Author: tm500

by Tom Canegie

Perry Mathews was from Helena Mt. He was a voc-ed teacher teaching Diesel mechanics. He first raced a model T in the Montana 500 in 1969. At that time he ran in the cast iron division. In 1973 he won the cast iron division.

In 1976 he switched over to aluminum and came in fifth.

In 1980 his son Ted joined him in the endurance run. They both ran until 1982.

For 1983 the Association decided to try 11/16″ restrictor plates between the carburetor and the intake manifold on a one-year trial basis.

Perry Mathews won that year, so when they voted to make the use of restrictor plates permanent, Perry Mathews’ hand was the first one up.

In the fall of 1984 the sudden passing of Perry saddened us. While out hunting he suffered a fatal heart attack. Ted continued to run off and on until 1993.

Ted still lives in Helena.

by Tom Carnegie

Grant was quite involved in Model Ts as he owned the Antique Auto Ranch. In the late 1960s his friend of his named Dick Bergan decide to enter the Montana 500. Grant went along as pit crew. By 1970, Grant had his own car, but on the third day broke his crank and did not finish. He came back in 1971 and finished 14th in the aluminum division. That was the last year he raced, but that is not the end of the story. In 1972 his hired man built a car and came to Montana. In 1975 another one of his employees came over. Their names were Rick Carnegie and Tom Carnegie. That is not the end of the story. In 2000 his daughter Carla Carnegie came over and drove. The next year his grand-daughter Anna Marx took a stab at T racing. Grant still lives in Spokane and is active in the local Model T club.

By David Lingle

Evan was a born mechanic like his older brother Melvin, so he had a role model from the start. Fords were his favorite, starting with the model T’s. When Evan was 18, he went off to serve in WWII. When he returned he went to work for the Montana State Highway. Later, he went to work for Berg Ford Motor in Circle, MT. There he had the opportunity to do what he really enjoyed, working on cars.

Berg Motors sponsored him in the first Montana 500 race in 1961. He took first place. Evan with the help of his son John, took a 1922 touring, cut the back off, put on two coats of black paint and called her good. “Pretty doesn’t win races” Evan was heard to say. He was a terrific, but fair competitor. Many of the other drivers teased him (good naturedly) about the T using more oil than gas. It used 23 quarts of oil. At one point in the race, a Montana Highway Patrol officer clocked him at 72 miles per hour (this is according to my mother Ruby Lingle). He was featured on the cover of Hemmings Motor News shortly after the race.

He entered several shorter races around Montana, many of them sponsored by the VFW of Jordan, MT. I remember when he borrowed my dad’s (Melvin Lingle) T for the 1972 Montana 500. Over the years he received many trophies, which his daughter, LaWanna of Billings MT. still cherishes. He donated the last T he restored to the museum in Circle, MT. Evan passed away November 15, 1993.

by Tom Carnegie

Frank Iverson came from Ledger, Montana – or was it Conrad? In the past, drivers had signs on their cars to tell their hometown. Sometimes Frank was from Conrad and sometimes he was from Ledger.

Frank first entered the Montana 500 in 1965. That year he drove a black 23-5 roadster. He finished 18th that year. The last year he ran was in 1981. He came in 19th that year. The rest of the time his finishes were always in the top ten, and usually in the top five. In 1970 he won and was written up in both Road and Track and Rod and Custom magazines. I once heard a lady say that Frank had “movie star” good looks. That might be the case, but the real looker was his car. The “Roadrunner” was a beautiful 26-7 blue roadster. In 1975 my windshield stanchion broke and Frank offered to let me use his welder to fix it.

There in his shop was a one of his secrets to success. He had a Model A motor hooked to a stand that he would use to “run-in” his T motors. He called it “burnishing” the bearings.

The “Roadrunner” car now lives in Portland, Oregon. Frank still lives in Ledger – or is it Conrad?

Jim Halseth, of Dutton, MT first entered in 1977. He was driving a car that was in previous years by his dad (Bert Halseth, who with his partner Glenn Johnson raced 1966 to 1971) Nickol drives. When I first saw the car (in 1977) it was a black cut-off touring car. In later years Bud Peters converted it in to a proper Roadster. It is now the car that George Nickols drives.

In Jim’s first year of racing, he came in 23rd out of 30 drivers. In 1979 he finished 9th. In 1980 and 81 he finished 5th. Jim continued to enter every year, and in 1984 he won! For the next ten years he entered every race and consistently placed in the top 5.

