Youth enters car in show

Ryan Gridley, a 17-year-old junior at Sisters High School, is giving his vintage muscle car one final polish before the Central Oregon Rod & Custom Show, running March 18-20 at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Redmond.

Gridley has entered the gleaming, Bahama Blue '73 Chevy Nova he and his father restored together and hopes to take home first prize in the High School Only Class.

"I got the Nova two summers ago when I was 15. It's a two-door hatchback, and I guess they're pretty rare," said Gridley. "They only made that style for two years - '73 and '74 - and you can't find parts anywhere, especially the body panels, bumpers and the lift-up back glass.

"I was doing some yardwork for my boss, Anne Heath, one day and saw it sitting there beside the house all rusting and dirty. It was a classic and I'm a big Chevy guy and thought it would be a fun project. She ended up giving it to me; I didn't ask for it... The engine had a little over 300,000 miles on it but had been rebuilt once before."

Father and son ended up spending all summer long doing mechanical adjustments, body work, and cleaning up the interior.

"For the 350 cubic-inch V-8 motor I did general tuneup maintenance and kept it stock," said Gridley. "We changed spark plugs and wires, the distributor, all the filters and fluids, belts and hoses. There was a red vinyl top on it that I had to peel off and sand all that down. The roof was full of rust and pit holes. I put a patch panel over the passenger seat in the roof, disassembled the interior, finished some minor body work, primered it and took it to Dallas Mason here in Sisters, who painted it a nice 1997 Mercedes Bahama Blue ... with white racing stripes.

"All in all I probably put over 250 hours into it. I loved the restoration process, it totally got me motivated for my college and career choice and confirmed it was exactly what I wanted to do. My dad and I did it together so it was our project and gave us some good bonding time too."

Gridley's resurrected muscle car has taken first place at three different car shows now in Fossil, Prairie City and Prineville, for Best 1970-79 Car and Best Teen Car Category. This Nova is no garage queen, but a fun, reliable daily driver Gridley takes to school and local cruise-ins.

Anyone who spends intimate time with an automobile during its rebirth develops a deep commitment and attachment to his or her metal mate.

"I call her Anna-Marie because that's my best friend's sister-in-law's name and I just thought it fit," he joked.

Gridley plans on decorating his designated floor space with a big picture frame preserving the Nova's original title and factory envelope and a series of "before and after" restoration pictures, laminated informational brochures and vintage magazine ads so people can learn all about the car's history and production.

There's also a little display with an Avon box and a mirror attached so when anyone reads it backwards, it spells out "Nova."

For the future, Gridley has the uncommon luxury of knowing precisely what his calling is.

"I'd like to go to WyoTech College in Sacramento," he said. "It's a fast-track, 12-14 month automotive college that gives you a great foundation in the automotive arts. You're in and out of there, they teach you everything from bodywork and interior to custom detailing and engine maintenance, almost anything relating to car work. I really wanted to get into restoration work and recently took some internships at local car shops for more experience. That would be my dream job."