2015 All Car Rally

28th Annual Center of the Nation

ALL CAR RALLY S H O W ‘ N S H I N E • D E M O N S T R AT I O N S • 1 5 C L A S S E S • V E N D O R S

FRIDAY & SATURDAY JUNE 19 & 20, 2015 BELLE FOURCHE SOUTH DAKOTA

Special Supplement to the Black Hills Pioneer

Courtesy photo by All Car Rally Committee

EVENTS

SCHEDULE:

FRIDAY, JUNE 19TH Block Party • Scott Peterson Motors (30 Fifth Ave., Belle Fourche)

June 19th & 20th, 2015

Free Admission to the Public. • Free Food for Each Registrant.

Food & beverage vendors on site.

REGISTRATION FORM

6:00-10:00 pm

1 registration form per vehicle • Make copies if necessary.

ALL VEHICLES MUST REGISTER!

6:00-8:00 pm 8:00-8:30 pm

Pre-Show N’ Shine Block Party Live Music, Food & Fun

Car Show Public Judging for Awards Burnout Exhibition

SATURDAY, JUNE 20TH

Pre-Registration: $2000 Registration after June 1st: $2500

Includes the Show N’ Shine ~ Friday & Saturday

Show N’ Shine • Herrmann Park (Belle Fourche)

Saturday Show N’ Shine Classes

Vendor Booths, Vehicle Displays & Children’s Activities.

Food & beverage vendors on site.

• Pre-1950 • 1950-1959 • 1960-1963 • 1964-1966 • 1967-1969 • 1970-1979

• 1980-1989 • 1990-2004 • 2005-Current • Motorcycle Class

• Trucks, Vans, SUV, Off-Road Pre-1980 • Trucks, Vans, SUV, Off-Road 1981-Current • Street Rods • Low Riders/Tuner/Imports • Rat Rods/Unfinished/Work In Progress

Trophys awarded for 1st, 2nd & 3rd in each Show N’ Shine class.

Plus Iris Holst/Faye Kennedy Memorial Best of Show Award and the Long Distance Award.

8:00-10:00 am 10:00 am 10:00-3:00 pm 10:00-Noon 3:00-4:00 pm

YEAR: MODEL: JUDGING CLASS: ZIP:

Bandshell

Show N’ Shine Main Event Registered Participants Judging of Show ‘N Shine Event Awards Ceremony & Photos of Winners for next year’s ACR Newsletter

ALL CLASSES WILL INCLUDE STOCK & CUSTOM VEHICLES!

NAME: ADDRESS: CITY: STATE: PHONE: E-MAIL:

Show N’ Shine Registration Black Hills Roundup National Anthem Contest

MAKE:

Pre-Registration: $2000 / After June 1st: $2500 Rain or Shine ~ Rain venue is at the Black Hills Roundup Rodeo Grounds • No Refunds For more information call Sam Silacci at 605-210-2013 or e-mail allcarrally@hotmail.com

Mail Registration & Check/Money Order to: Center of the Nation All Car Rally, PO Box 41, Belle Fourche, SD 57717 For more information:

ATTENTION: All Car Rally Participants

Page 2, Center of the Nation All Car Rally 2015

Please look for your Voting Booklets in your Registration Bags. All judging is done by registered participants only. One (1) class per vehicle. Car drivers are reminded to behave in a sportsmanlike manner, participants may be responsible for any damage done to the park. No bicycles allowed in Herrmann Park. Section 12.32.102. Animals are prohibited in any city park during city authorized events. This section shall not apply to service dogs used by law enforcement, disabled or visually handicapped. Center of the Nation All Car Rally committee is not responsible or liable for participants property damage, accidents or injuries occurred during the event.

Cover photos: top file photo, bottom courtesy All Car Rally Committee

welcome…

On behalf of our committee I would like to welcome you to our 2015 Center of the Nation All Car Rally. This Rally marks the 28th year of our amazing event.

We are all geared up for this extraordinary show and shine with top quality automobiles.

Come out and see Herrmann Park packed with lots of cars, trucks, motorcycles, as well as business and food vendors.

Proceeds of this show will help support various local charities.

Whether you are a spectator or a participant we would appreciate your support to help make our show a huge success.

Sam Silacci

All Car Rally Chairman

Courtesy photos by FOTOmotive and All Car Rally Committee

Meet the All Car Rally Committee And… the volunteers that make the show possible!

Sam Silacci

Chairman

Shane Schwender

Vice Chairman

Doug Kraft, Andy Demos, Bret Allart, Bill Walker, Chip Conner, Mike Walker, Teddy Levi, Jason King and Sona O’Connell

Want to help?

Cherie Coleman Treasurer

Kari King

Secretary

We are always looking for more volunteers.

Call Sam for meeting times.

605-210-2013 Center of the Nation All Car Rally 2015, Page 3

OFFICIAL ALL CAR RALLY PROGRAM is produced by the Black Hills Pioneer in conjunction with the All Car Rally committee 315 Seaton Circle, Spearfish, SD 57783 • (800) 676-2761 www.bhpioneer.com Letitia Lister, publisher Mark Watson, managing editor Adam Hurlburt, reporter Sona O’Connell, project manager/advertising Jennifer Boese, project design The publisher will not be responsible or liable for misprints, misinformation or typographic errors herein contained.

