GOODBYE DENNIS—THE BEST CAR BUDDY I NEVER MET

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I’ve met thousands of car guys over the years and most of them were up for a great conversation about old iron.

Dennis Halpin goes back 15 years to my earliest days at MyStarCollectorCar. I didn’t know the rules of engagement on social media back then, so I posted a story on a Model T forum. 

I joined the forum to get more exposure for a piece I’d written about a Model T and they liked it. I thought if they liked a Model T story, they’d love a Pontiac GTO story posted on their forum—that was a major rookie error. They ripped me apart like hyenas on a gazelle,

Dennis was a member of that forum, and he didn’t like how an honest mistake turned into a lynch mob, so he contacted me to apologize for their overreaction. I thought that was a civilized response. He was loyal to MyStar from that day on and he was also one of the first in with an annual subscription when we went to a paywall.

Dennis turned out to be a Swiss Army knife brand of car guy because he loved everything from Model Ts to classic hot rods, to classic 60s muscle to European sports cars.

He was a big believer in more power—even with his 1927 Model T as he explained: “It’s “blue printed”, balanced, ported and polished, with aluminum pistons, stainless valves, high lift cam, high compression head, modified carb, aluminum intake manifold, VW style dist, Kevlar bands in the transmission and much more. You could easily build a 10 second Chevy small block for what I’ve got in this engine $$$. It’s got twice the original 22 HP, and it will do an easy 50+ MPH though that’s not a smart idea. Model T’s only have rear wheel brakes and were well known for leaving 2 little skinny skid marks right up to whatever they smash into”.

Dennis grew up in the classic late 50s-early 60s Southern California car culture so he saw and did everything a kid would do back in the golden age of hot rods. Here’s one of his memories: “A born “Hot Rodder”, some of my earliest memories are of riding around in a Flathead powered “T Bucket Roadster” that belonged to friends of my parents, back in the 50s”.

The 60s weren’t just about cars. Dennis faced another reality as he explained: “I’m a USAF Viet Nam Vet whose Mrs. was a Women’s Army Corps. Viet Nam (era) Vet, (not all the women of the early 70s wore “Love Beads”, a very rare few wore “Dog Tags. I was college educated under the GI Bill (a “Baby Burner”, with a telecommunications/Journalism Degree”.   

Dennis always understated his role—like the time I told him about a car guy up here who was with the 101st Airborne in Nam at the same time he was there. He said what he did was nothing compared to guys like that— he said they were the guys who took the big risks.

I heard from Dennis every day via email. He was a blunt force guy, so if he spotted a typo or something didn’t make sense he’d copy and paste it–then send it back for refinement. His journalism degree kicked in every time. The only thing I didn’t agree with was his attitude toward late 50s Mopar Forward Look fin cars. He hated them, so I braced for his response every time MyStar featured a fin car. It was one of those agree-to-disagree moments, so I’d always point out how much I liked them.     

These conversations rarely went off topic, but occasionally Dennis would ask a question about politics up here because he knew I was on the same page on many issues. He didn’t know much about western Canada, so I’d give him history lessons and geographical lessons about this area.

The last photo I sent him was a shot taken on July 1st at nearly 11pm at night. I wanted to show him what early summer sunsets looked like up here—he was always impressed with the scenery he saw in the photos, and he really liked Central Alberta small towns.

Dennis fought many battles in the last few years from illness to hurricanes, but he’d always turn up the next day with a comment about what he’d read on MyStar. Dennis didn’t talk about his personal stuff much because he was John Wayne tough, so when he did it was important to listen.

I knew he was counting down the days at the end because there were gaps in his communication–but being the stand-up guy he was, he sent me this last message before he passed away on July 31, 2024. It summed him up perfectly because Dennis was an optimist and a realist at the same time.

By: Jerry Sutherland

Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post,  Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.

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