Photo by Jim Tate Ray Louwagie is shown with his 1975 Pontiac Firebird, which he restored with his daughter, Krystl.

“I guess I always liked anything mechanical — I like tinkering. Mechanical things have always fascinated me.”

That’s what Ray Louwagie says about his business, and his hobbies.

The owner of HR Tooling and Machine southwest of Cottonwood, his business’s main workshop is being expanded and includes enough tools and machining equipment “to make just about any part,” said Louwagie, who started the business in 1996.

One of his favorite tinkering projects over the years has been a “buccaneer red” 1975 Pontiac Firebird,, which he keeps on the farm site and which he finished some 20 years ago.

His deep affection for Firebird goes way back to his youth.

“The first car I ever owned was a Firebird,” he said. “I located this one in Michigan, on eBay. “It did run and drive, but it was a basket case.”

A photo album attests to the rough shape the car was in when he began its restoration. And though it was drivable, it was also a bit of a stretch.

When he purchased the car it was equipped with a 305 Chevy engine, which he replaced with a 350 Chevy engine out of an ’88 Suburban. “It was the first injected motor for mass use and was reliable and practical for 15 years or so,” he said.

He had the body completely redone and painted, and the entire project took him “about a year.”

“Dan Gregoire had a body shop a half mile east of here,” explained Louwagie.

It took quite a bit of online digging, but he was able to find some Firebird wheels. The hood scoop is off a ’78 Firebird, “It’s a little different shape, they’re hard to find,” he said. “I scrounged around for parts.”

And though the car is 50 years old, “I consider it a modern car,” said Louwagie, mentioning the fact the engine is computerized. “It’s a hybrid car, and it looks original,” he said. “The interior has been replaced, and the original engine was a 4-speed manual. It’s an automatic now, with better drivability. The transmission is from an ’89 or ’90 Astro van.”

The fact that Louwagie is a “car guy” shouldn’t surprise those who know him well. “That goes back to when I was a teenager,” he said. “I subscribed to Hot Rod magazine when I was 14 years old and dreamed of building a car — I love racing.”

His racing friends have come to him in the past wanting him to fabricate a part, and he’s happy to oblige. “I can literally make anything,” he said, glancing over at the myriad of machining tools in his main shop. Another shop on the property houses welders and grinders.

After getting out of the dairy business, he attended what was then Southwestern Technical College in Granite Falls, where, at the age of 38, he earned a degree in Machine Tool Technologies.

Louwagie and his wife, Cindy, are the parents of three daughters: Jessica Kesteloot, rural Marshall; Lacey VenOsdel, Dell Rapids, S.D.; and Krystl Louwagie, Marshall.

In fact, it was a request by his youngest daughter Krystl that resulted in the ’75 Firebird being restored in the first place. “One night, when she was a senior in high school, she said she’d like to help restore an old car. Since the Firebird was the first car I’ve ever owned, we decided on that one. It was fun to work with her on the project.”

He’s proud to have grown up on the home site where he and five siblings were raised by his late parents, Marcel and Theresa Louwagie. He rents the 300 tillable acres out now, and has his business on the farm.

Louwagie has been a Shades of the Past member on a couple of occasions. “From 1988 to 2001, and then life got busy, and then I rejoined about two years ago,” he explained. “It’s a great bunch of guys and gals, and they put on a good (car) show as well as doing good things for the community. I try to take part in some of the cruises, and I like then camaraderie and the fact you make friends that help you look for items you may need. It’s a helpful group of people.”