Send us your cruise night or car show information. Just fill out the block on event page and hit send. We will try to have your event posted in 24 hours.
CARS AND COFFEE EVERY SATURDAY IN BILLINGS
Classic and modern cars gathered in the lot at Craft B&B (2658 Grand Ave) for the first Cars and Coffee event Saturday. The event offered a place for car enthusiasts to gather and free coffee from MoAV Coffee.
In addition to the weekly gatherings from 10 a.m. to noon, the group plans on a monthly event to raise money for local non-profits, and 10 percent of sales from Craft B&B, Cadillac Jax and Peppers will be donated, according to organizer Dallas Sluder.
1953 Studebaker #2411 " A Bonneville Salt Flats Car"
In June of 1999, Gail & Ron purchased this Studebaker from Gene & Betty Burkland of Great Falls, Montana. This Studebaker was in Wendover, Utah Museum for 18 years. They were able to acquire this car when the Museum ceased operation. Burklands started running this car in 1971 obtaining a top land speed record of 255.863 miles per hour.
Gail & Ron knew the car would need substantial safety upgrades to make it ready to return to the Bonneville Salt Flats. By August of 2000, all of the required updates and were completed by Gail's husband Ron. One of the major updates was the extra interior roll cage and the spoiler on the rear. All new Lexon windows and roof rails were also required. The 1st event on the Salt Flats was a World of Speed in September 2000. A reunion with all 3 of Burkland's salt cars (Studebaker, Datsun & Streamliner) was great.Finding the Hemi to run in it again was a must. They found a 1954 - 336, after lots of work and 9 long years of trial and error, Gail received her class "A" license ( which means speeds no less than 200 mph and no more than 250 mph), during Speedweek
2009 with exit speed of 221.808 mph. Ron has been a master car builder most of his life knew cars but needed to learn the skills he would need to build and tune racing engines. He would continue to learn this engine rebuilding to be able to afford the cost so that his wife (Gail) could accomplish her goals on the Salt Flats. During the next nine years of running the Studebaker, she managed to ruin 4 transmissions, more pistons and valves than they could count and completely blew up a fresh 372 cid donated by Bob Lindstrom. They battled with the "salt germlins" on many issues. With the nine years it took for Gail to get her class "A" license she was able to get the experience needed to become a professional driver. To drive this Studebaker, practice is out of the question, when you get on the Salt Flats you must be at your best.
In 2004 they were invited to be part of a movie, "World's Fastest Indian" starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, a documentary of Burt Munroe. Their photos with A.Hopkins will always be treasured, as well as his autographed signature on their car. Gail's goal when they purchased the car was to hold the record again in honor of the Burklands. Through the passing of time, technology has boomed, and with that the record has increased to over 300 mph. They have been asked to place the Studebaker in the new Wendover Museum when it is completed.
In 2010 Gail was offered a ride by some great friends that have a lakester to go after a landspeed record, once again the weather and germlins slowed her down. In 2015 they are hoping for a great year!! All in all they have an amazing opportunity and a unbelievable experience - so fortunate and yet so blessed to have this virus, "Salt Flats Fever".
Gail & Ron Tesinsky Billings, Montana
Image:
Treasure map shows last location of famous missing cars
Al Jenkins, almost made it to 100. He passed at the RiverStone Health Hospice House on September 6th. Al was known for his love of old Fords and his former business Al’s Bootery, He was a mechanical genius, especially on antique Fords, and he was always willing to lend a hand to fellow car enthusiasts. He had served as president and was an honorary lifetime member of several car clubs including the Goggles & Dusters, Early Ford V8, Roaring 20's, and Montana Pioneer & Classic Auto Club and was co-founder of the Billings All Original Car Show. Additionally, Al was a lifetime member of the Elks Club and Billings Rod & Gun Club having served on the gun club's board of directors for decades. He was instrumental in the U.S. Supreme Court lawsuit that opened the Big Horn River access for public fishing. Rest in peace Al with your beloved Ruby.
U.S. Senate Passes Bill to Commemorate Route 66 Memorial
By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation to create a commission that would recommend ways to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Route 66, which was commissioned in 1926 as the first all-paved U.S. highway. The “Route 66 Centennial Commission Act,” S. 1014, creates a 15-person commission with representatives appointed by the president of the United States based on recommendations from the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. House and Senate Republican and Democrat leaders and the Governors of Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The bill provides the commission with two years from the time that each member is appointed to make recommendations to Congress for celebrating the 100th anniversary of Route 66. The commission may recommend the production of various written materials, films and documentaries, education programs, artistic works, commemorative memorabilia and celebrations to commemorate Route 66’s storied history.
A similar version of this bipartisan bill, H.R. 66, passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 2019 by a margin of 393 to 22. Because there are minor differences between the two bills, the next step will be for the House to take up S. 1014.
With population of this great country aging at a rapid rate, more and more people are gaining an appreciation for the good things in life. And for many of us, that means classic and collectible cars. We’re always on the lookout for that first car we owned, and chances are it’s out there, or at least one just like it.
