Out of the hundreds of classic and vintage cars and trucks at this year’s Burn the Point car show in Billings, Mark Ferguson’s 1951 Studebaker Champion was still turning a few heads with many showgoers stopping by to chat for a few minutes.
“Going to car shows—showing people the progress I’ve made on different cars. I enjoy it,” Ferguson says.
See Mark Ferguson and his classic car at Burn the Point:
The Studebaker nicknamed “Old Grey” has a lot of sentimental meaning.
“It’s probably worth five thousand on the auction block—but it’s worth way more than that to me,” he says.
A big reason is the story behind it. Ferguson drove the car 42 miles each way to high school while growing up in Nebraska, but that’s not the main reason.
“My wife and I had our first date in it in ’62 and just celebrated 60 years-- same car and same wife,” he says with a grin.
Love affairs that have stood the test of time.
Ferguson spent time in the Coast Guard and had a career afterward working in computer electronics, but cars have long been his hobby.
“I guess that’s how you do it. It’s your first car, and you end up fixing it and learning how to fix it, so it just happened to be a Studebaker,” Ferguson says.
While the old Studebaker was his first car, it wasn’t his last.
He has also added several Crosley vehicles to his collection. The cars are one of America’s first sub-compact vehicles manufactured from 1939 to 1952.
He got his first one in 1963 after his father ran a newspaper ad offering to buy cars that were no longer in production.
He’s restored several to look like new.
Ferguson has been active in the Roaring 20s Auto Club over the years and is also the treasurer for the Yellowstone Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club.
“You could say I collect owners collectively- -and get them a newsletter every month,” he says.
He spends a lot of time at his shop, where he admits he has a enough projects to keep him busy.
“I have no deadlines. I do it at my own pace. Some days it’s pretty slow and some days I’m really with it,” he says.
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