Pharaohs Make National News Cars in The Park

Monthly
Newsletter
Cars in The Park
Volume 3, Issue 6
August, 2011
Contact Us:
Members of the Pharaohs were
14936 SE Wyeast Ave.
invited by the Multnomah Hot
Damascus, OR 97089
Rod Council to take part in the
Cars in the Park event that took
place each Saturday in the
Portland Park Blocks in front of
Executive Board Meeting
the Portland Art Museum. The
Held Previously
Art Museum is hosting the amazing Allure of the AutomoRegular Club Meeting
bile event. If you have not been yet, you need to go before Mon,
August 15th @ 7:00 pm
Sept. 11th. This will be the only time you will see these
Round Table Pizza 122nd
fine one of a kind or rare automobiles
Cruise In &
in the same venue. It was a great
Car Show Calendar
time and many thanks to the MHRC
*See Pages 8,9,10
for allowing us the opportunity to
participate and for the great lunch!
Pharaohs Make National News
Pharaohs Brad Groff and David Jothen both had their cars featured
on National websites recently. Brad’s 1960 DeSoto Adventurer
was featured on PopularRestorations.Com, while David’s 1955
Chevy was chosen Car of the Month by the readers of
CoolRidesOnline.Com. See pieces on their cars on the following
pages. Congrats to Brad & David!
WWW.PHARAOHSSTREETRODDERS.COM
Our Mission:
It is the purpose and mission of the Pharaohs Street
Rodders to provide a social
organization for those
interested in the promotion
and development of Hot
Rod, Classic, Antique and
Special Interest vehicles in
the PDX/Vancouver area.
Member Feature:
Steve Stabler’s 1962 Buick Wildcat
In 1986 I bought my first car, a 1962 Buick LeSabre 2 door hardtop. After a partial
restoration, I sold it in 2000 to a guy in Michigan. I used this money to move from
Northern California to Portland Oregon. After being in Oregon for about 6 years, I
started a business called GET BENT! Exhaust & Auto Repair. I decided to see if I could
sell exhaust mufflers and tips at the Portland Swap Meet. While there a friend told me
about this white Wildcat at Portland International Raceway for sale on the race track. I
decided to take a look at it, only to find a complete, un-butchered 1962 Wildcat 2 door
hardtop with only 43,000 original miles. It was one of the cars of my dreams. It looked
like my LeSabre, but instead was white on the outside. The red vinyl interior was the
same color as my first car. I had to get this car. I saved a few pennies and bought the
car. Blue book on this car back in 2007 was estimated at $17,000, but since a Wildcat
doesn’t exist on the Kelley blue books, we had to go with an Invicta. The Wildcat is
basically a Invicta on steroids. Better, tighter suspension, a special Wildcat trim, vinyl
roof, bucket seats, console and much more.
After driving from Veneta Oregon to get her, I noticed a drop of water drip on my lap
from the rain outside. I knew the windshield seal was hard and needed replacing. But
since I knew the stainless trim, vinyl roof and more needed to be removed I felt the project would cascade into a full restoration. Plus, if the glass
broke in the re-installation, a NOS windshield would run $1600. I asked my wife if I could restore her and she said yes, amazingly.
I hired my nephew and he and I disassembled the car to a mere shell. I had her media blasted with walnuts to bare metal. Since the floors looked
great I had the trunk and floorboards bed lined form Extreme coatings on Sandy Blvd. After that, she went to the blasters again this time to do the
exterior, doors, trunk and hood. Then I trailered her to the body shop. After 200+ hours of work at Clackamas Auto Body, the paint was done. I
then took her to the upholsterer. While Premier Upholstery was doing the interior, I stopped by for the next 2 months for 2 hours a day before heading to work so I can assemble the trim, grill, bumpers and everything else. In 2 months the interior was done and I drove her home. The whole process from start to finish was 8 months.
I then drove to the previous owner’s house so he could see the vehicle. He called his dad after seeing her and then he told me the story of the car.
He, the Dad was the original owner. He and his wife bought the car at Brailey and Graham in Portland Oregon. They heard of the Wildcat at the
dealership but they had no papers to see or brochures as the Wildcat never made it into production until much later. The brochures made were later
introduced in the late fall. He stated they had the car for roughly 18 years then they sold it. The second owners drove it for 8 years then parked it on
the side of their house, again in Veneta Oregon. After driving through a neighborhood, the original owners son seen the car and bought it so he could
give it back to his father. His father stated that he enjoyed the car and wanted others to do so that’s why he sold her. So, now the son has a car he
couldn’t have to keep as he did not have the space. Plus, he owns a restored 1968 Corvette and he stated he was way upside down in money from
restoration. So, that’s why he sold her.
