Classic calling: Pull over, hang out with the Mission Valley Cruisers

You don’t have to be a member of the Mission Valley Cruisers Car Club to join in the fun as they gather all summer long to share the joy of classic cars and all the nostalgia that comes with it. You don’t even need to have a car.

“If you’re just interested in seeing the cars, or you want to join the club, or just want to come along, we’re glad to have you,” said Shelly Cordis, an organizer for the thriving 20-year-old club.

The group gets together several times a week to hang out, talk cars and car memories, and just enjoy one another’s company. They gather for a “Dairy Queen Cruise-In” on Wednesday nights at 6 p.m. in Ronan, and “Sweet Rides at Sweet Bliss” from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at Sweet Bliss in Polson on the last Sunday of each month through the summer. On weekends, they “cruise” throughout Montana, visiting car shows or filling out parades with the colorful classics.

Last year, drivers in as many as 60 cars — mostly classics, but not all — joined in drive-bys outside nursing homes and hospitals to cheer up residents and patients isolated during the pandemic.

The club goes for cruises nearly every weekend, sometimes to shows or sometimes just around Flathead Lake with a stop for lunch, often helping each other out along the way — old cars being, well, old as they are.

“A lot of people don’t like to travel alone with their old cars,” Cordis said. “It never fails. Somebody breaks down or something happens, and every one of us has a toolbox or spare parts, or something. We can at least get it on the road.”

New shows are cropping up, a welcome sign after 80 percent of the shows were cancelled last year.

“We try to hit 20-plus shows a summer, and that doesn’t include our cruises or just our club stuff.”

“We are not snobby,” Cordis said. “We don’t care what you have. It could even be a big pile of junk. It could have dents and blemishes. We have guys without a seat and they’re sitting on a milk crate. But if it’s neat, we’re there. If it’s loved, we’ll love it. It’s just cool to see a big string of old cars go by.”

People may think of old cars as mostly an older man’s hobby, but MV Cruisers are encouraging women and young people to join in the fun. Cordis said they understand it’s an expensive hobby, as it can require a lot of work and money to acquire an old car and get it running. Fewer young people know how to work on their own cars now, she said.

“We will do what it takes to help anyone who wants to cruise with us,” Cordis said. “We have hundreds of years of combined knowledge of the classic car world that we want to share with others.”

For example, her husband, Larry, customizes and paints cars. Their son and daughter had classic cars of their own in high school.

“We’ve gone as a club and fixed other people’s cars,” Cordis said, including fixing one woman’s transmission, “because we love her and we want to get her on the road so she can drive with us.”

The club has several women drivers, all of whom drive their own cars, but might lack the knowledge to do complicated or difficult repairs.

“Just to get somebody else’s old car on the road is just awesome for us,” she said.

“I know there are people still driving the cars they had in high school,” Cordis said. “They worry that it’s not all polished or restored. We don’t care. We just think it’s cool they’ve been driving the same car for 40 years.”

Cars from 1975 or older are considered “classic,” but she said newer “old” cars are still welcome, which may interest younger folks.

Cordis invites anyone interested in old cars, whether they have a car or not, to visit the club’s events, which are posted on the Mission Valley Cruisers Facebook page. For more information, contact Ron Millstead through Messenger or at (760) 964-9405.