Ken Prather, 68, of Erie Pa., has a passion for the old school. And, his 1962 Volkswagen bus is easily the apple of any teacher's eye.

Still a work in progress, Prather purchased the German-made van so popular with hippies in the age of the “Flower Child” in 1998 with the intention of just making it into an around the town driver.

Those thoughts morphed into a reality which is to this day still a work in progress; which explains why the chopped top German automobile with a 355 ci Chevrolet V-8 tucked in the back seat area, still spends most of its time on asphalt tooling around the streets of Erie, Pa.

Ken Prather, 68, of Erie Pa., has a passion for the old school. And, his 1962 Volkswagen bus is easily the apple of any teacher's eye.

Still a work in progress, Prather purchased the German-made van so popular with hippies in the age of the “Flower Child” in 1998 with the intention of just making it into an around the town driver.

Those thoughts morphed into a reality which is to this day still a work in progress; which explains why the chopped top German automobile with a 355 ci Chevrolet V-8 tucked in the back seat area, still spends most of its time on asphalt tooling around the streets of Erie, Pa.

“I bought it stock,” Prather said, when asked to relate the history of the van. “The original plan was a small V-8 with bucket seats; just a van. It morphed into more than that. We started with a 305 that was going to be stock and then we decided to put a blower on it and that finished off the 305. This is the third motor. This is a 355.”

In the process, Prather made a few other alterations.

“I chopped it seven inches, z'd the frame in the front, lowered it a little bit, Ford rear end, aluminum radiator.”

Just a few changes, most of which have turned more than one head at a local stoplight. This is not the kind of van one wants to get into a fun street race with, even if it does look like the mild mannered “Clark Kent” of the racing world.

“The car fooled a few at first, but it's hard to miss the sound of the engine,” Prather admitted when asked if he's ever been challenged while waiting on a red light.

The Volkswagen has already been to the Salt Flats in Utah. Prather never made a run, but he did drive the vehicle there and back, spending $1300 for fuel to make the 4000 mile run.

Prather's wife, Georgia, who is battling cancer, just smiles as she listens to her husband talk about the variety of cars he has owned over the years. She's ridden in all of them at one time another; including the Volkswagen which happens to sport two seats with four point harnesses.

Prather was 13 the first time he sat behind the wheel of his own car – a 1940 Chevy Coupe which barely lasted six months. He paid $40 dollars for the car, working at a neighbors planting strawberries and driving a tractor for 50 cents an hour to raise the money to buy the car. With nowhere to drive it on the streets, Prather turned part of his father's acreage into a circle track and flat just wore the old car out.

With ever story of every car, Prather's smile just got bigger and bigger. And, with each story, his wife's smile increased as well. Like her husband, Georgia finds the memories of 48 years of marriage to her car nut, the best way she could have ever spent her life.

“She lived on the other side of the hill,” Prather said, an even bigger smile crossing his face. It's easy to see his love of cars is only surpassed by the love of his life – Georgia. Together, they have literally driven through life in a passion of automobiles.

Natives of the surrounding Erie area, they both tired of the cold winters back in the late '70s to early '80s.

“We ended up in (Erie) 1977,” Prather said, his mind bringing forth the memories slowly. “We had five and a half acres and most of it woods. We built a brand new house, lived their five years and the winters got so bad, I said, 'that's it.' We sold everything and went to California in a '37 Desoto she drove and a '38 Dodge stake bed truck I drove with all our belongings and three kids. We went to California, didn't like it, went all over the United States; we went 9,000 miles, took the Desoto up Pike's Peak and ended up back here – 15 miles away from where we started.”

In his 55 years behind the wheel of an automobile, Prather has only bought one new car. It sits in the garage waiting for the next extended trip he and his wife may take.

“I wanted something reliable,” Prather says, when asked why he would buy a new car. “We want to take a trip once in a while. I don't like to work on them on the roadside, anymore.

“I'm getting too old to have my feet hanging out from underneath.”

Prior to the new car, Prather's “out of town” car was a 1963 Dodge Dart. The car now rests comfortably in the back of the garage, the paint still close to like new condition.

You would think, after 55 yeas of tinkering with cars, Prather might be content to finally finish the Volkswagen and rest on his laurels. He's not. With a laugh and a teasing reluctance, Prather reveals his next project is already in the collection stage.

“Out in the shed,” he said, with a slight hesitation, “Out in the back is some bicycles. One of them is getting a propellor on the back and a little motor. I call it my air bike. Beside it is a motorcycle, the last of the two-stroke twins, A '75 Suzuki – a 500-twin – it's going to be cafe style with a side hat for her.”

Then he looks over at his wife and says, “Right?”  She laughs and you can tell she won't say no.

“Then maybe the Dodge. Well, a friend offered to sell me a '38 Chevy Coupe that I really like. It's just a body and frame. But, it's from South Dakota. Good Body.

“But, where do you quit?”

Prather won't quit. He's got plenty of plans, including getting the Volkswagen into the 10's on the strip while still being able to drive it back and forth to the drag strip. Given all he has accomplished, it is a goal which, like the rest of his life, is certainly achieveable.