Community Corner
Dream Cruise Snapshot: Classic Beauty Lovingly Transformed
Berkley resident Jon Murrell turned a 1930 Ford pickup into a vintage-style fire truck.
Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles leading up to the 2011 Woodward Dream Cruise on Aug. 20. Click here for related stories and photo galleries.
Name: Jon Murrell
Residence: Berkley
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Age: 57
Vehicle (make, model, year): 1930 Ford Model A Pickup
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How long you've had it: Since 2004
Why this car? “My first car was a 1931 Model A Ford that I purchased in 1972. My wife, Chris, and I drove it when we were married in 1978. I sold it in 1986 at a time when I could not afford to finish restoring it and needed the money for my growing family.
"After 10 years of sitting on the curb at the Woodward Dream Cruise, on the Friday before the 2004 cruise, I spotted this 1930 Model A Ford pickup in front of the Woodworkers Store on Woodward in Royal Oak. It was originally owned by a salesman in Arizona who went from ranch to ranch selling shoes and boots. By Saturday afternoon it was ours. We had to stop traffic on Woodward to get it turned around and back to the house just a half mile away.
"I spent the next year going over the vehicle, tuning it up, rebuilding the brakes and shocks, et cetera, to get it ready for the next cruise. After the 2005 cruise, I repainted it and fitted it with a combination reproduction, custom-made and vintage fire apparatus. It has been in the Berkley CruiseFest parade and cruised Woodward every year since 2005. as I sometimes do.”
What's special about Woodward and/or the Dream Cruise for you? “As a young kid, cruising Woodward was something I looked forward to. However, by the time I was of driving age, cruising Woodward was mostly a thing of the past. Most of the drive-ins were gone and cruising had moved to Gratiot, while the faster cars moved to racing on Interstate 696. You could still see great cars on Woodward, but it was nothing like it was in the '50s and early '60s.
"Now, a lot of guys my age and older have the discretionary income to buy and/or build the cars of their dreams. I believe that was the catalyst that has driven the Woodward Dream Cruise to be the largest one-day car event in the world. It's been exciting and a lot of fun to be a part of it.”
