Louisville Employee Shares Love of Family, a Cherished Heirloom and an Appreciation for Ford Motor Company

Written By By Cher Reynolds
Jul 29, 2022
<2 MIN READ
Louisville Employee Shares Love of Family, a Cherished Heirloom and an Appreciation for Ford Motor Company Click to Enlarge

Austin and Hannah


Family heirlooms come in all shapes and sizes, and Louisville Assembly Plant team member Austin Nutt owns a unique one. A fully restored two-door 1926 Ford Model T has been part of his family since it was brand new, purchased in West Virginia by John Henry Keesee, Nutt’s great-great-great grandfather. For Nutt, the Model T coupe symbolizes his love of family, his fondness for cars and his long connection with Ford Motor Company.

A second-generation Ford employee, Nutt works as a utility in the trim department at the Louisville plant. His father, Kyle Nutt, worked at Lorain Assembly Plant in the late 1980s, before transferring to Ohio Assembly Plant while his mother, Andrea Hurley, works at Kentucky Truck Plant. His uncle, Kevin Nutt, also worked for Ford in Ohio, transferring to Kentucky Truck Plant in 1996. Nutt’s stepmother, Jennifer Brooks Nutt, works at Kentucky Truck Plant as well.

“I’m on day shift, where I plan to stay until I can retire like my dad,” said Nutt. “Working for Ford is all I have ever known, and I couldn’t be happier than to give my family the life my dad was able to give us because of this job.”

When Nutt’s great-grandfather, a car collector, inherited the Model T, his sons drove it to school every day. One of those sons, Nutt’s grandfather, Russell Keesee, also used the car to deliver newspapers to more than 500 customers along his route. In the 1970s, most of the vehicles in the collection were moved to the Russell’s brother Curt’s farm. The Model T went on to sit in a barn for more than 25 years.

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    Before Restoration
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When Keesee inherited the car, it was in a state of disrepair. Years passed, then in 2000, he and his wife Linda added a small garage to their newly built home with plans to bring the Model T back to life. In 2009, they undertook the restoration, with a friend and antique car collector contributing knowledge and tools to the project.

Authenticity was important to the restoration. “My grandpa wanted to keep it original,” said Nutt. “Luckily, many people thought the same, so parts are still made to keep it that way.” As for the exterior, they opted for black, in keeping with tradition. The restoration took four years, with the total cost exceeding $25,000.

Keesee passed the Model T down to his grandson as an unexpected wedding present, driving his new granddaughter-in-law, Hannah, also a car lover, to the wedding in it. “I always thought it was the coolest thing growing up,” said Nutt. “I am the only one in the family who loves cars and will continue to cherish this.”

Nutt takes his Model T to car shows, where it has won awards. “It has been one of the greatest things I could have ever been given,” he said.

Just this past spring, the Nutts welcomed their first child, and the proud dad looks forward to the car being part of baby Matthew’s childhood, just as it was his. And one day, Matthew will be entrusted with the cherished Model T.

“Not only has it been a family car since it was new, the fact that it made its way to me somehow – with anything that could have happened in its almost 100 years – is wild,” said Nutt.

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