Currie Motors Hires Employee at Cruisin' Frankfort

Ben Grant, an 18-year-old Peotone High School senior, was showing off his 1981 F-150 pickup truck at Cruisin' Frankfort, a regular Thursday evening event for motor buffs during the summer months, when he caught the eye of Currie Motors Sales Manager Tom Butkus.

Grant, a slim, brown-haired Ford fan was excited to rattle off the fact that his 1981 pickup had close to 800,000 miles on it and that he still raced it.

A resident of nearby Monee, he said the red pickup looks a bit tired now, but it runs great.

A couple of years ago , his grandmother gave him the truck to work on. She'd had the vehicle for about 10 years and Grant wound up buying it. 

"My dad (Brian Grant) helped me put in a new carburetor in and an intake on it. The engine was good. We got a new battery."

First the father and son team had to clean out a mass of mice nests from the undercarriage, he said, but it didn't take long before it was up and running.

"I drive it to school every day."

Grant and his friends have nicknamed the truck "Mater," after the old tow truck in the 2006 Disney movie "Cars."

While showing the pickup along Kansas Street, Butkus spotted the vehicle and drawn both to "Mater" and Grant . The teen shared that his grandfather had worked at the Ford assembly plant in Chicago. He mentioned to that he had filled out an application at the Frankfot dealership.

Butkus knew instinctively that Grant would be one revved-up asset at the dealership at 9423 W. Lincoln Highway.

Grant was hired on the very next day. He's a part-time porter charged with moving vehicles around the lot as needed.

Grant may indeed be pumped to work for Ford, but he flat out refused their offer to trade his 1981 pickup for a new one. They wanted it as a display vehicle that proves the quality of the brand, but Grant couldn't find it in himself to part with the family memories.

The family also exhibits a 1923 Mosel T Roadster at Cruisin' Frankfort. "That really is the precious gem of the family; the thing I'm waiting to get passed down."

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