Dreamcast18
05-13-2008, 12:17 AM
A gathering of a few friends becomes a car show that's a Portland tradition
Saturday, May 03, 2008
By JERRY F
It sounded like a good idea at the time, remembers Al Stewart.
He and a couple of fellow employees at Portland Transmission Warehouse would close up shop at noon on Saturday and invite a few friends to come by with their street rods and special cars.
They would park in the shop lot, share a beer or two, cook a few hot dogs and enjoy the special fellowship of friends with a common passion. That's how it was supposed to happen.
"It was raining and bitterly cold," Stewart said. "We huddled inside the building just trying to keep warm. It was awful."
"I figured the get-together was a good idea that just didn't pan out," Stewart said. "But at the end of the day everyone said we should do it again next year."
And after 25 years, the event is still going on -- but with a lot more friends. As many as 500 cars and 2,500 people will fill the streets and wander through parking lots south of Hawthorne Boulevard next Saturday, May 10, in an event considered by many auto enthusiasts to be the sign that winter is finally over.
The PTW shop is at 1016 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., but if you plan to attend, assume you will be walking a few blocks because the streets get crowded with street rods and show cars.
The informal show has become a gathering of the faithful for men and women who spend all winter in the garage or shop, building engines, painting bodies, sculpting fender flares, adding flames, or simply rubbing and buffing their favorite toy.
"You see cars here you won't see anywhere else," said Ross Bradshaw, PTW general manager. "For some folks, this is the first time they will bring their cars out in public."
Bradshaw said what makes the annual gathering such an event is that it hasn't lost its focus.
"It is still meant for the car people," he said. There is no entry fee, no admission charge, no bill for the hot dog, soda or cookie.
Stewart added there are no trophies awarded, other than a few special prizes awarded in the name of fellow gearheads.
Stewart said the crowd brings a wide range of vehicles, from early Model T roadsters to muscle cars. He plans to drive his Plymouth Prowler.
"I've gone modern," he said, by way of an apology.
For people simply interested in neat cars and trucks -- and even an expected tank as part of the military-vehicle display -- it is an opportunity to look at pieces of motorized art and be able to talk to the men and women who own and build them.
So, bring a camera.
The show begins at 7 a.m. and closes four hours later.
http://www.oregonlive.com/info/drivetime/index.ssf?/base/automotive/1209765318327160.xml&coll=7
Saturday, May 03, 2008
By JERRY F
It sounded like a good idea at the time, remembers Al Stewart.
He and a couple of fellow employees at Portland Transmission Warehouse would close up shop at noon on Saturday and invite a few friends to come by with their street rods and special cars.
They would park in the shop lot, share a beer or two, cook a few hot dogs and enjoy the special fellowship of friends with a common passion. That's how it was supposed to happen.
"It was raining and bitterly cold," Stewart said. "We huddled inside the building just trying to keep warm. It was awful."
"I figured the get-together was a good idea that just didn't pan out," Stewart said. "But at the end of the day everyone said we should do it again next year."
And after 25 years, the event is still going on -- but with a lot more friends. As many as 500 cars and 2,500 people will fill the streets and wander through parking lots south of Hawthorne Boulevard next Saturday, May 10, in an event considered by many auto enthusiasts to be the sign that winter is finally over.
The PTW shop is at 1016 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd., but if you plan to attend, assume you will be walking a few blocks because the streets get crowded with street rods and show cars.
The informal show has become a gathering of the faithful for men and women who spend all winter in the garage or shop, building engines, painting bodies, sculpting fender flares, adding flames, or simply rubbing and buffing their favorite toy.
"You see cars here you won't see anywhere else," said Ross Bradshaw, PTW general manager. "For some folks, this is the first time they will bring their cars out in public."
Bradshaw said what makes the annual gathering such an event is that it hasn't lost its focus.
"It is still meant for the car people," he said. There is no entry fee, no admission charge, no bill for the hot dog, soda or cookie.
Stewart added there are no trophies awarded, other than a few special prizes awarded in the name of fellow gearheads.
Stewart said the crowd brings a wide range of vehicles, from early Model T roadsters to muscle cars. He plans to drive his Plymouth Prowler.
"I've gone modern," he said, by way of an apology.
For people simply interested in neat cars and trucks -- and even an expected tank as part of the military-vehicle display -- it is an opportunity to look at pieces of motorized art and be able to talk to the men and women who own and build them.
So, bring a camera.
The show begins at 7 a.m. and closes four hours later.
http://www.oregonlive.com/info/drivetime/index.ssf?/base/automotive/1209765318327160.xml&coll=7