Publisher also reserves the right to refuse any advertising deemed not to be in the best interest of the publication. © Copyright Black Hills Pioneer 2015

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Paradise by the Dashboard Light Redux Two hardcore car crazies find lasting love and the fountain of youth

BY ADAM HURLBURT BLACK HILLS PIONEER

B

ob and Diane Meeker have only gone to a movie together once in their 20 years of marriage, and it was Cars.

This says a lot about the Blackhawk couple, both together and as individuals. So does their spread of land. Pull up to the Meeker compound and you’ll see what looks like a gang of three marauding garages menacing a ranch-style house for its lunch money.

To call Bob and Diane obsessed with cars would be a comical understatement. The couple’s ever changing automotive stable now stands at six classics: a custom 1930 Ford Model A pickup street rod, a 1936 Dodge pickup rat rod, a 1939 Dodge Business Coupe, a 1957 Chevy Bel-Air sedan, a very low 1964 Chevy Fleetside pickup, and Diane’s baby, a ’67 Chevy Chevelle SS clone with a factory four speed manual. All of them put power to the pavement by way of small block V8s healthy enough to scare a year off your life. But all that go-fast grunt seems to have the opposite effect on the Meekers. Both Bob, who just turned 70 this summer, and Diane, 60, act half their ages.

“We refuse to grow up, we’re still playing with cars,” Diane said with a grin, unwittingly revealing a faucet handle to the fountain of youth: Hang on to the childhood passions that made you who you are and you’ll never age a day. For Diane and Bob that’s a passion for cars.

Diane grew up with three brothers; all of them race car drivers, and has always felt a need for four-wheeled speed in her blood. Bob’s been nuts over cars since he was two years old, although his family’s appreciation for them was a little different than Diane’s.

“My old man, I wouldn’t necessarily call him a car person, but you couldn’t slam the doors and you had to keep the car clean. I think it started there,” Bob said. “You took care of your vehicles — you hot-rodded the hell out of them, but you took care of them.”

That philosophy stuck with Bob, and Diane’s a lifetime subscriber, too.

The Meekers take meticulous care of their cars and hot rod the hell out of them. Why own a fast car if you don’t drive it fast?

The 351 Windsor V8 motivating the Meeker’s 1930 Model A pickup makes just over 400 grunting horses, and Diane likes to let them run.

“First time I drove it I scared the heck out of a jogger,” Bob and Diane Meeker pose with their rat rod 1936 Dodge Pickup. The Blackhawk-based couple has she said, laughing. shared a powerful passion for cars across 20 happy years of marriage. They currently own, wrench on, and “I just took off drive six classic cars manufactured between 1930-1967. Three of the cars, a ’64 Chevy Fleetside pickup, a and got on it is all! ’67 Chevy Chevelle SS clone, and a ’57 Chevy Bel Air sedan, can be seen in the garage in the background.

It’ll spin on you if Photos by Adam Hurlburt you’re not careful.”

The Meekers don’t contain out how to strap them in pretty gears of her factory four-speed ’67 their hot-rodding to a few miles of well. A week or so later we went to Chevelle on the open road to just smooth pavement around their home, Edgemont and we still had no heater about everything else, Diane can they drive their classics to and from and no windows. And it was cold that joke about those stereotypes. automotive events all around the day; it was in September, and here we “How many wives would region: Rapid City, Lead-Deadwood, were with our cardboard windows.” not complain about getting Belle Fourche, Edgemont, Pierre, etc.

Even the most politically correct a Hurst four-speed shifter for Bob and Diane are also more car guys on the planet will admit it’s Christmas?” she quipped. hardcore than just about any other incredibly rare to find a woman who It should be noted here that like car enthusiasts on the open road. not only parallels them in automotive that coveted shifter, Bob purchased Example: The dynamic duo drove lust, but would also willingly drive long the ’67 Chevelle as a gift for Diane, their rat rod ’36 Dodge pickup to distances in a car with no side windows knowing her second and most a show in Pierre and a show in or working heat — twice. Maybe it’s pined after car was a Chevelle.

Edgemont, a respective 350 and 180 less rare to find a woman who enjoys That’s true gearhead love. miles round-trip, without windows wrenching on the cars she drives, but To put another understatement in the doors or functional heat. the sad truth is that most of us will go to paper, anyone who spends time “It started raining when we got to our whole lives without finding her. with Bob and Diane Meeker knows Pierre, but we made windows out of Bob’s an incredibly lucky man, as Diane they were made for each other. cardboard before we left town and we takes pride in working on cars, too.

“When Bob and I met I was totally tucked them behind the seat just in As a lifelong car fanatic with 100 bored,” Diane said, looking back on case we needed them,” Diane recalled. octane in her veins, Diane’s keenly the the early days of their relationship, “We stopped at Runnings and Bob aware of the sad truths behind “and one day I looked at him and went in to get some bungee cords, and the misogynistic stereotypes about said, ‘I’ll never be bored again.’”

