When Larry Allshouse was 12, he fell in love for the first time. It wasn’t just puppy love — it was unconditional. And he has never let go.

Allshouse’s three older brothers were all motorheads, so a love for gas-powered muscle came easy. Old Blue, a 1942 Ford F1, was his first.

“I had it all through junior and senior high school, and I’ve had it ever since. I’ve torn it apart and put [it] back together probably four times, so far,” Allshouse said as the engine rumbled.

Old Blue has a 460 cubic inch motor with a supercharger. The blue paint glows, like those moments of light in the sky between the dark of night and the first hint of sunrise. Everything is a blur when running, tempered with the slight wispy whine of the supercharger’s broad belt cranking up the power.

“I’ve been known for the old blue truck all my life — in high school, reunions, everything,” Allshouse said.

He intentionally left out prom. “I was out running around with the boys at the time,” he explained.

Allshouse is not only known for the polished ’42, but for his collection of Ford beauties — including a bright yellow 1969 Torino GT.

“You put the pedal down, and I’ll tell you what. It handles the road very well,” he said.

Allshouse has a stable of vehicles in various stages of builds. Those that run are powerful, but also a joy to drive. He retrofits features into the power plants and suspension — so it grips the road — as well as special interior innovations. Multi-way electric seats make the long drives as comfortable as a new car. Electric windows attach to levers that have the appearance of manual window cranks — his attempt to honor the past while welcoming later innovations.

Allshouse considers vintage automobiles to be fine art straight from the factory. His decisions on color, lighting and added features are how he expresses his vision.

As a restoration expert, “what you like, how you decide to paint them, and what you’re gonna do is my art,” he said.

But unlike most art — and most vintage automobiles, for that matter — this art is meant to be touched. 

“You go to car shows, and everybody says, ‘Oh, please don’t touch it and don’t crawl in it.’ Sh—. Cars are made to be used,” he said. “People walk by and say they really liked my cars and they used to have one just like it. I say, ‘Hell, jump in.’”

Allshouse loves interaction with the community. He doesn’t advertise his repair shop at LA Auto Services in Cody. All his business has been word of mouth for the past 30 years. So when he gets out from underneath a car at the end of the day or for the weekend, he’s raring to get out in the community.

He sits on the Cody Stampede Rodeo board of directors and is a former roper. Allshouse compares his service at the rodeo to his vintage auto collection in that they both improve the lives of those in the area. 

“I’m not the kind that’s gonna hoard them and hide them from everybody’s eyes,” he said. “The hotrod shows are no different than the rodeo or the museums; they are for everybody, and that helps the community.”

At the age of 64, Allshouse plans to retire one day soon. Only then will he truly have all the time he wants and needs to enjoy his collection. Time is on his side, but he mourns for the future of muscle cars. Kids didn’t grow up with the classics he knows and loves. He doesn’t blame them; they grew up with other models that inspired them.

Don’t mention electric cars to Allshouse. Yes, he knows they’re faster. But there’s nothing that shakes his soul in the same way as the sound and feel of power in the pedal of a V8.

“It’s not the same,” he said, adding, “Until we start flying around like the Jetsons, we’re still going to need petroleum [products]. But it’s going to come some day.”

Parts will become increasingly hard to find for muscle cars, he said. If you can’t find a part, they’ll have to be fabricated; a very expensive proposition. Eventually the lone survivors will more than likely be relegated to museums due to their high value.

But as long as Allshouse is around, he’ll stay faithful to Old Blue and his collection.