Hot rod owners come together for weekend's car show

The weekend's 30th annual Hi-Line Cruz'n Association Rod Run at the Great Northern Fairgrounds was a chance for classic hot rod and truck owners from Montana and Canada a chance to show off 124 vehicles.

The vehicles ranged from early 20th century roadsters to popular muscle cars from the '60s and '70s to sports cars from the '80s and '90's. Owners chatted with each other and visitors, visitors ogled cars, and periodically, a car could be heard revving and growling.

Hi-Line Cruz'n Association Treasurer Barb Salerno said this year's event had seven more cars than last year and the event gives club members a reason to get together and have fun.

Jim Terry of Great Falls drove his butterscotch-colored '71 Dodge Demon to the event from Great Falls. He said the sports coupe has the original six-cylinder engine with 34,000 original miles and pointed out the revamped pristine interior. Terry said the Demon was only manufactured in '71 and '72, before pressure from church groups regarding the Demon's name and logo influenced Dodge to stop manufacturing it.

Brent Gordon from High River, Alberta, was one of many Canadians at the show. He was sitting behind his '61 Buick Invicta, a long and wide two-door cruiser with added fender skirts that said "My Lil' Sheila" on them. Sheila is his wife.

Gordon said at first he thought there was something wrong with the suspension because it "floated" over bumps. He then learned that's how the car was designed to ride. He said he and his wife have enjoyed driving all over the U.S. in the Invicta.

Barry Wright of Billings, unlike most car owners at the show, didn't have an expensive glossy paint job on his '48 Chevrolet Suburban. He said he got sick of crying over every chip on his hot rods. The only addition to the gray primer of the Suburban is the yellow flames on the side.

Wright's Suburban has Corvette suspension and a Corvette eight-cylinder engine. It has air conditioning, and power leather seats he took out of a Yukon. Wright said he has done most of the work himself. He's a furniture custom repairman, but he "tinkers" with his cars for fun.

Wright bought the SUV from a seller in Syracuse, New York, a couple of years ago in December. He and a friend flew from Billings to New York and drove the Suburban back to Montana. The classic SUV had no heat at the time.

"It got pretty interesting at times," Wright said, referring to a stint in South Dakota where he and his friend incurred black ice.

Mark Reinmuth of Havre was sitting down with his friends from Medicine Hat, Alberta. Reinmuth had three cars at the show - a black '69 Super Sport Camaro Super, a '57 Chevy Bel-Air and a fire engine red '63 Ford F-150.

The truck had a Confederate flag painted on the driver's door and an American flag painted on the tailgate. Reinmuth said he was told the truck came from Alabama before hitting the FBI impound lot he bought it from.

He said the truck is light and fast.