Enthusiasts' passions shine through at car show

Havre Daily News/Zach White

Bob Bradley, Bozeman hot rod enthusiast, stands by the 1947 Ford Coupe that he spent 15 years working on and drove to this weekend's Hi-Line Cruz'n 25th Annual Rod Run.

For Bob Bradley, working on cars has been a life-long passion, giving him 50 years of oil-covered hands, new friends and memories that span the continent.

Bradley, a Bozeman-based state highway worker, drove up to Havre this weekend for the 25th Annual Hi-Line Cruz'n Rod Run in his 1947 Ford Coupe to show it off and to meet up with some familiar faces he's gotten to know since coming to the Rod Run for 15 years.

"The people up here know how to throw a good party, " Bradley said. "I've been to a lot of national events. You keep going to the ones that impress you, and this is one of them. "

He said that the Coupe, which is very similar to one he had back in high school, has taken him all over the country, to events in Nevada, Arizona and Maine.

Most of those trips were made possible because of the work he's done on making the car's interior as comfortable as possible.

"That's the secret to building hot rods, " Bradley said. "All of the chrome and all of the power and all that, that's extra. "

He bought the 1947 coupe about 15 years ago, he said, for $500, and has spent about $30,000 on it since then.

The other car he brought, the 1935 Ford, is a project Bradley said he's been working on for his daughter in Kalispell.

And these are just two of his more complete projects, "for the spare time that I don't have any of. "

Bradley does have the spare time to come to events like the Rod Run, where he can show off his projects, see others and hang out with the people who have done the same.

"I like shiny cars, " Bradley said, "and the people that go with them. "