B.C. son rebuilds dad's dream car after original wrecked in crash

SAANICH, B.C. -

Like the objects in a car’s side mirror, this father and son are closer than they appear, thanks to one specific car.

“It was my dad’s dream car,” Dalan Ruttan says. “He always wanted a 1985 [Toyota] Supra.”

A dream that Dale Ruttan finally realized, buying the used car during the same week he welcomed his son Dalan.

“This was perfect,” Dale recalls with a smile.

As Dalan grew up, his dad’s car helped him develop a strong work ethic.

“Every Saturday, we were washing the wheels of the Supra,” Dalan recalls. “We had to get into every nook and cranny.”

The car also transported Dalan to what would become happy memories from his childhood.

“My dad would take my mom on dates or we’d go out for ice cream,” Dalan says. “It was fantastic."

Until that night Dale was driving home from work and got hit by a driver racing down the road.

Dale’s car was T-boned, spun into oncoming traffic and hit by a second car.

“I got knocked out and came to with people opening the door to help me,” Dale says.

While Dale was treated for serious bruising, broken teeth, and a bad concussion, the Supra was written off.

Dale never saw it again.

“My dream car was gone,” Dale says. “But it was OK. I was alive.”

The moment Dalan heard his dad would recover, he made a private promise to himself.

“I committed to building my dad his car again,” Dalan says. “And I wasn’t going to let go. I don’t give up on things.”

The then 15-year-old started saving his money, teaching himself how to fix cars, and a decade later finally found a Supra just like his dad’s in a barn a province away.

“It needed a lot of work and I said I’ll do the work,” Dalan says. “It’s worth it to give him this vehicle and surprise him."

The surprise began with Dale unwrapping the car’s manual and keys. Then Dalan told him to look outside in the driveway.

“What is that?” Dale asks on the video that captured the surprise, before giving his son a hug. “That’s my Supra?”

After spending 13 years and thousands of hours rebuilding and refurbishing in secret, Dalan gave his dad a second chance to realize his dream.

It was an almost perfect match to Dale’s old car. Dalan even put the same CD in the stereo that his dad would listen to before the accident (David Gray’s "Life in Slow Motion").

“I was just unreal,” Dalan recalls.

It felt so surreal, Dale says it took a while to process it all. But once he realized how much work Dalan had invested in the gift, the emotion was overwhelming.

“This is not about the car,” Dale says. “This is about my son giving back.”

This is about gratitude, perseverance, and sacrifice. But most of all, this father and son say, this is about love.

“It’s worth it to show others that you love them before it’s too late,” Dalan says.

“It feels great,” Dale says before getting behind the wheel and taking Dalan for a ride. “And to have my son beside me. It’s a beautiful thing and I love him for it.”