Aficionados resurrect classic cars

GOUVERNEUR — It's a rare breed who devotes countless hours to bringing a hunk of abused, rusted metal back to its former muscle-car glory.

Sunday's car show at the Gouverneur & St. Lawrence County Fairgrounds, however, demonstrated the community has its share of residents willing to tackle that labor of love.

It took Thomas R. Black 10 years to bring his 1955 Ford F250 pickup truck back to life. It was one of three rusted-out trucks in a town of Fine gravel pit that he bought for $300. The other trucks, he said, were "pretty well cannibalized" to rebuild his treasure.

The truck, painted with original factory yellow and white trim, has a 292 V8 Ford engine and a heavy-duty four-speed transmission, just like the guts it had when it rolled off the assembly line.

"It's a three-quarter-ton truck, and we wanted to keep it that way," he said. "We drive it every chance we get in the summer."

Mark J. McIntosh paid $150 in 1991 for his 1970 Ford Galaxie. The professional mechanic said he spotted it in a North Lawrence field while delivering car parts, and couldn't pass up the chance to buy it. He said he rebuilt it from the wheels up. It now sports a 351 Ford "Windsor" engine with a Ford C-6 transmission.

"I think I had it about 14 years before it was on the road with paint on it," he said.

Sometimes collectors find a car that was always intended to be labor-intensive. Daniel S. Zira's rare 1975 Bradley GT was one of many "kit cars" from the 1970s the owner assembled himself. Its major mechanical parts were supposed to be from donor vehicles. Mr. Zira said under the hood is a 1969 Volkswagen engine block with 1970 and 1971 Triumph heads and jugs.

"The whole car weighs about 1,500 pounds. I'd say if you hit any speed over 100 the car would start to lift off the road," he said.

Gouverneur resident Michael D. Perrigo said the only changes he's made to his 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air since he bought it in 1993 are dice accents on the tire valve stems, battery nodes and door locks. It still has the original drive train, and has no power steering or power brakes. Mr. Perrigo said he's been offered three times the amount he paid for it.

"I don't want to sell it," he said. "Not yet, anyway."

Then there's the 1925 Dodge Brothers Business Sedan Cyril J. "Mike" Filiatrault, Gouverneur, displayed. All of its parts are original with the exception of an electrical coil he replaced a few years back. It even has its original upholstery and a manual crank to help get the engine started.

"It's an 84-year-old car that's got an 84-year-old man behind the wheel," he said, laughing. "I bet it'd go 60 if you wanted it to. I've driven it to Ogdensburg and Canton and back, but I don't drive that fast. I don't want to hurt it."