familiar with Don's A616 let me tell you what I know. That this Tudor was given to Henry Ford's illegitimate son. It was subsequently driven by that son from Detroit to Los Angeles at a break-neck speed to show the durability and speed of the new Model A. There is also a photo of Henry Ford sitting in that particular Tudor. Also, when Henry Ford died his wife wanted that car found and destroyed.

Well, many years later Don Bivens found the owners and talked them into showing him the car. Don said that it had been totally hidden under boxes and other things so that no one could find it. Eventually he bought it and then started the process of restoring one of the most historic Model A's ever. It won a Henry at Lexington and then at French Lick 2 A616 and A495 were displayed side by side for fine point judging.

Don will be missed. He loved this hobby and made it the focus of his life. His tireless work at the archives greatly increased the knowledge we have about the Model A and the early '28 Model A's in particular.

RIP Don.

Dean

Thank Dean,....well done..!

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

A616 was a showpiece vehicle for Ford like Dean said. Here are some pictures of it on display while still owned by Ford.

It was used for promotional images for the movie The Patsy, starring Marion Davies. It was not actually used in the movie but I think both companies recognized the cross promotional charm.

This car was unique in that it had a dual wiper set up from the factory. You can also see a spot light mounted inside the windshield as well as the 1927 Michigan Manufacturer's License Plate.

It was obvious that A616 was important to the Ford Motor Company because they put it on display at the 1934 World's Fair in Chicago alongside other noteworthy cars including the 15 and 20 Millionth Fords and other cars from Ford history.

Adding a few more pics to illustrate Tim's info...

.
.

 

[hop up]

Our prays are with him and his family and friends

 

[mercman from oz]

Rest in Peace Don Bivens. Our Prayers are with his family at this time.