Rural Missouri - August 2022 - 48

Between 1983 and 2008, Tom and his father worked on
approximately 150 cars, along with hosting multiple car
shows and appearing in many Columbia-area parades.
Their race cars were, almost exclusively, National Hot Rod
Association class, specifically the Superstock class covering
Chrysler models produced from 1959 to 1969.
" What was going on at the time was a battle of the
brands, " Tom says. " Chevrolet, Ford, and Chrysler were
all trying to come out with the best car. The automotive
industry started basically building factory race cars, so
they would build a car that was technically a race car. "
The goal for people, like Tom, is to return the cars to
Above: The iconic tailfin of Tom's 1958 Plymouth Fury turned heads
in many a Columbia parade and car show. Below: In the same way
Tom bonded with his father over a love of cars, he and Ethan now
spend time working on restoring and racing the classic cars.
their former glory. Similar to historical reenactments, cars
are made to look as close to their original form as possible.
This often means recreating hand-painted logos and using
original parts. For Tom, the process was a wonderful way
to build his bond with his father.
" My dad and I were very close, " he says. " We got to
spend time in the shop almost on a daily basis, and then
we enjoyed taking a road trip and going to drag races. "
Tom had to wait until the mid-2000s before he was able
to start building his own race car, a 1962 Dodge Dart. As
always, Tom Sr. was there to help him out and included
Tom's kids in the process. But things changed one weekend
in 2008 after they returned from a racing event.
Tom says that he and his father were doing something
they often did together. " We had come home after that
weekend and kind of serviced his car. We had gotten it
ready to go because the next weekend we were supposed
to race in Havana, Illinois. My dad and I had been working
on a car that was going to be a show car. He went home
that evening and unfortunately had a brain aneurysm and
passed away. "
Of course, his father's death was hard on Tom. Still, he
attended the few races that were left in the season, trying
to collect himself and gather his thoughts. After a time for
mourning, Tom prepared the car he and his father had
worked on and took it to a St. Louis race. He says, " It was
a series of five races, and whoever had the most points at
the end of the series won. I ended up winning the series.
To do that with my dad's car the very next year after he
passed away meant a lot to me. "
Tom competes across the Midwest and has his own
garage full of cars, each with a unique history. Choosing
his favorite would be like choosing a favorite child. After
all, many of his cars also are memories of his father. A
1952 Dodge pickup reminds him of buying his first car
with his father. A 1968 Plymouth Fury and 1968 Road
Runner remind him of long road trips they took together.
Now it is Tom's turn to return the favor by making memories
and passing on his skills to his son, Ethan.
" My garage is very similar to my dad's as far as whenever
I was a kid there was always something
going on in it, " Tom says. " My son
also likes to be included with those
things. We'll see how far he carries it,
but it's a good point for us to bond
and get together. "
Brown's Station
For more information, contact
Tom Mitchell at 573-819-6476 or
vintagespeedshop@hotmail.com.
XX RURAL MISSOURI | AUGUST 2022
Rural Missouri - August 2022

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