Motorcycles get Cruisen clearance

POLSON - At last year's Cruisen by the Bay, Kevin Detwiler's 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass/442 was just a frame and an engine. This year, the Ronan resident's Spanish-red, black-striped, go-fast, muscle-car sparkled in the summer sun.

"I always wanted to do a Chevelle," Detwiler said. "After I went to a few car shows and saw that everyone and their dog had a Chevelle, I thought, well, my first car was a 1965 Cutlass, so why don't I try that?"

Purchased on eBay five years ago, Detwiler spent about two years working on his first re-model attempt, which was finally completed this spring. He was fortunate enough to find a body with minimal rust and the frame work required was straight forward, for the most part. Even the vehicle's original black leather seats could be restored to look flawless.

"[The paint] got baked in California for 40 years," he said. "When we got it, the hood was off, the engine out and partially done. We had to wench it up on a trailer, chain it down and drive it home. It was an interesting trip, especially the beginning in full rush-hour traffic on the Oakland Bridge."

He came out to Cruisen by the Bay, sponsored by the Mission Valley Cruisers, to support Rick Dennis' business, Two Creek Automotive, of Charlo, the garage with whom he worked very closely throughout the process.

"Other people had recommended him to me," Detwiler said. "I told him I wanted to do a lot of the work on it. He said I could do whatever I wanted. So, I did a lot of the take-apart work, sand-blasting and chrome polishing. I learned a lot."

According to Detwiler, one of the fun things with cars shows is, you never know who you're going to end up talking to. Last year, he struck up a conversation with a General Motors factory representative whose job was to detail service on the Oldsmobile 442.

"He walked up to it and knew exactly what it was, the year, the engine, everything," he said. "I wished I'd had a tape recorder."

With more than 184 registered cars and 21 club members showing off their hard work at this weekend's event, there was no shortage of interesting conversations.

"You have people who have cars that are pieces of artwork," Detwiler said. "Then there are people who are trying to stay true to the originals and bring back memories. What you're trying to do with your car is not always the same, but they all look cool."

This year, the Cruisen by the Bay "car show" morphed into just a "show" with the addition of motorcycles, which Mission Valley Cruiser vice-president Mike Lee said ‘just made sense.'

"We find that most car guys have motorcycles too," he said. "So, we thought, ‘let's bring it together' and make the show a little bit better."

The numbers were up from previous years and of the registered cars, 80 percent had never been to Polson's show before.

"That's good for the public because they get to see cars they've never seen before," Lee said. "There were just some awesome motorcycles, too."

Participants traveled from Florida, Michigan, Arizona and all over the Northwest specifically for the event.

"It's an event about encouraging cars, but it's mostly about serving the community with a family-type activity," Lee said. "We're a community service organization."

When the crowds had cleared and Polson's Main Street was close to empty, Mission Valley Cruiser Steve Miller found himself stranded. His 1951 Hudson Hornet, the same year and model as the famous "Doc Hudson" from the Disney movie Cars, had run out of gas.

"The gas gauge doesn't work," he said, clearly frustrated after returning from a gas-obtaining mission to Pier 93 empty-handed, as their sole gas can had apparently been lifted.

"Here's a guy who spent $50,000 to restore a car, but he can't get it to run ‘cus it's out of gas," joked his friend, fellow Cruiser, Richard Santorno.

As luck would have it, though, within minutes, Ronan Cruiser Lowell DeJournett pulled up in his 1929 Chevy half-ton pick-up wrecker, "Rata A Tooly," with a filled 1940s gas can in tow.

"Old Rat A Tooly, he enjoys stuff like that," DeJournett said as he refused payment from his friend for the can of gas.

After all, he's made for it, as was Disney's Mater Tater, another coincidental character who played a role in saving Miller's day.

"We stick together," Santorno said of the Mission Valley Cruisers. "We're brothers."

The weekend's events also featured a poker tournament Friday and beach party with live music on Saturday night a Riverside Park.

"It turned out to be a wonderful evening, there were a lot of people in the park," Lee said of the beach party. "Overall it was just a great weekend and we're excited for next year."