TORONTO -- In a fabrication shop in Halton Hills, Ont., piece by piece, a part of automotive history is being rebuilt: the so-called "Fossmobile."

The vehicle hasn鈥檛 rolled down a Canadian street in more than a century. It鈥檚 modelled after the car that was the nation鈥檚 very first to successfully run on gasoline 鈥 built by Ron Foss鈥 grandfather.

"I just decided that that Canadians really need to know that it wasn't Ford that was the first in Canada, that it was my grandfather,鈥 Foss told CTV News.

George Foote Foss was a bike mechanic and blacksmith who ran a shop in Sherbrooke, Que., in the late 1800s.

After seeing an electric car during a trip to Boston, he set out to improve on the design.

"He decided there was a better way to make a vehicle,鈥 Foss said.

Foote Foss thought a gas-powered engine might work better and constructed all the parts for the car himself.

By 1897, he was driving around, 鈥渟caring children, getting stuck in the mud, petrifying the horses,鈥 Foss said.

But in 1902, Foote Foss sold the car, the only one he ever made, for $75, and it was never seen again.

Now, years later, his grandson has enlisted the help of tradespeople and vintage automobile experts to recreate the car.

There were no blueprints, so the Fossmobile is being reverse-engineered using photos of the original car.

The car bore little resemblance to the modern vehicle, according to historical photos of it in use. Foote Foss鈥檚 gas-powered car featured large wheels similar to those on a horse carriage, and had no roof.

鈥淲e're gonna have it as close as we can from the pictures that we have,鈥 Foss said.

They鈥檝e gathered old parts from the era and restored what they could. Unique items like the engine鈥檚 wood cowling have been faithfully remade. They鈥檙e using the same style of paint that 鈥渙ld buggies and carriages鈥 would have been painted with.

They even sourced a period engine similar to the one that gave the Fossmobile a top speed of a whopping 24 km an hour.

To fund the endeavour, they launched last year, where they have raised just over $14,000.

And while there is a monument to the Fossmobile in Sherbrooke, Foss and his team are hoping that with hard work, the car will ride again in time for its 125th anniversary next year. 

With files from Alexandra Mae Jones