Sweet rides, pin-ups highlight Car d'Lane
DEVIN WEEKS/Press Jerry Navarra, left, and son Nathan, in camouflage hoodie, admire Chet Jackman’s viper red 1934 Dodge pickup truck Saturday during the show and shine event of Car d’Lane in downtown Coeur d’Alene.
Evalyn Neill, 8, of Hayden, twirls her teal poodle skirt Saturday afternoon during Car d'Lane's debut pin-up contest in front of Sherman Square Park in downtown Coeur d'Alene. The show, presented by the Retro Studio, focused on hair, personality and wardrobe to emphasize the beauty of every gal who competed. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
Savannah Buppert of Coeur d'Alene rocks quite the hairpiece as she poses for the audience Saturday during the Retro Studio's pin-up contest at Car d'Lane. Ladies of all ages, shapes and sizes were welcome to compete for prizes and show off their fancy hair fasteners and accessories. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
COEUR d’ALENE — A rusty old 1934 Dodge pickup truck that barely survived a fire was given a second chance when it wound up in Chet Jackman's caring hands.
"I always look at something and imagine what you could do with it," Jackman said. "And I know it’s not true, but I feel as though cars have souls and with this one here, you always wonder, ‘What day did the car die?’ We know the day the car died was the day the fire was."
Jackman, of Sagle, gazed at the glossy, viper red truck as people came by to admire it Saturday afternoon during the Car d'Lane Show and Shine.
"We bought it from the original family," he said. "The guy we got it from, his grandfather bought it brand new in ’34. It was passed down through three generations until it was in a shop fire."
The truck was hauled out to a patch of woods and sat for 30 years before fate brought it to Jackman, who purchased it for $1,000.
"It sat out there and I can imagine it thinking, ‘Am I ever going to see the road again? Am I ever going to be rebuilt?’" he said. "Maybe that’s why I did it. It was a whole truck and I wanted to bring it back to life. If it did have a soul, what does it think now?"
Jackman has invested at least $100,000 into the truck since its rescue, loading it with modern amenities such as touch-screen navigation and backup camera as well as a fuel-injected 5.7 Hemi engine.
"It was one of the top seven picks for last year for early truck of the year for Goodguys throughout the whole nation," Jackman said. "That got us to go to Arizona for the finals. We didn’t win; we were beat by a truck that had $1.6 million in it. But it was still an honor to go and compete with something we built in our garage in North Idaho."
Downtown Coeur d'Alene was hopping during the last day of Car d'Lane, where guests had opportunities to interact with owners of classic cars and hear their car love and rescue stories.
New this year was the Retro Studio's pin-up contest, which invited ladies of all ages, shapes and sizes to doll up and strut their stuff on the stage.
"It's just part of the car culture," said Retro Studio owner Jeni Cook. "People are used to seeing either the rockabilly or '50s-style pinups with cars."
To emphasize the beauty of all women, the show focused more on hair, wardrobe, makeup and charisma rather than body type.
"I'm really excited. It's kind of nerve-racking, though," said Evalyn Neill, 8, of Hayden after she went onstage in a teal poodle skirt.
She said she enjoys attending Car d'Lane because "you get to look at different cars and things."
"It's fun," she said sweetly. "I like the '50s."