REHOBOTH With a light rain still falling and breaks in the clouds starting to appear in the west, a group of Brass Era gearheads –– people who eat, sleep and talk constantly about cars –– had a decision to make: do we take “modern,” meaning a car that has windshield wipers and side windows to keep you dry inside, or do we take “brass”?

Arthur wants to take brass, knowing full well that if the rain doesn’t stop they will get soaking wet just getting to the rally point.

Manny Sousa, 82, of Rehoboth, decides for the group, “Let’s take the Renault”.

Arthur Pierce, also of Rehoboth, the mechanic who keeps Brass Era cars running for Manny and others, jumps in the front seat, turns on the magneto, hand primes the fuel pump and hits the starter button. The 1907 Renault, with its Brewster body, built in Boston, shudders to life, its six-cylinder engine roaring, echoing off the walls of the small garage. The engine sputters, runs for a minute and stalls.

The garage is now full of clouds of exhaust smoke and gas pours onto the garage floor. The problem: a pin hole in the carburetor float caused the float to sink to the bottom of the carb, which caused the engine to flood.

Manny and his wife, Lucy, have been driving in rallies across the country since 1951 in Brass Era cars. Today’s rally is short, 50 miles, with a group of 20 cars around southeastern Mass.

After further attempts to get the Renault started were fruitless, they made the decision to take the 1916 Simplex. They all knew that the Simplex was a workhorse of a car and would not let them down, even if it was 92 years old.