At 14 years old, Joe Findysz made a purchase that would define the rest of his life.

“We drove by a car lot that had a ‘24 Model T Roadster for sale on our way to the airport to pick up my grandmother, and I convinced my mom and dad to stop,” he said. “And then I ended up buying it.”

“And that’s how it all started when I was 14,” Findysz said.

Decades later, Findysz now has more than 230 cars, making his one of Tucson’s largest and most diverse car collections, which is now on display at the Rolling Thru Time Auto Museum, which he opened in 2024. 

The collection began with a passion, but it quickly became something more, he said. 

“I don’t know if you’d call it love,” he said. “It’s more of an addiction.”

His devotion to automobiles was shaped by early role models. 

“The guy I met through the Model T Club had a bar full of Model Ts, and one day I kind of always thought, I want to be like Ken,” he said. 

That vision propelled him into car buying, selling, restoring, and eventually, curating a museum.

Collector’s journey

Over 50 years, Findysz estimates he has owned three to four hundred vehicles. Among them, a 1970 Formula Firebird that he drove on his first date with his now-wife Kelly Findysz.

Some vehicles were hard-won. 

“It took me 40 years of constant bugging the guy” to acquire both a 1965 Ford Falcon panel and a 1922 Model T chemical fire truck, he said.

Even now, the hunt isn’t over. years ago he passed on a Walton truck and still hasn’t been able to find another.

The thrill isn’t just in the chase – he also enjoys doing work on the cars. 

Findysz fondly remembers restoring a ‘68 Mustang with his kids.

“It took about a year to get it from just the ordinary, worn-out Mustang to a beautiful California special Mustang,” he said.

Though he’s a lifelong restorer, these days he prefers acquiring cars already in good shape. 

“It’s so much easier to find them when they’re done,” he admitted.

And he boasts that he’s a good negotiator, expertly driving the price down – “It is not how much, it is how little?” he said.

The Model T that started it all – it’s not rare, but holds enough sentimental value that he shows it in the museum.

He said that car once served as his only vehicle – it even has a 1981 University of Arizona parking pass still on it.

“There was a time when the Model T was the top selling car in the world,” he said, adding that about a million of that model were made. “Half of the cars in the world were all Model T Fords.”

And the original Roadster he bought in Tucson, is a piece of local history, he said. It’s been on some road trips, but always comes home.

“It was originally bought at Monte Mansfield Ford right here in Tucson,” he said. 

Building a home for the collection

Maintaining a collection of this size has its challenges. That’s where the museum came in. 

“We looked for this building probably for about ten years,” he said. 

He wanted space, proximity to the railroad and Interstate 10 access. What they found was 77,000 square feet of opportunity – and 12 more acres to grow.

With help from friends in the Model T Club, the museum took shape without architectural plans. 

“We just came in here, we talked about it, figured it out and built it,” he said.

Inside, the museum is divided into themed rooms: “big room,” where most of the cars are; a room with fire trucks and tractors, one with a Model T assembly line and a 1920s–40s-style Ace Hardware, a reflection to the family’s business heritage.

Findysz said the way the collection is displayed is intentional. 

“We watched people and how they read signs. If the signs had too much writing on them, people wouldn’t read them,” he said. “So, our signs are very short facts and interesting things that happened the day the car was made.”

Driven by family, fueled by memories

Kelly Findysz said the museum has layers of special meaning that extend beyond its walls. 

A pink and blue pair of 1968 Mustangs came from two friends in the same week. 

“So, since I committed myself to both, I bought them both,” Fyndysz said. 

A green Mustang was part of their daughter’s wedding, and another car carried the whole family through national parks.

“We did 175 miles a day in the cars, and they didn’t go fast,” Kelly said. “But every year we would do tours with them. So, our kids grew up with all of it.”

Today, the family is still involved. 

“They all like cars,” Kelly said. “They all come and help out when we need help.” 

The couple’s son works at the museum every Friday, and all their kids assist during special events.

“There’s always room for more cars,” Kelly added. “I don’t think there’s ever been a car that I said, ‘No, don’t buy that car.’”

Every car, every display, every inch of Rolling Thru Time reflects the life and legacy of a man who never stopped chasing the magic he found on the side of the road in that first Model T.

“When you drive a Model T, it’s an adventure,” Findysz said. “When you drive a modern car, it’s just a trip.”

Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.