When Staff Sgt. Josh Stokes couldn't find a local car club that fit his and his 1950 Mercury's style, he decided to start one himself.

So Stokes, a Soldier from the 2nd Brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord who lives in University Place, and two other military buddies started the Piston Hounds (www.pistonhoundsscc.web) about two years ago.

"You have to be the kind of guy that goes to the junkyard and find a car and say, ‘I want to restore this,'" said the 33-year-old Southern California native. "Most of our cars aren't the best looking, but our motors are solid."

Stokes and his buddies fashioned the club in the mold of 1950s and ‘60s era Soldiers who came back from wars and wanted projects to sink their teeth into. Not those who went to the dealership and bought something new off the floor, but those who searched for a diamond in the rough and drove it while they were restoring it.

Stokes found his Mercury in Tacoma and has juggled family responsibilities and multiple deployments while finding time to work on the car. The Mercury - nicknamed "Mermie" by his 3-year-old daughter - has its original flat-head V-8 that Stokes has partially rebuilt. He's also put time into refinishing the body with the goal of one day laying a shiny coat of satin black paint on it. He drives it around town often and to work at the base every once in a while.

"When I first got it, it looked awful," Stokes said. "I'm slowly putting it together. It's a rolling project."

The club has continued to grow. While his buddies PCSed across the country, each started a new chapter in their current duty location. There are Piston Hounds all across the country - there's even a member in Switzerland.

"Everybody is a Soldier," he said.

And the club is constantly looking for new members. The only requirement is having an American car built before 1969.

And, of course, the desire to get one's hands dirty and drive it throughout the restoration process.

The Cruiser

The price of having a classic car and serving on active duty can be steep at times. Especially when cross-country moves as part of PCSing become the norm every few years. The government will pay for one daily driver to be transported, but that's not the case for secondary automobiles.

For Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Scott Benson, it's worth the price he has to pay to have his 1969 Chevy Camaro follow the family to each duty station.

"I don't want to be without it," said Benson, a Federal Way resident who's the commanding officer of the Coast Guard's Maritime Safety and Security Team in Seattle.

For Benson, the car brings the family together. Everyone piles in the blue with black racing stripes-clad muscle car for weekend drives to get ice cream or a jaunt to a local car show.

"I even drove my daughter to her prom in it," said the Wisconsin native and father of three daughters. "It's always something for us to do together."

The Coast Guard Academy graduate and 15 service veteran originally purchased the Z/28 clone in Long Island, N.Y., when he was stationed on the East Coast. Over the years - between juggling various family and career commitments - Benson has done much of the work on it himself. He rebuilt the top end of the 350 V-8 engine and added custom exhaust and suspension pieces to it. The previous owner raced it and the interior took a beating, so Benson redid the interior himself.

"I'm always in the process of converting it back to a cruiser," said Benson, who's ride packs a throaty growl and more than 400 horsepower.

The family has lived in Washington for nearly three years, and Benson joined Camaro Cruzers, a local car club, to meet other Camaro owners and open the doors for more family bonding experiences.

The Patriot

When 1st Sgt. Patrick McDonald (see cover image) sees foreign cars with Joint Base Lewis-McChord stickers on them it makes him shake his head in wonder.

"It kind of gets me," McDonald admits with a laugh.

As a Soldier with the Army Reserve's 448th Civil Affairs Battalion on JBLM, McDonald believes part of being a servicemember is supporting the U.S. economy. And that means buying American. In McDonald's case, a sleek Ford Mustang fit the bill. His personalized license plate even reads PNYSLJR, short for pony soldier.

He bought his silver 2004 Mustang GT convertible new through the Army and Air Force Exchange Service's military car sales service while he was deployed to Kosovo in 2004.

"You basically get to check off all the options of what you want and what you don't want on the car," said McDonald, who works in Olympia for Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed in his civilian job.

With the Mustang set to be the first new car McDonald ever owned, he followed its progress from afar throughout his deployment. Company officials at the Ford factory in Dearborn, Mich., were routinely e-mailing him updates and photos of what production stage the car was on. They were also determined to collaborate with McDonald to make sure the car was in Washington waiting for McDonald when he got home.

"It was neat ... I was able to pick up the car straight from the airport after coming home from my deployment," said the 50-year-old McDonald, who will hit 20 year mark in the reserves in August.

The Walla Walla native and Saint Martin's University grad loves the smooth lines of his current ride and the power the new 260-horsepower Mustang offers up once he buries the gas pedal in the floor. He's also been a member of the Mustangs West car club since 1999.

Besides the fact there are several military members in the club, McDonald likes the diversity of those with knowledge about Mustangs.

"The club is a great place to exchange ideas," said the Olympia resident.