I’m sitting in the middle of the truck women and cars. And as a woman holding both windows up. We figured who prefers running through the

Center of the Nation All Car Rally 2015, Page 5

Shoot to thrill How a couple car geeks with cameras became the curators of South Dakota’s automotive world

BY ADAM HURLBURT BLACK HILLS PIONEER

T

he Black Hills is worldrenowned as a gearhead destination. Mere mention of the name conjures thoughts of loud, modified vehicles with passionate, dedicated owners. But we’re not talking about cars.

Believe it or not, the automotive enthusiast scene in the Black Hills is just as vibrant and varied — local for local — as the two-wheeled one it’s famous for, and two Hills natives have multiple hard drives bursting with visual evidence to back it up.

In the past three years 32-yearold Jeremiah Lewis, of Sturgis, and 28-year-old Chris Yushta, of Spearfish, transformed from two shameless car geeks with a photography habit into the unofficial curators of western South Dakota’s car culture, their automotive photography business, FOTOmotive, garnering national attention.

If there’s an automotive event going down in South Dakota FOTOmotive will be there to document it, and if there’s a particularly impressive enthusiast automobile tearing around the Black Hills FOTOmotive will shoot it — in the wild, at a show, in action, or on a commissioned photo shoot.

“When people say there’s no car

scene here I just send them a link to our website or our Facebook page and say ‘bullshit.’ You can’t tell me there’s not car scene here when almost everything on our Facebook page and everything on our website is from West River,” Yushta said with hard-earned confidence.

The thing that makes FOTOmotive special is the same thing that endears its owner/operators to such a wide variety of car enthusiasts; they’re into a little bit of everything.

Proof of Lewis and Yushta’s equal opportunity automotive enthusiasm sits in their driveways.

Yushta’s daily, year-round workhorse is a black 1996 Z28 Camaro, which he describes as the most consistently fun-to-drive vehicle he’s ever had.

His project car, which he also drives rain, snow, or sunshine, is a very low 1984 diesel Volkswagen Rabbit plastidipped a shade of turquoise that makes it look like a giant, angular Easter egg rolling down the road.

Lewis’s cars are just as divergent, but require a bit more explanation.

He daily drives a Volkswagen R32, a limited edition high-performance all-wheel-drive Golf built to bridge the gap between rally racer and grand tourer, and his weekend ride and

Chris with his first-place trophy from the 2014 All Car Rally. Courtesy photo

Page 6, Center of the Nation All Car Rally 2015

The FOTOmotive crew, from right, co-owner/operator Chris Yushta, of Spearfish; co-owner/operator Miah Lewis, of Sturgis; and recent recruit Grant Ekroth, also of Sturgis. Photo by Adam Hurlburt

eternal project is a heavily modified Hyundai Genesis Coupe, which in 2009 was arguably the first car built by a major manufacturer specifically to satiate the American underground auto enthusiast community’s howling desire for affordable, nimble, rearwheel-drive sports coupes. (The Hyundai rarely stays painted one color long enough to responsibly note its hue in print.) Lewis also recently acquired a clapped-out ’81 diesel Volkswagen Caddy, e.g. Rabbit pickup,

that’s undergoing complete restoration.

As it is with so many 21st Century relationships, Lewis and Yushta met first online, then at Applebee’s. Both are regulars on South Dakota car enthusiast Internet forum 605racing. com and have been for years. They met in person at a spring cruise organized by 605racing forum members in 2007 and discovered a mutual interest in photography when they sat next to each other at an after-cruise dinner at Applebee’s.

“We started to organize cruises, and I got a camera and I started taking pictures at cruises,” Yushta recalled. “At one point in time we were like, ‘hey, we should probably do this,’ and it just kind of snowballed from there.”

FOTOmotive officially started in 2011, when the two built a photo rig specifically designed to take long-exposure rolling shots of ABOVE: cars. Between 10 FOTOmotive and 20 feet of pipe co-owner/ is attached to the operator vehicle via heavyChris Yushta duty suction cups snaps a photo and a camera is of Alex Stenerson’s mounted at the air-bagged end of it, pointed MkIII at and focused on Volkswagen the car, and set for a Jetta during long exposure. The a recent owner then slowly commissioned rolls the car forward photo shoot. or backward while Lewis or Yushta walk Photo by alongside, holding Adam the rig steady. The Hurlburt resulting shots are stunning, and once the rig itself is photoshopped out of the photograph you’re Continued on Page 7…

Continued from Page 6… left with a perfect capture of the car apparently moving along at speed.

Rig shots like these of 605racing forum member Peter McDonald’s lowered white 2011 Subaru WRX STI garnered FOTOmotive national attention. Those photos found their way on to a fledgling website dedicated to the so-called “stance” scene of the automotive enthusiast world, in which devotees lower their cars to the ground and affix wheels and tires that completely fill the fender wells, abolishing the dreaded wheel gap. StanceNation. com ran a feature on McDonald’s Subaru. Fortuitously, StanceNation appeared on a list of top 10 automotive blogs to follow while FOTOmotive’s shots of the STI were on the site’s front page.

