Gord Jarabek’s friends from the Cruisin’ Classics car club decided to play a joke on him when they asked how he got that big scratch on the front fender of his slick silver 1947 Mercury pickup truck.
Much to Jarabek’s relief, there was no scratch.
With friends like that, who needs enemies?
It was all a bit of fun for the old-car gang as they waited to start their engines for Friday afternoon’s vehicle parade to visit Prince George seniors residences. Jarabek spent three years restoring the truck he bought in Taylor five years ago and it was virgin tour for the street-rodded machine.
“I got it from a guy who was going to do it and 25 years later it was still sitting in his shop,” said Jarabek. “When I finished it I showed it to him and he was pretty happy it was done right.”
Jarabek, 74, has rebuilt about dozen cars and still owns a 1956 Studebaker Hawk, a ’38 Ford pickup and a ’07 Pontiac Solstice. The retired sawmill equipment supplier is now in the process of building a Bradley GT kit car. He built the Mercury truck on a Corvette body and it runs on 350-cubic inch small-block Chevy engine. The body sits low on the frame and the suspension and wheels have been upgraded so it handles like a newer vehicle.
“It’s like driving a Corvette,” said Jarabek. “it’s pretty quick.
“Do you know how to make a Ford run? Put a Chevy motor in it.”
Jarabek was quick to direct his insult to the owner of the car just ahead of him in the parade - Jules Patenaude, an unabashed Ford lover, who brought his blue showstopping ’47 Ford coupe for the tour.
“I’m not prejudiced, but he’s a true Ford guy and every time I can hurt him, I do,” laughed Jarabek.
With every vehicle he’s restored, Jarabek always looks forward to taking that first run on the road.
“When you get into and drive it and it works, it’s such a thrill to put it on the road for the first time,” he said. “Usually it takes two or three or four years and I’m never in a hurry. If you’re in a hurry you’re going to make mistakes. I’ve done them most of my life, but in the last 20 years I’ve done five straight.”
Jarabek doesn’t paint his vehicles and lets whoever takes on the job decide what would look best. He left it up to his painter at Fix It Auto to choose silver for his ’47 truck, despite Jarabek’s initial thought that it should be painted red.”.
“I sand it, and the person who paints it says it would look good in this colour, and it never fails.,” said Jarabek. “They seem to be right every time. I have chosen a colour but I’ve never followed through using it.”
Like Jarabek, who had his dog Bandit along for the ride, Patenaude had his dog Benny with him to the parade as co-pilot.
Patenaude hauls lots of old salvaged wrecks and keeps a supply of parts stored in a seacan that Jarabek has been able to tap, including the two bucket seats he has bolted to the floor of his ’47 pickup. Jarabek’s wife does quilting and she had the material and re-covered the seats.
Patenaude, who owns eight vehicles, picked up his ‘47 Ford coupe nine years ago from an auto body mechanic in Burns Lake. Like Jarabek’s truck, the coupe handles the road like a dream. With all the power perking from under the hood, he doesn’t mind pouring the volume to an aftermarket sound system equipped with 11 speakers.
It was spitting rain while the 50 or so vehicles lined up for the parade but the sunshine returned for the parade and there’s a sunny and warm forecast in store for Father’s Day, when the Show and Shine returns to Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park for the first time in three years.
The past two years, while the pandemic was on, the Show and Shine was preplaced by a larger-scale car tour through the streets of the city. Patenaude has more cars (eight) than drivers and he plans to bring three of them to the Show and Shine.
“We really liked the parade, I think that was the best thing going,” said Patenaude. “There were a lot of people on the side of the roads. This is a nice thing we do with seniors. The old people just appreciate it and they just run out (to greet them).”
Close to 400 vehicles are expected to line up at the south end of the park near The Exploration Place for the Show and Shine, which starts Sunday at 10 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m.
