Car lovers find lots of horsepower and chrome in Sisters

Cool cruisers, hot street rods and monster muscle machines lined Main Avenue on Saturday for the fourth annual Sisters Glory Daze Car Show, offering a glimpse back in time, to when fierce legends and custom rides ruled the road.

Bright sunlight gleamed off metallic paint and chrome from dozens of vintage vehicles entered in the judged divisions and categories.

Amid the parade of standouts, a racing-green 1926 Bugatti roadster rolled in from Bend, owned by Deb Deryke, parking right beside a brilliant red '68 Camaro convertible and a luscious lemon-yellow '49 Chevy custom coupe, dropped down low for comfortable cruising on warm summer nights.

Car lovers roamed the pavement picking out their favorites, gawking at steel braided hosing and dual-quads, chatting with owners and dreaming of one day keeping one of these historic iron classics inside a garage of their own.

Gregory Shingler from Bend sat in a red camp chair beside a spotless 1969 Z-28 Camaro, sipping Gatorade and soaking up the afternoon sun.

"I bought this car 37 years ago back in California," he said, proudly circling the car. "It's all completely stock original with the 302-cubic-inch motor and chambered exhaust option. I had it painted Cortez Silver last year. I love the Z-28 because it has a lot of history and it's pretty darn fun to drive too. This is my first year to the Sisters show with this car. The weather's been great today and I see a lot of super nice cars."

Models and makes from the glory days of automobile manufacturing of the '50s, '60s and '70s were present, with hoods up and tops down, each one buffed and shined to a detailed mirror finish. Road Runners and Novas, an Olds 88 next to a Ford Ranchero wagon, just down the street from an ice green Shelby Cobra packing a 428, all with tails tucked in with orderly precision, in correct compliance with the controversial new parking rules.

Macalister McIntire, 9, was out roaming the rods with his mom, learning and looking at all the fine specimens on four wheels spread out down the blocks.

"I like hearing about how some of the cars were built and where they found them," he said. "The best was the Deer Creek Construction monster truck around the corner. The guy who made it accidentally caught himself on fire when he built it. It was really big, the tires were even taller than me."

That gargantuan truck was designed by Brian Keast of Sisters, who recently moved to the area from California, or as he put it, "escaped." The massive '96 Ford F-350 crew-cab pickup drew many shocked admirers to stand in its awesome presence and snap smartphone shots to share with friends.

"I put it together myself and figure I've got 3,000-3,500 total hours into it," he explained. "It runs on propane and diesel and I get about 14-15 miles per gallon on the highway. I love to construct and design things, and the whole project evolved slowly over three-and-a-half years. It has four video cameras and four-wheel steering. Just one tire and rim weighs 530 pounds. I used to have a license plate on it back in California that said "KINDA BIG" because of all the sarcastic comment I'd hear -"Kinda big, isn't it?"

After the final judging, Best In Show was awarded to a 1955 Corvette roadster owned by Rodger Dwight. The People's Choice Prize went to Nancy Wilson's bright red '35 Chevy with four suicide doors. Wilson's ride also took first prize in the Ladies Choice category.