Garage Talk

In the middle of Michigan, on a dead-end dirt road, there’s a garage just big enough to fit a single car in it. There’s a treasure trove of old car parts lining the walls, sitting on benches, and many are tucked away in the rafters. Bernie Blain, the man who built it, can still be found tinkering around the house, in his small garage, or in the other much larger garage that he built on the property, which is just as over-stuffed with cars, snowmobiles, and parts to all kinds of things. He is responsible for getting all three of his kids: Conrad, Cassie, and Kaleigh, all ten of his grandkids, and countless students in his automotive classes at a high school career tech center, all hooked on classic cars, or really anything that runs.  

Thirty-five years ago, Bernie worked full-time as a mechanic, he was going to college, and raising three kids with his high school sweetheart, Brenda. He spent his “spare time” fixing vehicles for friends, family, and neighbors in that little garage. Most days Brenda would be out there right beside him and the three kids would often play on the “old junk cars” next to the garage while “helping.”

Mr. Blain graduated from Ferris State University in 1994  at the top of his class as an automotive instructor. His enthusiasm for classic cars was passed on to Conrad, Cassie, and Kaleigh from an early age. Each of them claimed one of the “old junk cars” to rebuild as their first car, which was to be completed by their senior year of high school. They worked together as a family to rebuild each car. Each of the kids had to have a job to help pay for parts and had to help do the actual work on the cars. The oldest, Conrad, picked a 1970 Pontiac Firebird. Cassie picked a 1967 Pontiac LeMans, and Kaleigh picked a 1984 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.  

The story behind Cassie’s ‘67 LeMans has become a local favorite.  While playing on the “old junk cars” Conrad told her the Firebird was his.  She stood in the shell of the LeMans– no glass, no interior, no front end, and no drive train– while proudly holding the steering wheel and proclaimed it as hers, the way only a 2-year-old can. Over the years their whole family would go to car shows for fun and to draw inspiration. Bernie would point out what each of the cars would look like when completed. 

Oh, the lessons learned along the way, the kind that can only come from family projects and vintage cars.  Bernie learned to give a little more direction than just saying  “If we’re gonna paint that, you’re gonna need to sand the whole thing down.” Seven-year-old Cassie soon learned that she wasn’t supposed to use the 80-grit sandpaper left over from the Christmas gifts they made that year and take it down to the bare metal. 

Each of the cars took a lot of work. They each were at different stages, but all involved many busted knuckles, late nights, hot summer days, all the savings from the kids’ first jobs, car parts as gifts for every occasion, blood, sweat, tears, and occasional teenage fits (ok, there were more of those than this writer cares to admit). Also needed was a spare car, cutting, welding, bodywork, learning to sand the right way, and painting.  The LeMans required an additional $50 for a 301 Pontiac engine, and skipping school once to get the wiring finished. The years of treasure hunting put a tiny dent in Mr. Blain’s trove of spare parts, but they had Bernie’s favorite car, the 1967 LeMans that he had wrecked years before Cassie was born, all ready to drive for her first homecoming dance at age 16. They very literally put the finishing touches on it together, just hours before she put on her dress and got her hair done for the dance. 

Cassie proudly drove the LeMans to school and work every day except in the winter. When she turned 19, she moved to Wyoming for work. Bernie’s advice to her made little sense when he said  “Don’t blow all your money on old junk cars out there.” Just 2 weeks later,  she bought a ‘69 Catalina and drove it all the way home to Michigan,  planning to put the engine from it into the LeMans. Instead, Bernie and Cassie ended up painting the Catalina, too! 

Fast forward 5 years down the road, and Bernie and Cassie decided to rebuild a 389 for the LeMans.  Of course, like any good car project, one thing led to another. Cassie found herself sanding down the whole car to repaint it again. In the process, the best thing to ever happen in her life came along—she had a little girl of her own–Carissa. Pregnancy and being a new Mom slowed down the progress a bit, but not for long. 

Carissa has been attending car shows and hanging out in the garage since she was born. Her car seat fit perfectly in the backseat of the Catalina, and Cassie would use a baby carrier to carry her around at shows. She would come play on the old cars at Grandpa and Grandma Blain’s house and help sand, too. But this time around, Cassie had learned to give Carissa a sponge with a scrubby instead of the 80-grit sandpaper. By the time Carissa was 6, she was helping right along with repainting the LeMans and putting the freshly rebuilt engine in. The LeMans has been completed for 5 years now. These days, Carissa helps with washing and maintaining both the LeMans and the Catalina. Her favorite is the Catalina, and she has already claimed it as her own. She even helped to bleed the new master cylinder and install it on the Catalina. When they stop for gas, Carissa, now 12, fills it up and answers everyone’s questions about the year, make, and model, just like an old pro. She enjoys going to car shows often. 

At a recent car show, Cassie and Carissa got to meet Jesse, one of Mr. Blain’s first-year automotive students. He was there showing an 80’s square-body truck that he had recently finished rebuilding. He was excited to see Mr. Blain and shared a funny story.  Jesse told them that he had gotten kicked out of school for a couple of weeks the year that he was in Mr. Blain’s class!  But Jesse enjoyed the auto class with Mr. Blain so much that he would sneak onto the career tech bus so he could go to auto class!  

This past May, Cassie put on a car and snowmobile show to benefit a local soup kitchen. The whole family got involved.  Bernie, Brenda, all three of their kids, and all ten grandkids were there.  Carissa helped to create the show and even sang the National Anthem to kick things off. It won’t be long before she will get to drive one of the Pontiacs to car shows and her first dance, too. Hopefully, at one of those shows, all three generations will be able to drive a classic there, but for now, Cassie is enjoying chauffeuring Carissa around to see Grandma and Grandpa at the car shows!