Our History

By Bill Sessa courtesy HotRod and Restoration Magazine.  October 2007

There was a time when Darold Kohout had a job that everybody could understand and appreciate. After all, working in the grocery business is a job that is solid and responsible. And before that at the area's largest automotive warehouse distributor. And they were jobs everyone assumes comes with a paycheck. Then, Kohout bought a 1930 Model A Coupe as a second family car, at the urging of his wife, Lynnette.

Afterwards, when people asked him what he did for a living, “I told them that I sold parts for old Ford’s,” Kohout recalled. It was almost always followed with another question, usually from people who wondered why he wasn’t destitute. “What else do you do?”

These days, and for the last four decades, selling parts for Model A’s and other older Fords is exactly what Darold, Lynnette, son Mike, and their daughter Susan have been doing for a living. “We’re a Mom and Pop operation,” Darold Kohout said. While it is a family-run operation, Sacramento Vintage Ford, located about 20 miles down the freeway from California’s State Capitol building, is much more than a tiny counter with a few fan belts stacked on shelves. At 70,000 square feet, it is larger than many of the grocery stores where Kohout made his living years ago. Every wall looks like a gallery, with neon and memorabilia competing for space. Some displays are more museum pieces than showcases for parts. The 1950s-inspired diner and gift shop bring the doo-wop era alive so much that you could expect girls in poodle skirts and saddle shoes to stop by at any moment.

World famous hot rods and customs come and go on display like loaner cars.

Much More Than a Parts Store.............................CLICK  to read the complete article by Bill Sessa courtesy HotRod and Restoration Magazine. ( sorry, missing link at the moment )