But with ownership comes responsibility and a good deal of expense on top of that. We’ve all seen cars parked on the street or in driveways that haven’t moved in years. Those are the cars that turn good neighbors into complainers who don’t want their property values diminished because they live next to a small junk yard. Talk to any code enforcement officer and they will tell you that wrecked and abandoned cars are a big part of their job.
So, before you buy that old car you’ve had your eye on, take a few minutes and ask yourself (and your spouse) some questions. Questions like…where will we store the car until we’re ready to restore it? Do I have enough room to store it indoors after it’s been restored? I can guarantee you this…restoration of any older car…regardless of age and condition…will take you longer to restore and cost you more than you realize. It’s just a fact of life.
For those lucky few that have a large storage building or acres of space on their property, being a good neighbor is less of a problem. But for the average Joe, these are things you have to consider. Nobody wants to live next door to your car lot or junkyard. So remember, buying that classic is the easy part. Everything from that point on gets harder.
There are over 15,000 classic and collectible cars in the Billings area, and thousands more statewide.
In an average year, Billings hosts over 100 car shows...large and small.
CMYRYD is Montana's only source for dates and schedules for car shows and events throughout the state.
Make sure your car show or event is listed on CMYRYD. Go to the Events Page to register.
Radial Versus Bias-ply Tires and What Those Tire Numbers Really Mean
by Les Roth
Today’s radial tires are a wonder of modern engineering. In the late 1800’s bias-ply tires were used on bicycles. They were used on automobiles from the 1900’s to the late 1960’s. Then in 1969, radial-ply tires were introduced. The radial tire was a major improvement over the old bias–ply construction. They rolled easier and improved handling and gas mileage. The old bias-ply tires were more flexible and seemed to follow ruts in the roadway. Bias-ply tires have belts that criss-cross the tire while radial belts loop across the tire.
If you own a classic car with wheels designed for bias-ply tires, mount radial tires on those rims at your own risk. Those rims were designed for bias-ply tires only. Too many classic owners have found they lost wheel covers and even worse, had major blow-out and control issues with their car when they used radials on bias rims. Remember, radial tires are designed to be mounted only on wheels designed for radial tires.
Ever wonder what all those confusing numbers on the sidewall of your tires really mean? What you are looking at is an alphanumeric system that describes your tire and its performance characteristics. Let’s use tire size P225/70R16 100S as our example:
In the above tire size the first letter indicates the type of tire and its intended use. The “P” indicates the tire is a metric size used primarily on passenger vehicles. You can also find tires with other letter designations. They include LT (Light Truck Metric), C (Commercial), ST (Special Trailer Service) and T (Temporary Spare),
Then the numbers 225 following the first letter indicate the section width of the tire. The section width is defined as the widest point on the tire measured from sidewall-to-sidewall. For example, this tire has a 225-millimeter width. The rule here is the larger this number, the wider the tire. And remember, this number is the width of the tire in millimetres. If you are using tires larger than those specified for your car, be extra careful in measuring the available space. Raised lettering on a tire’s sidewall can make the difference between a scraped sidewall and a tight fit.
Following the slash, the number 70 shows the height of the tire as a percentage of its section width. The rule is...the lower the number, the lower the profile of the tire. Our number is 70 and that tells you the tire’s height is 70% of its section width.
In our example, the next letter is “R” which tells you the construction of the tire, which in this case is radial. Other designation types may include “D” for bias ply construction and “B” for belted tires, but most tires today are of radial design.
Next the number 16 that indicates the size of the wheel that the tire will fit. This number is in inches and in this case, this tire would be designed to fit a 16-inch wheel. Nowadays, you’ll find tire sizes starting at 13-inches going up to 18-inches. If you buy aftermarket tires wheel sizes can run up to 22-inches or larger.
Then comes the number 100 which tire manufacturers call load rating. This number indicates the approved load rating of that tire in the Load Index. The Load Index starts at 71 (761 pounds) and goes up to 110 which would be 2,337 pounds for passenger vehicles.
And finally comes the speed rating. Our tire speed rating is “S.” Speed ratings start at M (81-mph) and go up to Y (186-mph). In this case the “S” rating shows our tire would be rated for 112-mph.
Car Tips:
1.Drop a business card with your name on it down the window slot in case you ever have to prove ownership.
2.In the glove box, keep a few handy wipes to remove the gas odor from your hands from filling the tank.
3. Remove auto grease from hands with baking soda and water.
4.When visiting a mechanic to have a part replaced, always ask for the worn or damaged part back. This way you'll be sure it was actually replaced .
5.A radio antenna will slide up and down easier if a coat of wax is applied occasionally. Wax paper works great for this job. Rubbing the wax paper up and down the antenna will do the job.
6. Get rid of tar on your bumper with an unexpected item from your fridge ~ mayonnaise. Wipe on, wait five minutes, then easily wipe off both the mayo and the tar. "Do not use on painted bumpers"
7. Only 5 percent of cars actually run better on premium gas as oposed to regular. Check your owners manual...