“That kind of made us famous online, it gave us an online presence,” Yushta said.

FOTOmotive has gotten so popular in the time since that blog post that Lewis and Yushta hired on 29-year-old Grant Ekroth, of Sturgis, as the third leg to their tri-pod, allowing them to effectively cover every automotive event in western South Dakota — drift days, auto-crosses, street-legal drag nights, off-road events, classic car shows, import car shows, hot rod shows, you name it.

Yes, FOTOmotive is a business. At this point in time Lewis said he and his partners are primarily motivated

by passion for cars and clean photography but they’re hoping to get to a point where they can shoot photos fulltime for a living.

They established a charge for photo shoots of individual cars a while back and they stick to it, but they have two rules in place allowing a bit of wiggle room.

LEFT: FOTOmotive co-owner/operator Miah Lewis steadies the rolling shot rig while Chris Yushta sets up his camera for a series of long exposure shots to be taken while the car rolls slowly in neutral. The camera moves along with the car, maintaining sharp focus on it while objects behind the car blur noticeably, giving the photographic impression the car’s motoring along at significant speed. Photo by Adam Hurlburt ABOVE: Results of the photo shoot at left. Photo by FOTOmotive

“If a car tickles both our fancies we’ll shoot it for free,” Lewis said of the first rule, whose tongue-in-cheek name shall not be printed due to its PG-13 rating.

“He has his taste and have my taste, and it doesn’t happen very often,” Yushta added.

Then there’s The six-digit bounty rule: If the crew comes across an exotic or incredibly rare car in the region they’ll shoot it for free “with the hopes that if you’ve got enough money to afford a $300,000 Lamborghini

you could afford to buy some prints,” Yushta said with a laugh.

To view more of Lewis, Yushta, and Ekroth’s work check out the FOTOmotive Facebook page at https:// www.facebook.com/FOTOmotive, or visit www.FOTOmotiveSD.com.

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Pre-1950 1st Place: Andy Demos, 1941 Hudson Traveler 2nd Place: Dave Allen, 1929 Mercedes Benz

1950-1959 1st Place: Tom Paisley, 1950 Chevy Deluxe 2nd Place: Warren Pfenning, 1956 Belair

1960-1963 1st Place: Wayne Johnson, 1963 Impala

1967-1969 1st Place: Bruce Moser, 1969 Camaro 2nd Place: Dylon Lincoln, 1967 Dodge Coronet 3rd Place: Charlie Harrison, 1967 Barracuda

1970-1979 Photo Not Available

1st Place: Linda Williams, 1972 Chevelle Malibu 2nd Place: Brandon Ruby, 1970 VW Baja Bug 3rd Place: Kevin Dunham, 1974 VW Super Beetle

1980-1989 1st Place: Chris Yushta, 1984 VW Rabbit 2nd Place: Mary Neiman-Riley, 1988 Ford

1990-2004 1st Place: Cal & Celee Meyer, 2000 Plymouth Prowler 2nd Place: Jim & Ryan Nelson, 1992 Dodge Stealth 3rd Place: Ron Francis, 2002 Chevy Camaro

2005-Current 1st Place: William Jacobs, 2005 Chrysler 300 2nd Place: Michael Vaughn, 2013 Ford Mustang

Page 12, Center of the Nation All Car Rally 2015

1981-Current Truck,Van, SUV & Off-Road Photo Not Available

1st Place: Steve Thorson, 1985 GMC 2nd Place: Jake Wendt, 1989 Nissan 240SX truck conversion

Street Rod 1st Place: Bruce Peterson, 1954 Chevy Sedan 2nd Place: Richard Smith, 1934 Plymouth Coupe 3rd Place: Tom & Karen Seaman, 1977 Chevy Nova

Tuner/Imports/Low Riders 1st Place: Jeremiah Lewis, 2010 Hyundai Genesis 2nd Place: Cal & Cassidee Meyer, 2001 Dodge Viper 3rd Place: Zach Kneger, 1992 Honda Civic

Rat Rod/Work In Progress 1st Place: Eric Edwards, 1971 Ford 2nd Place: Bruce Peterson, 1936 Dodge 3rd Place: Robert Meeker, 1936 Dodge

Motorcycles 1st Place: Dustin Giroux, 2007 Honda Ruckus 2nd Place: Doug Lauritsen, 2009 Honda Ruckus 3rd Place: Bill Kirstine, 1982 Yamaha Virago

Longest Distance Kenny Jensen, Aberdeen, SD 1993 Honda Civic

Best of Show 2014 Iris Holst Memorial Best of Show Tom Paisley, Spearfish, SD 1950 Chevy Deluxe

Mr. All Car Rally?

With an automotive ownership list as varied as it is vast, Shane Schwender may be the human embodiment of the All Car Rally

BY ADAM HURLBURT BLACK HILLS PIONEER

Y

ou could call Shane Schwender a car guy. You could call him a car freak. You could say he’s possessed by a supernatural obsession with automobiles. You’d be right. The twenty-eight-year-old Belle Fourche native has owned 62 cars between age 16 and the present.

