'53 cruiser with cherry on top latest for collector

Passion: Refixing up cars from lost era

Jason Wojcik of Perrysburg traded his 1930 Model A Ford for this 1953 Chevrolet police cruiser. The police car's red light on the roof still works.

It's the kind of car that makes other drivers stop and stare at Jason Wojcik.

Someone once spontaneously offered to buy it at his son's baseball practice.

Even a Perrysburg police officer gives Mr. Wojcik a funny glance when Mr. Wojcik pulls up in his vintage police car and parks at his home on Garfield Drive, overlooking busy West Boundary Street.

"You'd be amazed at the attention." Mr. Wojcik said. "Wherever I go, there's some kind of reaction."

Less than two months ago, somebody noticed his 1930 Model A Ford parked in his yard and offered a swap for the 1953 police car marked Redford Township Police on the side. Redford Township is a Detroit suburb.

The police car's red light still works, flashing like a disco light, and the siren roars.

People can't help but notice when Mr. Wojcik drives by, the engine on the Chevrolet sounding like a race car.

But the police car, which is Mr. Wojcik's main vehicle, also looks a little domesticated: A car seat for his daughter, Sophia, 2, sits in the back.

Mr. Wojcik, 31, a postal worker, has always loved collecting antiques, such as an Amish buggy, vintage bowling games, and -- especially -- old cars.

Mr. Wojcik's habit of collecting items has been the cause for teasing among his son's friends, who say their yard looks like a car dealership.

But at least the police car brings a little more respect.

"When they saw that car, they were like, 'Wow,' " said Gage Wojcik, 12, a seventh grader. "They like the sound of it. They like the way it looks."

Mr. Wojcik's passion is refixing up cars from a lost era and saving them from a junk-yard fate.

He spends Sundays working in the garage with his father, Steve Wojcik, of East Toledo, and his own son.

"I was raised on American muscle," Mr. Wojcik said. "There's nothing that compares, to me."

-- Gabrielle Russon