MTFCA Forum

My good friend and Master Model T Mechanic Don Cusack passed away yesterday Nov. 12 at his home in rural Prior Lake, Mn. A great guy, long time club member and friend to all. Well known for his Model T speedster he made. He was 89. Rest in peace good friend, it was a pleasure to know you, Bob.

I will truly miss talking to Don. Anyone that saw his 16 valve speedster would appreciate his mechanical, machinist, and fabrication skills.

It is often said of people “he can fix anything”. With Don it was true. He once took a bobcat that was burned in a fire and rebuilt it. The hydraulic valves had melted so he made new ones like it was nothing. My early 1909 rear axle had the driveshaft mounting flanges torn away. He made fixtures to locate the true center of the housings and then fabricated and installed new flanges. His knowledge will never be replaced. He helped everyone. Hope we can begin to pay it forward.

Besides a great mechanic, Don was just a truly fine human being. RIP my friend

As those above have said, tons of knowledge, tons of talent, a true asset to the preservation of mechanical history and a great person.

For the obituary google Dawn Valley Cemetery Bloomington, Mn. Thanks, Bob.

https://www.startribune.com/obituaries/ ... eph-cusack
I don't believe I ever met the man. I'm as new as can be to the model t thing and can appreciate these guys!

Still thinking daily of the loss of my good friend Don, not enough stories here I thought, so, I'll add some entertainment for those that never knew this hero of mine and a giant of a man. I did not know don until about the 90's, we were 23 years apart in age, so I am telling old stories. After a stint in Korea in the navy, he went on to a career aviation mechanic/machinist, he was able to retire early, but if you knew Don, he would not stand still. Next he became a partner in an asphalt driveway company. In those days, a small company would dump a load of asphalt in a pile and rake it out flat. So, Don built a paving machine. It was so good, that actually he built 3 or 4 and sold them. Business partnership had some issues, so he went back to fixin airplanes for a short time. In the 60's he and wife Dee had enough of the city, and bought a beutiful acerage to build on. They, and I mean THEY built the house, the shop, the barns, everything done by the two of them. Once they moved in, they spluged and bought two new John Deere garden tractors. Don used to complain that Dee wore hers out !!! Yeah, you would need to tie her up to slow her down too. Finaly done with having a job, he devoted much of the rest of his life to model T's. Both he and Dee were a driving force in our local club for many years. He told me his first T was bought of a used car dealer on lake street in Mpls, sometime in the 60's. Seen a T on a car lot latley? A couple years ago they thought maybe the acerage was too much to take care of so they looked into an assisted living space. That was a short thought, no way, rather die at home. Dee, who passed before Don, could barely walk anymore from bad knees, but stayed home till the end. Single life I'm sure was hard on Don, but he never complained. Two childeren helped keep the place going. I dont think Don ever hired anyone to do anything until he was past 80. Plumbing, electrical, what ever, don did it. I just spoke on the phone two days before his passing, he was fixin the roof on the shop that day. Don will be missed by many, anyone else with some stories?