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Special section: Silver Grill Café Old Town Car Show - Silver Grill Car Show |
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Written by NEXTnc staff reports
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Thursday, 07 June 2007 |
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Page 2 of 5
Keeping up with the Jones’
Local radiator shop carries on tradition one car at a time
By Marissa Hutton-Gavel
for NEXTnc
Todd Jones has been working with his father since before he could drive.
“Have you seen that show American Chopper?” he asked with a smile. “That’s how it is.”
In case you’re not familiar, the TLC show follows Paul Teutul Sr. and son Paul Jr. of Orange County Choppers. The father-son duo scream and yell at each other on a regular basis, but at the end of the day it’s all love between them.
“I get advantages most people don’t,” the 40-year-old mechanic said. “Most people don’t get to spend 50 hours a week with their dads. As we’ve gotten older it’s gotten fun.”
Fort Collins Radiator, 417 Jefferson, originated in 1946, Larry began working there in 1967.
The building sits diagonally facing Jefferson street, concrete inside and out, cracked windows covered in the dirt from the parking lot outside. Big red tool boxes that were once fire truck shiny have since tarnished and become home to a thin layer of dust. The all too familiar scent of grease and gasoline permeates the air, but Todd doesn’t seem to notice. This has been his home for as long as he can remember.
“I’ve never filled out an application,” Todd said. “I grew up on these floors. I’m a car guy.”
With a family tree that starts with his mother’s parents, whom he says, “started this town” on down to his distant uncle after which Mason street was named, Todd and his father Larry Jones share a rich history with the fort.
“I remember when Lemay was a dirt road,” Todd said. “We could ride our bike anywhere.”
With the expansion of the town and masses of high school graduates flooding the halls of CSU each fall, the once small town is now a thriving cousin of nearby big city Denver. As for Todd’s feelings on the matter, they’re mixed. Quick to think of his wife and daughter, he frowns at the idea.
“For business, it was good. For raising a family- not really.”
Business is what Todd knows best. A lover of all things cars since he was a kid, his social demeanor and easy going attitude has proven a success with his costumers as he stands and jokes with them while handing over a freshly repaired radiator.
When he’s not making small talk or soldering the brass of a radiator, he’s volunteering for the annual The Silver Grill Café Old Town Car Show.
“I helped start it back when it was just Tailgate Tommy’s,” he said.
For six years now the Down Town Business District, DBA, has been orchestrating the display of several classic cars, hot rods and trucks for the public to admire.
“Everything has gone south in Fort Collins,” he said of the businesses in the Campus West area and beyond. “I thought it was a cool idea to bring it back downtown.”
Attendees can vote for their favorite automobile and first, second and third places will be awarded in the Spectator’s Choice category.
“Some of these people spend $100,000 on these cars,” Todd said. “That’s car guys.”
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|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
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|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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