That averages out to five cars a year.

If it isn’t readily apparent with that kind of staggering number of notches on his vehicular belt, Schwender’s owned cars in almost every imaginable flavor: coupe, hatchback, sedan, wagon, pickup; American, Japanese, German; rearwheel-drive, front-wheel-drive, all-wheel-drive, four-wheel-drive; on road, off road; slow, fast, in-between; reliable, unreliable, ad nauseam.

And he’s found something to like in almost every one of them. The man’s photo should be in the dictionary next to the term “car enthusiast.”

Schwender blames his parents for infecting him with the four-wheeled fever.

“I was forced,” he said. “My dad’s been doing bodywork on cars since he was 15-years-old. While my mom was pregnant, up until about four weeks before I was born, she was still doing bodywork with my dad — not the paint, none of the harmful stuff, but she was doing all the prep work. When I was two weeks old I was in a car seat in the office of the body shop. I can truly say I’ve been around cars my whole life.”

As a young car lover growing up in Belle Fourche, Schwender looked forward to the All Car Rally every summer. He couldn’t have imagined he’d end up Chairman of the All Car Rally Committee in 2013, let

alone the closest approximation to a human embodiment of the aptly named annual car show.

“The reason I always liked the All Car Rally — I’d be 12 or 13-yearsold, looking at someone’s car, and you’ve got a 45-year-old man who’d sit there and talk to you about his car — this is a little child that doesn’t know anything about cars yet and he’s willing to spend time and talk to him. That bridges so many gaps and barriers, everybody ends up being buddies at that event.”

The All Car Rally’s embrace of such a wide variety of vehicles was integral in the development of Schwender’s “one of everything, please” taste in cars.

The only major automotive catagory Schwender’s yet to sample is the diesel catagory, but he’s found himself pining for a turbo diesel Dodge Ram lately.

“Honestly if it’s got wheels on it I like it,” he said. “I’m the same way with cars as I am with music, I’ll listen to Christian rock, I’ll listen to country, I’ll listen to hardcore metal, I’ll listen to gospel, I’ll listen to anything. I don’t have any hard set opinions really on anything. Cars have different designs, different abilities, different functions, different everything, I’m interested in most of them.”

A mechanic by trade at Hersruds of Belle Fourche, Schwender’s worked

of course), headers mated to a loud side-exit exhaust, a cowl induction hood, and certainly many more acid-washed custom bits our man has probably forgotten about.

Schwender’s second ride was essentially the exact opposite of his ’79 Cutlass; a 1990 Honda Civic EF hatch. Schwender learned more about cars on that little Civic than almost any subsequent vehicle he’s owned.

“On that car I did just about everything to it, if I could figure it out I did it,” he said. “That one had three engines put in it, it had nitrous at one point — I would have to go back and look at all the things I did to it. You’re

A teenage Shane Schwender poses at the All Car Rally more than 10 years ago in his second car, a 1990 Honda Civic EF hatch he built up with the help of his father and some friends. Courtesy photo

Schwender’s first car, a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham that the fledgling gearhead gave the full mullet treatment, with a forward rake, Cragar SS wheels shod in tires with white-raised-lettering, a cowl induction hood, and a set of headers flowing into a dual side-exit exhaust setup.

Sixty-one cars later, Schwender’s style and skill have come a long way. Courtesy photo

on cars since he was 13-years-old and has torn down and rebuilt pretty much every aspect of a car across his 62-vehicle-long ownership list.

He’s come a long way in 12 years.

Schwender’s first car was a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham that he went full mullet on, jacking the rear up in the air to achieve the kind of forward rake that haunts Joe Dirt’s dreams. The Olds ran Cragar SS wheels shod in white-raised-letter tires on all four corners (with larger tires out back

looking at piles of work. I rebuilt it probably three or four times.”

The yellow Civic hatch kick-started an on-again-off-again Honda habit that sticks with Schwender to this day. He’s owned and modified multiple Civic hatchbacks, Civic wagons, Civic sedans, and Accords and maintains that the Honda B-series motor is the small block V8 of the 90s and 2000s.

The slammed pickup truck Continued on Page 18…

Center of the Nation All Car Rally 2015, Page 13

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This is the perfect vending space for car clubs, non-profit groups, car related businesses or youth groups. The All Car Rally committee is looking for vendors for this year’s show. Reach car enthusiasts at the 28th Annual All Car Rally, June 20th, Herrmann Park, Belle Fourche. Anyone interested in participating can contact Sam Silacci 605-210-2013.

SERVING:

Downtown, Belle Fourche • (605) 892-4773 • Open Mon.-Sat.

Something for Everyone!

• • • •

Personal Pizzas Grilled Wraps Salads Strombolli & More!

~ Dine-In or Carryout ~ Beer & Wine Available Belle Fourche Delivery Available www.skispizzeria.com | 1853 5th Ave., Belle Fourche | 605.723.7547

tion ess Associa in s u B n o the Nati Center of

Merchants & businesses invite you to

The Friendliest Town in the Tri-State Area!

