Montana 500 Newsletter
Mar-Apr 2001 Vol. 1 No. 2
Montana Cross Country T Assn.
7516 E. Mission, Spokane, WA 99212
www.antiqueautoranch.com/montana500
2001 Officers and Directors:
President: Sam Nickol
Vice President: Rick Carnegie
Sec.-Treasurer: Janet Cerovski
Directors:
Tom Carnegie
Tony Cerovski
Stan Howe
Doug Langel
George Nickol
Simon Nickol
Meeting Secretary: Carla Carnegie
Correspondence: Tom Carnegie
Date of endurance run is June 17th
Membership dues $10.00
Touring class: $25.00
Endurance runner: $35.00
Cover picture: After the 2000 race,
West Glacier Shirt Company –
Thanks to Harold Mann
General News
The base hotel for 2001 will be the Best Western Outlaw Hotel, 1701 Highway 93 South, Kalispell, MT 59901. The rate is discounted to $85 per room and also includes a deluxe continental breakfast for two. For more persons, there would be a charge of $6 per person for the breakfast. This includes cereals, rolls, breads, hard boiled eggs, juice, coffee and milk. 15 rooms have been held. For those calling in, they need to mention “Model T endurance run”. The local number is 406-755-6864. Best Western toll-free reservation number is 800-528-1234. This hotel has amenities such as 2 indoor pools, 4 jacuzzis, sauna, tennis court, racquetball court, tanning and massage service, gift shop and western art gallery. Hennessy’s restaurant and lounge is on site. Rooms have coffee makers, TV with pay movies, fax or photo copy service upon request, in room data ports and high speed internet access, iron and ironing boards. The parking lot on the backside is reserved for the endurance run attendees, and those with a motor home are welcome to plug in in the same area. No one is under any obligation to stay at this
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hotel. I have posted information about other hotels, motels and campsites on the webpage.
The rule changes were approved unanimously. I have posted the new rules on the web page. There were no actual changes, but rather clarifications of existing rules. Thanks to all who returned their ballots.
After your name on the address label, you will find a number. This number should correspond to the year for which your dues are paid. If it does not, please let me know. There seems to be some question as to when the dues are due. This is how I am treating the situation unless I am later told otherwise. The dues run from January 1st until December 31st. If you pay at race time you are paid until the end of the year. If you pay at the fall meeting, you are current until the end of the next year. This goes for new members too.
There are a couple more driver profiles, including one written by Gillian Hensley who is Bill Walters’ daughter. If anyone else wants to contribute a profile on a past driver, I would sure welcome it.
A special thanks to Vivian Peters for supplying me with much of the information I needed to fill in some of the gaps on the web page. We now have nearly all of the information from all of the races, such as who entered and their times.
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Your first Montana 500
A piece of fiction by Tom Carnegie.
You have been tweaking and tuning for the last two weeks, and now you feel that your T is ready for 500 miles of flat out driving. Up onto the trailer you drive her. It seems a shame to put your T in such an undignified place, but you must be practical. The drive to Montana is two days. The trip to Montana is uneventful. When you pull into the hotel parking lot, the large number of brightly colored T’s lets you know you are in the right place. You get out and stretch your legs. No sooner than you work out the first couple of kinks in your joints, someone is over talking to you, asking you where you are from and welcoming you to the run. You find out that several of the T’s have already been inspected. You aren’t sure exactly what that means, but you find out that it is a rather painless operation consisting of being fitted for a restrictor plate, having your engine sealed up, and a quick safety inspection. You look around, and notice one of the drivers has a coil tester, which he is somewhat earnestly cranking away on. You wander over his way, and before you know it, he has volunteered to tune up your coils. Couldn’t hurt, so tuned they get. An announcement is made of the upcoming drivers meeting. At the appointed time, the president goes over the route for the next day, meeting time and place and any other special
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information that you might need. Numbers are drawn for starting positions. If Ed Towe shows up, he always gets the highest number (it’s a club tradition). After the meeting, people head to their hotel rooms, or go out to the parking lot to tune a little more, kick tires and swap lies.
You wake up bright and early. Out to the T you go. A few of the drivers are already warming up their motors. You decide to gas up and check the air in your tires. A half-hour or so before flag-out time one of the “locals” offers to lead you out to the starting line. Several T’s head out one after the other. When you get to the starting line, several of the low numbered cars have already lined up in order. You find your spot and get into line. At the top of the hour, out goes the first T. Soon the car in front of you goes. In one minute, it will be your turn. The longest minute of your life has just begun. You watch as the T before you becomes a speck, and then disappears. 15 more seconds to wait! Now 10 – Now 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 GO! The adrenaline is flowing as you ease in the low pedal – you don’t want to stall out now. Soon you are cruising down the highway. Your T sounds great and strong. You fiddle with the spark a little, fiddle with the carb a little. Everything is tuned to the max, and you and your T are as one. Now you start to relax a bit and it strikes you: this just may be the most beautiful country in the whole U.S., and this just might be the nicest day ever. After
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what doesn’t seem like enough time, you notice a speck in your rear view mirror. You turn around, and sure enough, a T is approaching you from behind. Slowly but surely he gains on you, until now, he is right behind you. The traffic is light, and soon he is around you. He gives you a friendly wave, and you watch as his bright green car pulls farther and farther away.
Around a couple more bends you notice that you are gaining on a car. Sure enough, it’s a T. It seems like a long time, but finally you’re right behind him. You notice as he frantically twiddles all manner of knobs and levers to try to coax just a little more speed out of his car. It’s no use. You’re going to pass him. The double yellow line goes away, and you make your move. Around him you go. You know just the wave to give him as you go by. What a thrill! You continue down the road on cloud nine. Oh – no! What’s that up ahead? It looks like a dead T along side the road. Sure enough, it’s your friend in the green T with his head under the dash, and his feet sticking out the driver’s door. You hope it isn’t too serious, and it probably isn’t – maybe wiring or a bad switch.
Soon you see the flagger up ahead and you pull into town. You love driving your T, but this is far and away the most fun you’ve ever had driving a T, and that’s saying a lot.
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Bill Walters
by Gillian Hensley
The Model T Racing Bug bit Bill in l960. He restored a 1925 Model T in the garage, painted it black and blue, and was off and running. His first competition was the 50-mile race Labor Day weekend in White Sulphur Springs, Mt. He placed 5th out of 27 starters and the racing bug had him good. Bill raced in the Cross Country T races from the beginning in 1961 until 1969. He helped form the Montana Cross Country T Association in 1962 and served several terms as a Director and was also President in 1965. He was also instrumental in forming the Bozeman Antique Auto Club in 1962.
Bill was a machinist for Montana Motor Supply in Bozeman, Mt. and worked on many “T” engines, grinding crankshafts, pouring babbitt bearings and basically kept the motors running for himself and many other racers. Summers for him and his children–David and Gillian (that’s me) were spent going
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to the shorter 50 mile races held throughout the State, and the 3-day Cross Country race. Winters were spent working on engines and formulating ideas to get them to run faster–but stay within the rules. Bill never won the Cross Country (his best finish was 3rd twice), but thoroughly enjoyed each and every one he participated in, and especially enjoyed all the friendships he formed with other racers and their families.
In addition to his 1925 Model T used for racing, Bill also completely restored a 1915 Model T Touring Car–doing so on the sly and bringing it out for it’s maiden trip during a Bozeman Jaycees Parade. He also restored a 1924 Model T Coupe which his daughter Gillian raced several times in the 50 mile Bozeman race.
(note, Bill Walters, who was a charter member of the MCCTA, passed away in 1991, ed.)
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