Somernites Cruise brings out 'Young Guns' for June show

Jun. 24—When those of a certain age hear the term "young guns," they might think of western movies starring Keifer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips. Those under that age might come to associate that term with Somernites Cruise instead.

As part of June's Somernites Cruise event on downtown Somerset on Saturday, the classic and custom car show unveiled its new "Young Guns" showcase, for attendees under the age of 30 who want to show off the work they've done on their rides — many of which might be older than the participants themselves.

"I think the Young Guns display turned out to be great," said Somernites Executive Director Keith Floyd on Saturday. "We had 25 or 26 (cars) in there, and a bunch of young people. It's great to get them engaged."

Among the youngest was 12-year-old Jayna Privett, who brought a 2015 black and inferno orange Chevrolet Camaro 2SS/RS, known as "the Privinator" that she had worked on herself.

Her father Michael noted that she was interested in working on the car and making something custom out of it.

"I said (to her), 'You've got to pick out the parts, you've got to do all that. If we go to shows, you've got to learn how to detail it and all that stuff,'" he said. "(That was) September 2019 (and after that, it was) full-steam ahead."

Work was done on the engine bay, paint matching, accessories, the interior, and more.

Jayna said she was inspired as a youth by her father's own work on cars and wanted to take a project on for herself.

"I got really interested and his trophies and stuff like that, so he started teaching me about it," she said. "It just sounded really fun, so I started getting into it. ... It was just something me and my dad could bond over."

And, much as the Cruise hoped with the Young Guns display to refresh the next generation of Somernites fans, Jayna wants to keep working on cars in the future.

"It's just interesting to learn about cars and stuff like that, because not many of my friends know a lot about them, and I can teach them about it," she said, adding that she was enjoying Saturday's Cruise event.

On the whole, Saturday's Cruise was a successful one, under clear skies with hot weather. Particularly in the middle of the day, the turnout was strong; Floyd estimated that around 840 cars had come through, including close to 230 in the showcase area for Firebirds and Camaros — and, new this year, Chevelles and Novas.

"It's been a good day," said Floyd on Saturday afternoon. "It's been a typical June. (The newly expanded showcase has) been well received. ... The GTO display was great. I think we had 12 or 15 GTOs. And the Pilot Car (a prototype 1970 SS396 Chevelle) was a real neat piece."

And a rare one.

"It's the only prototype '70 Chevelle known in existence, and it has been documented as a pre-production prototype," said Floyd. "So it's a very rare, very historical car."

Corey Lawson and his son Logan brought the prototype to the Cruise — and it wasn't their first time doing something like that. Last year, the two brought the original 1967 serial no. 1 prototype Chevy Camaro to downtown Somerset for that September's Cruise.

Logan Lawson's discovery of that vehicle at age 13 and his determined pursuit to prove what it was led to the creation of the Pilot Prototype Registry (http://pilotcarregistry.com/), which the Lawsons were representing this past weekend.

"(The Chevelle) is an F100042 (serial number). That is the only known pre-production prototype (of its kind) that exists ... that has ever surfaced," said Corey Lawson. "The car has been authenticated by the car registry. It has 40 years of ownership history.

"It's a hand-built prototype," he added. "They would have started with a '69 Chevelle and all the differences had to be hand-crafted; all the different parts had to be hand-made."

Those parts were then used to create what was needed to mass-produce them and manufacture the 1970 Chevelle via an assembly line.

Lawson noted that the car existed in Michigan and South Bend, Indiana for its entire life.

"We got involved with the car when we authenticated it," he said. "... Whenever one of these things surfaces and the hobby or General Motors wants to figure out whether it's the real deal, they call us. ... This particular car, it took us 13 hours to get there. We're there for three days, authenticating the car, and then COVID hit and (the owner) wanted to sell the car."

So the Lawsons took the car back with them to Hutchinson, Kansas to be put on display "and now it's at home with a bunch of pre-production prototype Camaros," said Corey Lawson. "It's the only Chevelle in the collection."

The Lawsons enjoyed returning to Somernites Cruise — "We're a big fan of Keith, and he does a wonderful job with the show" — and Corey Lawson said the reception for this car was just as great as it was for the Camaro last September, and they plan on returning in the same month for 2023.

"We all speak the same language, but we all like something different," he said of Camaro fans and Chevelle fans. "You'll see little old ladies cry just as much looking at this car as you will a no. 1 Camaro."