The sign on Peter Boerma’s 1929 Essex invites viewers to open the door and sit inside.
“Most collectors have a ‘Do not touch,’” said Boerma, showing at the Rockglen Show and Shine. “I like to see people enjoy the car. It’s not like it’s in valuable shape.”
The Coronach resident had a lot of fun over a year re-building the rusty hunk and converting it into a hot rodder.
His handiwork includes a gopher mounted hood ornament, 454 horsepower Chevy engine, 18-inch rear tires, beer ad signs as interior door panels, blue jean seat covers, a fire extinguisher cylinder for a gear shift console and rear lights mounted on old pistons from a coal hauler.
“It’s licensed to drive. I don’t know how fast it goes — the speedometer is broke — but it goes pretty fast.”
He doesn’t travel too much with the Essex as it is missing the back window.
Boerma has been to several car shows and was headed to Glasgow, Montana the next day.
The Rockglen show displayed several cars from Montana, helping to fill Main street, and there were about eight vintage tractors.
“The dozen Corvettes on the top of Main Street sure spruced up the show,” said Dick Oakes of the tourism committee.
One viewer was surprised there were that many Corvettes in the area.
Don Paquin of Moose Jaw showed his 1989 Dodge Ram half ton truck and visited with old friends.
Looking up the main street at the landmark Dreamland Theatre he recalled it being built in the 1950s when he lived there.
“They had two machines digging up the hill.”
The oldest tractor was a 1940 Cockshutt used until the 1990s on a Scout Lake farm.
Ron Walter can be reached at [email protected]
