photo by: Lauren Fox

A 94-year-old De Soto man is in the process of selling 30 custom cars that he either created or restored over 40 years of his retirement. He has a 1929 Ford Model A Speedster, a 1922 Ford Model T and a 1928 Chevrolet “Woody” station wagon among his collection.

But there’s one car Dean Weller isn’t selling. It’s a 1912 Mercer Raceabout, and Weller knew just where he wanted it — his living room.

“You know, one of these days I’m going to take out that patio door and pull my Mercer right in front of that fireplace and dust it every time I walk by,” Weller said he used to tell his wife of 73 years, Delores, who passed away last March.

“You can imagine how that went over with her,” he said. “She would turn over in her grave now if she knew it.”

If she knew, that is, that Weller did indeed take out that patio door and pull his Mercer right in.

The curious event took place March 1. With the help of two daughters, a son-in-law, a grandson and a grandson’s friend, Weller moved his car into his living room by removing the eight foot tall sliding glass doors that face his backyard.

Weller said a Baptist church that sits behind his property was letting out just as the noteworthy action was taking place.

“They were probably wondering, ‘What the heck is that crazy Dean Weller doing?'” he said, chuckling.

Weller has been making and restoring antique cars since he retired from his job as a home builder at the age of 52. The Mercer is his favorite.

photo by: Lauren Fox

In 2007, the Journal-World featured Weller’s replica of the famed racer, which was one of the legendary sports cars of the pre-World-War-I era. It took Weller two years to build. He made the fenders, gas tank, seat frames and radiator. A 1930 Pontiac nearly duplicated the Mercer’s frame and drivetrain, so Weller used those as his foundation. The only parts Weller couldn’t recreate were the front headlamps. He outsourced the job to a Florida craftsman for $1,000.

“It’s my favorite, yes,” Weller said Tuesday in his De Soto home. “It’s got more of me in it than any that I’ve built. And I’m only going to keep one, and so it is the one.”

Weller’s cars are currently stored in a former Ford dealership garage, located at 33015 W. 83rd St. in De Soto, that Weller calls “Grandpa’s Garage.” The 102-year-old building has already been sold, but Weller has a year to get his cars out, said his daughter, Deana Chance.

As of March 2, Weller had sold 13 cars. He hopes to sell the other 16, save one: “America’s Sweetheart,” a Model A Ford which he said he plans to donate to the Model A Ford Museum in Hickory Corners, Mich.

photo by: Lauren Fox

John Begg, president of the Model A Ford Foundation, called Weller’s creation “unique” and said he hopes to have it as part of their display.

“Dean is quite a craftsman and he has just made an outstanding creation of this Model A,” Begg said.

“America’s Sweetheart” has a see-through body made of wrought iron which Weller formed into a design of scrolls, ovals and hearts. Begg said that the car would serve as an educational tool for the museum and an example of fine craftsmanship because it shows off the car’s chassis.

Weller’s interest in cars began at a young age. He remembers his first car, a 1934 Ford, which he purchased by using his bicycle as the down payment.

photo by: Lauren Fox

He also won over his wife, Delores, during a car ride. He picked up Delores and her friend one cold day as they were walking and drove them home. Dean and Delores married at the respective ages of 19 and 15.

On Tuesday, as his daughter went to open the outside blinds to let natural light into his living room, Weller remarked that they hadn’t been opened since his wife’s death.

When the sunlight streamed in that afternoon, it illuminated the newest addition to Weller’s home. Recently, after moving the Mercer into his living room, Weller wrote that he’s working on a “good ending” to his life story.

Instead of leaving his favorite car without a home, it now rests in his living room.

“Now, it has a home and I can care for it,” he wrote. “Am I eccentric? Perhaps, but happy.”