In his fifth decade on set, Ron Fawcett says he still enjoys being behind the wheel.

Fawcett, founder and owner of Fawcett Movie Cars in Whitby, ON, outside of Toronto, has been providing the film industry with vintage picture vehicles from his private collection since the 1960s.

The company has over 1,000 vehicles in stock, including fleets of police cars, taxis, limos and period cars of all types, such as a 1907 Cadillac, a 1910 Buick and a 1914 Ford Model T. Other rare vehicles include a 1903 Columbus Electric, Packards and Pierce Arrows, which share space with special film vehicles featuring cutaway roofs, trunks or sides to allow for camera mounts.

‘Since cars are regularly crashed, rebuilt, repainted and crashed again, there is also a large selection of duplicate cars just for that purpose,’ Fawcett explains. His company also builds custom vehicles when productions require them.

The cars are stored in a variety of undisclosed locations convenient for servicing multiple productions simultaneously. Fawcett recently supplied more than 50 period vehicles at a time for Toronto-shooting Academy Award winner Chicago, set in the 1920s. Other notable features include Blues Brothers 2000, Detroit Rock City, Exit Wounds and K-19: The Widowmaker. The firm has also supplied a steady stream of cars to TV series over the years, from Anne of Green Gables to Nero Wolfe.

Fawcett’s love of vintage cars dates back to the Depression, when his father, a vintage car mechanic, traded a screen door for an old Ford Model T. Fawcett’s dad, having to surrender the family home to creditors, decided to take on another career – as a clown. He incorporated the Model T, dubbed ‘Buck-‘n-Snort’, into his act. It was fitted with special hydraulics that enabled it to spray water and foam at crowds during parades and charity events.

The Model T was passed on to Ron, who carried on the tradition for 20 years before starting his own vintage vehicle restoration business. But the escalating demands of the film industry began to require his full attention and Fawcett passed on that business to his son, Peter.

Fawcett reports recently expanding his collection with several hundred new vehicles. The company also instituted upgrades such as safety features on 1920s automobiles that were unnecessary in their day. These improvements include specialized starting and braking, electrical system upgrades and safety kill switches.

As with most local service providers, Fawcett has felt the pinch somewhat this summer.

‘Although production has been slower than usual in Toronto this year, there’s been a fairly steady demand for movie cars,’ Fawcett notes.

-www.Fawcett-Movie-Cars.com