We appreciate your continued patronage and hope we can serve your needs and wants with great service and a smile!

Page 14, Center of the Nation All Car Rally 2015

LODGING B E L L E F O U R C H E

Ace Motel ...................................... 605.892.2265 AmericInn Lodge & Suites ............ 605.892.0900 Besler’s Cadillac Ranch .................. 605.892.2088 Bunkhouse Motel .......................... 605.892.2634 Crow Creek Guest Ranch .............. 605.892.6961 Kings Inn ........................................ 605.892.2691 Econo Lodge .................................. 605.892.6663 Playground Cmpgd. ...................... 605.892.5849 Reid Motel ..................................... 605.892.2521

National Anthem

CONTEST

for the Black Hills Roundup

Held during the 28th Annual All Car Rally, Belle Fourche

Saturday, June 20th 10 a.m.

Herrmann Park Bandshell

Riverside Cmpgd. .......................... 605.892.6446 Rocky Point Rec. Area ................... 605.641.1864 Scoot Inn ........................................ 605.892.2660 Sunset Motel & RV Park................ 605.892.2508 Super 8 Motel ................................ 605.892.3361 Wyatt’s Hideaway Cmpgd. ........... 605.892.0600

Plan to spend a fun-filled weekend in friendly Belle Fourche!

LINDSTAD ALIGNMENT AND BRAKE SERVICE

#1 Since 1945

Compact Cars to Semi-Trucks and Trailers

• Alignment • CV Joints • Suspension • Brakes • Axle and Frame Straightening 501 5th Avenue • Belle Fourche, SD 57717

(605) 892-4776 • 1-800-432-0017

LINDSTAD TROUT FARM Rainbow Trout

Spearfish 605-642-7435 • 605-892-4776 Center of the Nation All Car Rally 2015, Page 15

Snake Charmer Belle man rebuilds hard-ridden Shelby Cobra replica to sell at world-renowed auto auction

BY ADAM HURLBURT BLACK HILLS PIONEER

T

he legendary Ford 427-powered Shelby Cobra is the closest thing mankind has ever seen to a fire-belching dragon stomping around the earth in anger.

Roadgoing versions of the famous Ferrari fighter weighed in just shy of 2,400 pounds, made some 425 horsepower, and could hit 60 mph from a standstill in under 4.5 seconds.

The original brutes, manufactured in extremely limited numbers from 1965-1967 by the patron saint of American road racing, Carroll Shelby, regularly trade hands for anywhere between $500,000 and $5.5 million.

The car depicted on this page is not one of those. It’s a replica; one of many kit cars manufactured in tribute to the original for a fraction of the cost. Travis Peters, owner-operator of Belle Fourche auto repair and restoration shop Vertical Performance, is rebuilding the car better and closer to original specs than it was when it first hit the streets last summer.

The project is a dream come true for the 35-year-old lifetime gearhead, but he’s not rebuilding the Cobra clone to keep, he’s rebuilding it to sell. That’s an integral part of the dream.

The Cobra replica market blew up in the decades following the real snake’s 1967 demise. Dozens upon dozens of kit car manufacturing companies have offered build-ityourself Shelby Cobra replica kits and/or turnkey cars since the mid1970s, some extremely faithful to the original, others anything but. Over the past 20 years, wellbuilt replicas have sold secondhand at world-renowned auto auctions like the Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, Arizona for anywhere between $20,000 to $115,000, with the cars adhering as closely as possible to the original formula bringing the biggest numbers.

Peters knows the numbers well.

He and his wife conducted extensive research on the 427 Cobra replica market at these larger than life auctions. He knows the little details that add authenticity points and correspondingly enthusiastic bidding. Armed with this knowledge and monetary support from an investor who approached him last year about building up a car specifically to place on the auction block at the Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale for a justifiable profit, Peters purchased a 2004 Midstates

Classics fiberglass-bodied 427 Cobra replica in Wyoming for $36,000 in November 2014 and hauled it back to his shop. He began a partial teardown and rebuild project with the intention of improving the car’s overall quality and increasing its authenticity to the original that inspired it. Peters and his investor planned on hauling the Cobra to Arizona in January for the 2015 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction once the car was finished. Things didn’t quite work out as planned.

Though the kit was sold in 2004, the Cobra clone wasn’t titled until July 2014. Peters brought the car home in November of that same year with 3,600 miles on the odometer, a staccato spattering of rock chips in the paint, and a number of oil leaks. It was obvious to the professionally trained aviation mechanic and lifelong car fanatic that the previous owner drove the car hard and often before selling it.

The deeper Peters dug into the Cobra the more necessary work he found.

“I didn’t realize it needed as much work as it did to make it perfect.

I knew it had some rock chips in

the paint, I knew it had an oil leak because the engine was covered in oil,” he said. “But we got started on it, I changed the wheels to Cobra wheels, replaced the ceramic side pipes on it with chrome side pipes, and took care of all the issues with the engine before I snapped photos of the car and sent them off the Barrett-Jackson to be considered for the 2015 auction in Scottsdale.”