In 1994 he came in first again. 1996 was the last run that he entered. Jim is now living in Australia.

by Rich Armstrong

John Foos was reared in Laurel, Montana, but now resides in Helena. John entered his first race in 1961. He competed in the last two days of the Missoula to Circle race promoting Highway 200 through Montana. After the Montana Cross-Country “T” Assoc. was organized, John joined and participated in thirteen races through the 1980’s.

John was a fierce competitor! His motto- “I CHEAT”. This was more bluff than anything, as his generosity was very evident in that he never refused to assist anyone-whether it is the need for a coil or EVEN the loan of a complete engine!

John served as President in 1966 and 1967. His wife, Donna, was Sec.-Treasurer.

Spontaneous response was one of John’s characteristics. During a race in the Flathead country, the weather was cold and very rainy. After two days of driving with no top on his roadster, and while stopped for coffee and trying to find shelter from the elements, a young man driving a Model A Sedan stopped. He leaned out the window and asked John if he would trade. John jumped up and said, “Get your junk out and you have a trade”. Five minutes later, John was a proud owner of the A. John’s comment when asked why he did it; “At least I’ll be dry”!

My Friend Jon De Vick
By Bob Mac Neil

Jon was full of fun. He was a very outgoing person, the kind that is very easy to get to know. In 1957, we were roommates in the Washington State College (now WSU) dorm. Jon loved girls, the coed type. We lived in Mc Allister Hall, and Jon took a job as houseboy in the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. He made some good coed connections that way. At that time Jon (his real name was John, but he didn’t care for that spelling) drove a Model T sedan. It was a big attention getter, especially with the ladies. He was always running around with a Model T full of them.

Once on the way home from Pullman, Jon spotted a speedster in a farm building. He stopped and talked to the owner, and eventually made a deal for it. It was a very desirable Laurel speedster with all the original Laurel accessories.

We caught a crow and put it into a cage in our dorm room. Early in the morning, at sun up, that crow would do his calling. Jon thought the rest of the dorm needed to be annoyed along with us, so he rigged the intercom to broadcast the crow’s wake up call to all of the rooms in the dorm. The consequence of this little stunt was that I was not allowed to return to the dorm the next year!

Jon did not return to college the next year, and for a while I lost track of him. He got married, had a son and a daughter. He lived in the Seattle area and worked for Boeing. In addition to the Laurel speedster, Jon had a 1926 sedan and a 1919 coupe, which I believe is the car that he drove in the 1974 Montana 500. That was the only year that he entered, and he finished near the bottom of the pack.

I ran into Jon at the Puyallup swap meet in the 1990’s. He had a brain tumor, which had changed his personality. He was rather introverted and seemed to have some trouble remembering me. It was very sad to see someone as vibrant and full of life as Jon become so withdrawn and quiet.

Eventually the cancer took him. He passed away in 1999. His son still has his Model T’s.

By Rich Armstrong

Ken Cook, born and reared in Laurel, Montana moved to Bozeman in the late 1940’s after serving in the Navy. He was a salesman for Montana Motors and later sold insurance for New York Life.

Ken’s involvement in racing began in 1961 when he and John Foos entered the race at Lewistown and completed the run to Circle.

Ken was instrumental in the formation of the organization we now know as The Montana Cross-Country “T” Association. He was a charter member as well as the first President.

Ken was proud to be President and he served the office well. Marian, his wife, was elected Sec.-Treasurer and many years later, she would also serve as President.

Ken entered his 1915 Vegetable Wagon in many of the early races. To my knowledge, he never won a race, but he always finished.

Ken’s appearance at each race was quite evident! He was a tall, thin man dressed in “T” attire-straw hat, vest and bow tie- sitting in the high profile “T” with a big wide grin. The “T” sported a shiny brass radiator, open wooden pickup box and bright yellow spoked wheels.

Ken passed away in December of 1974.

by Tom Carnegie

Although I did not personally know Bob Braun, I chose to do a profile on him because of his interesting car. Bob Braun of Bozeman, MT was one the first proponents of the “Super T” concept. (see sidebar) He drove a brass T with later model (17-25) curved fenders. It also had 26-7 wire wheels and a homemade turtle deck.

Bob’s first time was in 1963. He did not finish that year. He ran in 1964, 65 and 66 which was his last year, and also his best finish, 7th place. Bob’s car figures prominently in the Glenn Embree film Flying Flivers where he is purportedly shown fixing his fan belt along side the road.

“Super T” people think you should be able to use or even modify any stock T part to assemble the fastest and best T possible. The “bone stock” people think you should have a T exactly as it came off the assembly line.

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Held in Roundup, MT June 17 – 19 2024