Long-time friends enter first car show, the Court Street Cruise

   They both served in Vietnam, have an interest in American muscle cars and, after 50 years as friends, still like to hang out in the garage working on cars.
 These days, Joe Baker and Rod Sloan are into Volkswagens, showing their twin MG TD Roadster Migi’s (Midgets) at the annual Court Street Cruise held Aug. 7 in Weiser.
 The shiny red convertibles stood out among dozens of classic cars, at times attracting a small crowd eager to know about them.
 “I’ve done American stuff, but got into VWs,” said Joe, who was raised in Huntington and moved to Weiser in the 1960s. “It kind of intrigued me because they have a different way of looking at stuff.”
 They are car kit replicas of the original British MG Midget. What makes them different is the fact the fiberglass bodies are bolted to Volkswagen chassis. Joe and Rod’s models have 1500cc VW motors that produce about 40 hp.
 Joe, 78, found his 1973 MG at a yard sale in Weiser about three years ago.
 “It was kind of funny: before we even went, my wife, Janet, said she was going to go to a yard sale and buy herself a car,” he said. “I thought she was just rattlin’ and we went to this yard sale and there’s this little red car sitting there, and I wound up buying it, so she got her red car.”
 The MG, which Joe bought for about $5,000, was in fairly good shape, only needing a few parts here and there to bring it to good driving condition.
 “It wasn’t bad. It just needed some TLC because it was ignored for a while,” he explained. “There was a torn boot on the axle. I replaced the distributor and a few other things like that. It was in a lot better condition than Rod’s.”
 In high school, Rod owned a 1953 Chevy, later buying a 1948 Desoto and 1976 Ford Highboy Pickup. He also dabbled with dune buggies and vans, but quit working on them for years until Joe got him hooked again.
 “I just started getting back into VWs because Joe was, and it’s been fun,” said Rod, a Weiser native who worked as a meat cutter for Albertson’s for 40 years. “I’ve always loved them and now we have the two cars here in town that look alike. I found mine in a barn in Middleton and it was really a mess.

“It was covered in chicken [droppings] and weeds, and everything else, was growing up inside of it. It had been sitting in that barn for so long, I think there was probably an inch worth of mud and dust on it.”
 So far, Rod, 74, has put about $3,000 into the car, which represents a 1952 model. Both cars, which get between 18 and 20 mpg, had the heating system removed.
 “Yeah, we took that out,” he said. “They aren’t year-round drivers. We just drive them in the spring, summer and fall, and then put them away for winter. We drove them in the Fiddlers Parade this year, and it was a lot of fun.”
 The cars were a popular attraction at the Court Street Cruise.
 “The whole time people were asking where they could get one, and some asked if they were for sale. It told them everything is for sale. You just have to come up with the right number.”
 The friends said they enjoyed the attention they received in their first car show and are considering entering future shows.
 “We might go to the show in Payette in September,” Joe said. “I’d like to make a few little trips around the area when the weather cools off, maybe go up to Council and back. Rod and I have had a lot of fun with this.”