But it was literally too little too late. The 2015 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction was the largest the famous automotive auction house ever held, with 2,700 individual cars listed for sale and 1,800 sold at the end of the weekend. Final vehicle selections for the auction block that year were made in October, a full month before Peters purchased the Cobra clone.

But all is not lost. Despite the Cobra’s road worn condition and very un-original amber mica paint job with

silver racing stripes, the car’s a more than decent example of a 427 Cobra replica with the potential to pull more money at auction than many of the other replicas on the market.

While some 427-style Shelby Cobra replicas utilize whatever crate V8s are en vogue at the time — sometimes even mated to automatic transmissions (an unforgivable sin in the eyes of The Savage Gods of Speed and Danger) — Peters’ replica moves along via a Ford 427 V8 very close in spec to the one under the hood of the roadgoing ‘65 427 Cobra.

The amber mica clone’s grunt-factory is matched to a heavy-duty Tremec T600 5-speed manual transmission and a Ford 9-inch rear end, an American legend in it’s own right.

Peters’ Cobra puts a dyno-verified 500 horsepower to the ground and still weighs in at about 2,400 Continued on Page 17…

Travis Peters, the 35-year-old owner-operator of Vertical Performance auto repair and restoration in Belle Fourche, is refreshing this 2004 Midstates Classics fiberglass-bodied 427 Shelby Cobra replica to better than new condition and with closer adherence to the legendary original 427-powered Shelby Cobras produced in limited numbers by famous American road racer Carroll Shelby from 1965 to 1967. Peters, and an unnamed investor who funded the November 2014 purchase of the Cobra plan to sell the car at the world-renowned Barrett-Jackson car auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, hopefully returning a favorable profit. Courtesy photo

Page 16, Center of the Nation All Car Rally 2015

Tips for Car Restorers

Travis Peters poses with his partially disassembled 427 Cobra clone project car. Photo by Adam Hurlburt

Continued from Page 16… pounds. As one might imagine, there’s a certain amount of finesse required to drive a car like this on the street without killing yourself and every other living thing within reach of the Cobra’s headlight beams — snakes do bite, you know, and cobras are highly venomous.

“I’ve only driven it once, and that was out on the north end of Belle Fourche,” Peters said. “I was idling along the street in third gear, I punched it — in third gear — the rear tires broke loose, and I almost spun.”

At the time this publication went to print Peters’ fiberglass clone of the sat partially disassembled in a 48foot enclosed trailer next to Peters’ shop. It’s waiting for a repaint, an interior redo, and the replacement of various nics and nacs untrue to the original with the instantly recognizable right stuff. If the car’s going to fetch the $60-$80,000 Peters believes it could at the 2016 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction next January everything has to be perfect. He’ll settle for nothing less.

Classic car restoration projects can be very rewarding, giving restorers a chance to bring life to an old car that might once have appeared beyond repair. Though trial and error is an integral part of the vehicle restoration process, there are steps first time restorers can take to avoid some of the many pitfalls that can pop up when trying to get that ‘57 Chevy or ‘41 Buick back up and running and ready to hit the road.

• Do your research and take your time. You must first do your research so you can choose a vehicle wisely and ensure you get exactly what you’re looking for. If you’re not quite sure of what you want, several publications, such as Hemmings Motor News, can act as strong resources that can help you make a decision. Also, before choosing your car, go online and see what the car might look like once you’re finished.

If possible, ask others you know who restored the same model what you can expect to pay. Restoring classic cars is not a hobby for those with tight purse strings, so knowing a ballpark list of expenses beforehand is a good idea.

• Know from whom you’re buying.

Weekend classified sections in newspapers are filled with antique autos for sale, which increases your chances of finding a car. Similar to most other big ticket expenses or jobs that will require you to invest lots of time and money, getting a referral is a great way to go, even if it is difficult to find. Oftentimes, sellers will tell

you only the great things about a car and regale you with tales of how much money their car can save you on restoration expenses. It’s important not to be too trusting, especially if you weren’t referred to a seller.

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

A large investment earns you the right to ask as many questions as you want.

Make sure you ask if the car runs, if the brakes work, if anything is leaking, and other questions pertaining to the vehicle’s condition. One very important question to ask is how long the seller has owned the car. Beware of any seller who is selling a car after only owning it for a brief period of time. This likely means the seller has decided the car is more trouble than it’s worth, or finding parts for it is too problematic.

Asking why the seller is selling the car is good, too, as his response can help you gauge how well he took care of it while he owned it. If the car runs, ask to take it out for a drive.

• Be prepared to spend just to get it home. If the car runs, this shouldn’t be a problem, as most states will issue you temporary tags if the car is not registered. The fee for such tags is typically not very large. Where you can expect to pay a steeper price is if the car doesn’t run at all. If you purchase the car particularly far away from home, trucking costs can be expensive. But this shouldn’t dictate where you look, as the trucking fee is a one-time expense and you shouldn’t limit your search only to those areas close to home.