He stated while I we were signing the papers that he was so close into keeping the Buick as the car drove smooth, the power sunk you into the seat
even at high speeds, and he said was the most comfortable car he ever drove. He couldn’t believe the power brakes as they are the best ever drum/
drum brakes made as HOT ROD magazine stated in an article about the best of the best. He couldn’t believe you could turn a cars steering wheel at
a stop with your pinky, until he drove a Buick. He just thought the car was much better built than his ‘vette and drove like a Cadillac, but with the
power of a muscle car.
All in all, he was glad to see such a beautiful car get so much care and the restoration it truly deserved.
I have taken her to a few events and sure she won trophies, but isn’t it about the ride and not the trophies? So, now when I go to events I just show
the car off to people who don’t know Buicks. Sometimes I hear people telling me old time stories about their parents or grandparents owning a
Buick. That it was the best car they ever were a passenger in when they were growing up. That is why I show her. Trophies are ok, but the rewards
are when I see smiles on people’s faces telling me about their history in Buicks.
Stats: Production: Estimated 2000. Remaining: 27 Documented. 47,000 Original Miles. Engine: 401 “Nailhead”, 325 bhp & 445 lbs. of Torque.
Special items: Power steering, Power 12” brakes with aluminum front drums, rear defroster, Power windows, 3;42 Positraction, first model of Wildcat introduced midyear 1962, first car made in GM history to have vinyl roof, first year of bucket seats with center console with factory tach. Miles
on motor, 47,000 never rebuilt. Submitted by Steve Stabler.
WWW.PHARAOHSSTREETRODDERS.COM
Brad Groff’s 1960 DeSoto Adventurer
Featured on PopularRestorations.com
Taken from PopularRestorations.Com:
Brad Groff remembers the car his grandfather drove. It was huge. The kind of car where a
youngster could curl up on the back seat and sleep all the way home from a weekend outing. The car was quiet and plush with expensive
upholstery. And it was stylish, with a
was the kind of car that brings back
massive amount of chrome for a grill and soaring fins at the rear to mark the passing miles. It
pleasant memories.
“I loved that car,” Groff says. “When I got old enough to begin collecting cars, I went searching for a ’57
DeSoto.” And he found one. “It was in Sacramento, so I used up all my Alaska Airlines miles and booked a
flight to go look at it,” he says. But a funny thing happened on the way to Sacramento. “A few days before I was set to leave, I spotted an
e-Bay listing for 1960 DeSoto. “The car was in Utah, and it just so happened that Alaska had routed me through Utah on the way to
California.”
He called the owner of the 1960 Adventurer and asked if there was any chance he could look at the car during his one hour layover. “You
remember those old O.J. Simpson ads with him running through the airport? That was me. “I got off the plane and began running through the terminal. I got to the front
door just as the DeSoto was pulling up.”
He did a couple laps around the airport parking lot, took a glance underneath, thanked the owner for his time and scrambled back
through security to make his next flight. “The car in Sacramento was awful,” he said. “It was everything the 1960 was not. It stalled
four or five times during the test. It had new floor boards welded in on top of the rusty old ones.”
He flew back to Portland, Oregon and placed his bid on the ’60. The reserve price was modest and Groff’s bid was conservative, so he
was surprised when he won the auction. “The seller told me he had someone else, a doctor, who had offered him substantially more for
the car outside the auction. But he was an honest man and agreed to abide by the auction rules.”
Groff sweetened the deal by paying the seller to do some work on the car before it was trucked to Portland. “It needed some front end
work. He’s the guy who restored the car in the late ‘80s so he knew all about it, so it made sense to have him do the work on it.”
In the four years since buying the DeSoto, Groff has done mostly detail work to the car. He replaced the stock 14-inch wheels with
15-inch wire rims and period looking tires. The bulk of the chrome trim was removed and replated. “The front bumper is so large that
the local shop couldn’t handle it, so the bumper went back to Utah to be refinished.” Groff says the car still needs a bit of attention.
There are a few problems emerging in traditional trouble spots in the body. “It’s an older restoration, so you have to expect a few
issues here and there,” he says. But the age and miles driven since the DeSoto was restored give it the patina of a driver...not a trailer
queen.
As an automotive swan song, it is hard to imagine anything more impressive than the 1960 DeSoto Adventurer. It was built in an era when designers had free rein to
explore the limits of what their draft pencils and fertile imaginations could conceive, unrestricted by the restraints of corporate average fuel economy. In today’s world of
plastic coated compacts, it is easy to forget just how big the full-size cars of 50 years ago actually were.
