News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sisters' summer sunshine added extra gleam to premium paint jobs and custom chrome of 189 classic cars gathered last weekend for the annual Customs Northwest High Desert Custom Classic.
The show ran from Friday, July 28 through Sunday, July 30, at Sisters Comfort Inn. There were 25 more cars this year than last, marking the growing popularity of the show among custom car aficionados.
There were more than a few cars from Sisters parked on the concourse at the motel and RV park. Steve McGhehey showed off his black Corvette next to a red and white 1955 Chevy two-door hardtop owned by Dick Hess of Sisters.
Hess tracked down his car in Tennessee, through the good offices of a car broker.
"He sent me pictures and I couldn't resist," Hess said. "I sit in it and it takes me back to my youth."
Most folks acquire a restored car the way Hess did, or they find an old beater and restore it to better-than-new condition.
Not many can claim to have owned their classic from its creation.
Floyd Duncan can.
He was working as a Dodge mechanic in Baker City, Oregon, in 1950 when he decided to get himself a truck for hunting, fishing and driving to work. He flew to Detroit and drove his big 1950 Dodge truck right off the assembly line.
In 1955, he put a new 396 hemi engine in the truck and turned it into a powerful, rugged rig for an outdoorsman. He built a camper on it and, looking at his scrap book, it is clear the truck served him well.
Duncan turned from auto mechanics to farming.
"I found out I didn't want to be in that building all day long," he recalled. "I like to be outside."
He burned a rod in the engine and consigned the big truck to his boneyard at the farm -- for 33 years. Upon selling the farm, Duncan decided to restore that old truck to its former glory -- and way beyond.
"I took every bolt out of it, from one end to the other," Duncan said.
It took him a few years, working on and off, but he rebuilt the truck and added a beautiful wood trunk to the bed. The only work he didn't do himself was painting and carpeting. The result is a magnificent, one-owner piece of classic Americana.
Car show participants and spectators enjoyed hot summer weather for a street cruise, a dance and plenty of car talk.
According to organizers, the show drew one driver all the way from the province of Quebec, Canada.
Richard Martineau drove from Dosquet, Quebec, in a 1932 Ford T-bucket.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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