Center of the Nation All Car Rally 2015, Page 17

Continued from Page 13… is another automotive flavor Schwender digs. He’s owned several air-ride suspension equipped pickups built to literally lay the frame on the ground with the flip of a switch. You can tell he wouldn’t mind another one someday by the enthusiastic grin that stretches across his face when he recounts tales of performing frame on the pavement smokey burnouts for excited kids in the backseats of minivans stopped next to him on the road.

There’s one car in particular that seems to have stolen Schwender’s heart: the Mazda FC RX-7 Turbo II. Schwender acquired his first RX-7 a few years back in order to try his hand at drifting. Now he speaks of the FC Turbo II with the kind of exuberant reverence the deeply religious reserve for patron saints.

“RX-7s are amazing cars — when they run,” Schwender said. “They are the best handling factory car I’ve ever driven. I’ve driven a couple of Corvettes and things like that, they’re cool and all … but dollar-for-dollar, pound-forpound, the RX-7 is one of the best cars I’ve ever come across.

“The handling ability was phenomenal. You throw a car like that in a corner and it’s almost like it can sense your feelings,” Schwender continued, waxing metaphysical.

“If you question the car it’s going to scare you. If you don’t, and you commit to it, it’s almost like it can

Schwender’s former air-bagged 2001 Ford F-150 aired down to the ground in Spearfish Canyon. Courtesy photo

feel your emotions. If you get into a corner hard and you’re confident, it will just slingshot you through.

But if you hesitate or lift for one second that thing will come around on you like nobody’s business. You have to mean it when you drive it.”

Two RX-8s later and now on his second FC RX-7, it’s safe to say Schwender means what he says about Mazda’s iconic sports car. His new FC is another Turbo II model

that he purchased with no motor.

He plans to shoehorn a Chevy LSseries V8 into the car, build it up to full professional drift spec, and compete at the sanctioned, pointsbased drift competitions held once a month in Colorado in the spring and summer. That’s the dream.

And then there’s the daydreams about all those other cars he has yet to personally experience. But no matter what he’s driving at the

time you can be sure it’ll find its way beneath the cottonwoods of Herrmann Park in Belle Fourche every Father’s Day weekend. After all, there’s a new generation of budding automobile enthusiasts out there. It wouldn’t be right to deprive them of any of the exciting vehicular flavors of the enthusiast automobile spectrum, would it?

Schwender in action at a drift event a few years back in one of his two former Mazda RX-8s. Courtesy photo by FOTOmotive

Rail’s Auto Body

Complete Auto Refinishing

605-892-4522

Specializing in Insurance Repair

523 Roundup Street • Belle Fourche Just east of Common Cents Store

Page 18, Center of the Nation All Car Rally 2015

New Collision Repair Center moving to Sturgis in March 2416 Junction Ave., Sturgis • 605-641-5701

Map of Belle Fourche 5

The 2014 Center of the Nation All Car Rally was a huge success but without the interest & support from local sponsors & the community it just wouldn’t be possible. So we would like the Thank You all…

Scott Peterson Motors Hersrud’s of Belle Fourche Pioneer Bank & Trust E.T. Sports Demos Plains Towing Allart Insurance Agency Custom Coatings & Collision Center Carl’s Trailer Sales Rock’n Spas Bunney’s Body & Collision Repair All Around Auto/NAPA Sturdevant’s Auto Parts

Friday Night Pre-Registration

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Scott Peterson Motors

Wells Fargo Bank Belle Auto Sales Tim Speidel Business & Tax Service West Tire & Alignment First Interstate Bank Black Hills Roundup Committee AmericInn Lodge & Suites Dairy Queen Subway BH Auto Care Midwest Motors Eagle Country X-Rock

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BF Chamber Office & Tri-State Museum

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Show N’ Shine

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Herrmann Park

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Again we thank you for your generous donations to the Center of the Nation All Car Rally and we look forward to working with you in the years to come!

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Sincerely,

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The Center of the Nation All Car Rally Committee

We couldn’t have done it without you!

4HANK¬9OU¬4O¬%VERYONE0ARTICIPATING¬)N ¬!TTENDINGTHE

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Show N’ Shine Rain Venue

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Roundup Grounds

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RESTAURANTS:

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Mulligans

1

Belle Inn

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Papa John’s

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Bob’s Café Boomba Bar & Grill Branding Iron Steakhouse & Social Club CBH Deli & Subway China Garden

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Patty’s Place Café & Coffee Shop

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Pizza Hut

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Ski’s Pizzeria

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Stadium Sports Grill

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Subway

Dairy Queen Hardee’s Jumpin’ Jack’s Family Rest.

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Taco John’s

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The Green Bean Coffeehouse

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Luigi’s Pizza

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MOTELS/CAMPGROUNDS: 1 2 3

3EE¬9OU¬.EXT¬9EAR

*UNE¬ ¬ ¬

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Ace Motel AmericInn Lodge & Suites Besler’s Cadillac Ranch Bunkhouse Motel Crow Creek Guest Ranch Kings Inn Econo Lodge

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Playground Campground Reid Motel Riverside Campground Rocky Point Recreation Area Scoot Inn Sunset Motel & RV Park Super 8 Motel Wyatt’s Hideaway Campground

Center of the Nation All Car Rally 2015, Page 19