Fire destroys classic car collection

Weymouth blaze devastates owner

WEYMOUTH - It was a routine fueled by a love only a grizzled mechanic might fully appreciate.

Nearly every day for the past 35 years, Ray Bean would shuffle over to his scooter, ride to his backyard garage, and gingerly climb into the antique cars that for years he lavished with a meticulous affection, applying grease where needed, checking the oil, taking short drives to ensure their roadworthiness.

Yesterday, as the 89-year-old former machinist sought to fire up the engine of his most prized possession, a 1929 Buick Roadmaster, he heard an explosion.

"Something went bang," Ray Bean Jr., his son, said a few hours later. "He got out as fast as he could move, but he doesn't run. I don't know how he got out."

The explosion at 9:44 a.m. ignited a two-alarm blaze that quickly engulfed the stand-alone garage off Middle Street and devoured his 1915 Dodge Phaeton, 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang convertible, and a Chevy Monte Carlo of a much more recent vintage. Bean made it out unharmed but heartbroken.

His son said the Buick had been a prop in a host of films, including "The Witches of Eastwick," "The Great Gatsby," and "The Brink's Job." He called the car his father's "pride and joy."

Bean's son said the Dodge was only one of three of its kind left in the United States. "It was immaculate, 100 percent original."

The Ford was among the first convertibles with an electronic mechanism to raise and lower its roof, he said.

He said the cars were his father's labor of love. "He could fix any antique car," he said. "If he didn't have the part, he would make it."

Fire officials estimated the damage at more than $200,000, but Bean's son said there was no way to put a dollar value on the cars. "They're irreplaceable," he said. He was not sure whether his father had insured the cars.

The blaze drew firefighters from Weymouth, Quincy, Hingham, and Braintree.

Deputy Chief Jonathan Tose of the Weymouth Fire Department said the fire did not seem suspicious. He said it was not clear exactly how the blaze started.

"Nothing we can see at this point that would make it look like arson," Tose said.

The elder Bean was taken to South Shore Hospital for observation.

Staring in disbelief at the charred remains of the garage, the old cars still resting on their wheels but now the color of ash, Ray Bean Jr. said he didn't want his father to see the ruins.

"He's extremely shaken," he said. "He's very upset. He didn't get hurt physically, but emotionally this is devastating."

David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com.