Big Sky Country — Rods in Progress
Story by David Marin
In a word, it was hot, as we cranked up the ’49 Ford woodie wagon and left the Red Horse Drive-in in Ellensburg, headed east on Interstate 90. On our heels are our able cohorts Mike “Moto-Man” and Kathe Muromoto, along to assist and enjoy yet another CruZin’ Magazine “Road Tour”.
It was Saturday, July 29, 2006, Day 2. Cruising at close to the speed limit we passed through Spokane, across the Idaho panhandle with a brief pit stop near Lookout Pass, into Montana and stopped for the day in Missoula.
Bright and early Sunday we’re back on I-90, east to Drummond where we pick up Highway 1 and cruise south through some great scenery as we passed through the towns of Hall and Maxville before stopping in Phillipsburg where there’s a neat little show & shine underway, and, we find several of the very “rods in progress” folks we’re on our way to visit at Georgetown Lake.
Later, we’ve established “base camp” at the 7 Gables Resort where proprietors Jeff and Carolyn Brock have made us feel more than welcome.
Jeff, as it happens, along with Bart Bonney, established the Georgetown Lakesters Car Club six or seven years ago.
“Bart moved up here some years back,” Jeff recalls. “We started the club on a whim, the only criteria being that you had to like cars. It caught on and now we’ve got pretty close to 100 members.”
Jeff’s affinity for cars dates back to high school and a 1949 Chevrolet.
“I got married shortly after that and there wasn’t much other than family cars for quite a few years,” he says. “Then, after a divorce, I bought a new Trans Am and shortly after that I met Carolyn.”
Meeting up with and marrying Carolyn brought Jeff back 100-percent into the hobby.
“Carolyn has a 1970 Chevelle that she ordered brand new from the factory,” Jeff says. “The car has the 396 cubic inch engine and 4-speed trans. It’s an all original, matching numbers car. We’ve added a few dress-up items and replaced one axle; other than that it’s completely original.
Jeff’s current project is the re-powering of his 1968 Camaro RS/SS convertible.
“A fresh 396 engine is sitting there ready to go and I’ve beefed the suspension up all around,” he says. “I’m also going to replace the TH350 transmission with a Muncie 4-speed.”
The Brock family also owns a 1961 Corvette which sports a 283 mill and 4-speed trans.
“The Corvette belonged to my sister and I talked her into letting me take custody of it,” Jeff notes. “It isn’t a matching numbers car or anything like that, but it is a fun car to drive.”
Jeff and Carolyn enjoy attending “a dozen or so” car shows each season, traveling as far as Bishop, California and to Des Moines, Washington for the Northwest Regional Chevelle and El Camino Show.
Next we have a “confab” with Jeff’s cohort Bart Bonney. Bart’s gearhead roots go back 50 years to 1956 and high school when he acquired his first ride — a 1949 Chevrolet convertible, bone stock with a 216 cid powerplant and three on the tree.
“I couldn’t do a whole lot, but I couldn’t leave it stock either,” he says. “So I painted the car, upholstered it, split the manifold and ran dual pipes.”
A string of cool cars followed Bart’s ’49, highlighted by a ’40 Ford coupe a ’55 Chev, a ’65 Chev Malibu, a ’67 El Camino, a ’72 Blazer, a ’34 Chev pickup, a ’54 Chev and finally, his current ride, a 1957 Chev 150 Utility Sedan.
“I bought the ’57 from my longtime friend Ron Isaacson,” Bart says. “It was originally a Ma Bell (telephone company) car out of Madras, Oregon. Ma Bell sold the car in 1962 and it bounced around central Oregon for a number of years.”
The Sedan Utility went through several evolutions, seeing action at the drag strip for several years and street duty for a time as well.
Bart acquired the car from Isaacson about six years ago. Currently the ’57 sports a large journal 1968 Chev 327 with double hump heads, Edelbrock Pro-Flo electronic fuel injection, a Tremek 5-speed transmission with a McLeod scattershield and 12-inch clutch and, out back there’s a Ford 9-inch rear end with 3.90:1 gears.
“I’ve re-cammed the engine, installed roller rockers and reworked the headers,” Bart notes. “I’ve also done a lot of massaging to the brake and exhaust systems.”
Given his choice of “dream cars” Bart would opt for a ’40 Ford, but meanwhile he’s very happy with his ’57 Utility.
He and his wife Jackie enjoy attending 8-12 car shows each season and cruised from Georgetown Lake to Roseburg, Oregon to “have a blast” at the 2005 Graffiti Week Show and Cruise.
Next stop is just down the dusty, washboard road and around the corner to the palatial estate that Bill and Olivia Johnson call home.
Born and raised in Montana, Bill’s interest in cars goes back to high school and a 1937 Pontiac coupe.
“I got the Pontiac from an uncle, got it running and turned it into a 1950 Ford convertible,” Bill continues. “The convertible became a ’49 Ford business coupe which turned into a 1932 Ford 5-window coupe which turned into a stint in the United States Air Force.”
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