Weighing in at just under 2-tons, there was nothing subtle about this graceful, two-door hardtop, with 18 feet of sculpted sheet metal flowing liquid like from the leading
edge of a massive chrome grill to the tips of the twin tail fins. The Adventurer line began in 1956 as the just slightly down-market version of the Chrysler 300-D,
considered the performance benchmark of the era.
“When people see the car, half of them think it is a Chrysler 300 and the other half want to know when Cadillac built it,” he says.
And while
Groff loves the style of his ’60, and the looks and trophies it gets when on display, he’s still searching for that ’57. “I just have to find the right
one.” The ’60 may be beautiful, but it is hard to compete with a memory
WWW.PHARAOHSSTREETRODDERS.COM
David Jothen’s 55 Chevy 150 2dr. Post
Chosen Car of the Month by CoolRidesOnline.com
David’s 55 Chevy was chosen by the members of the Cool
Rides Online website as their Car of the Month for July.
Members can view the various photo galleries of the members of the site and vote for their favorites. The car with the
highest vote total in that particular month is awarded a certificate recognizing them as the Car of the Month, a Cool
Rides Online T-shirt and over $100 of goodies from the
member sponsors of the web site. Here is the text from
David’s photo album for his “Old School” 55 Chevy.
My Old School 55 Chevy. From rust bucket to show winner.
This is not a "Trailer Queen", I drive it every chance that I
get and it's at car shows every weekend. Class Winner in the
2011 Portland Roadster Show and has been invited to the
2012 Salem Roadster Show. 17 Trophies thus far in 2011.
1955 Chevrolet 150 2 Door Post
ZZ3 345 bhp GM crate motor
Aluminum heads
Hydraulic Lifters
Roller cam
MSD Electronic Ignition
750 CFM Double Pumper Spread bore Carburetor
Hooker (jet coated) headers
Powder Coated Intake Manifold
Aluminum Griffith Radiator with built in
transmission cooler
2700 cfm electric cooling fan
400 Turbo Transmission
B&M Torque Converter, shift kit and B&M floor shifter.
Nova Rear End
Disk Brakes Front
Dropped Spindles in front & 2" blocks in rear
Shaved Chrome.
Electric Doors & Trunk Release.
55 Nomad Rear Bumper.
Ididit Chrome Tilt Column
Reproduction 15" Steering Wheel.
Custom Interior and Rear Package Tray.
Coys Wheels, 18" Front, 20" Rear
Trunk Mounted Optima Battery w/ Custom Billet Holder.
Trunk Mounted 10 Disk CD Changer
Original Bias Ply Spare Tire w/original 55 Chevy Hubcap.
WWW.PHARAOHSSTREETRODDERS.COM
Pharaohs Hitting the Car Shows!
Corbett 4th of July Show
Dave & Tami Kuhn in the Parade
Trophy Winner: Saleen Dave
Jack Daggett in the Parade
Trophy Winner:
Dave & Tami Kuhn
Trophy Winner:
David Jothen
WWW.PHARAOHSSTREETRODDERS.COM
Dennis Earl in the Parade
Trophy Winner:
Jack Daggett
Pharaohs Hitting the Car Shows!
North Bonneville
Friday Night Fun! David & Diane Jothen’s 53 Olds 98 Holiday Coupe, Dave & Tami Kuhn’s 60 Metro,
Jack Daggett’s 86 Buick Grand National and Mike Meza & Romayne’s 50 Hudson
Dave & Tami Kuhn’s
55 Ford F100
Mike Meza’s
50 Hudson
Don Brown’s
56 Pontiac Chieftain Wagon
Keith Preskey’s
46 Chevrolet
David Jothen’s
55 Chevy 150
Jack Daggett’s
86 Buick G/N
WWW.PHARAOHSSTREETRODDERS.COM
Pharaohs Hitting the Car Shows!
Cruisin the Gut
Big Al’s
Dave & Tami Kuhn’s
55 Ford F100
Trophy Winner: Best of Show
Mike Meza
Ratty Caddy w/
Questionable passenger
Sandy Fly-In/Cruise-In
Keith Preskey’s
Studebaker
Keith Preskey
Suds at the
Sanitarium
David & Diane Jothen’s
55 Chevy & 51 Chevy
Boppin’ Bo’s
Trophy Winner:
Romayne
Trophy Winner:
Dennis Earl
Trophy Winner:
Mike Meza
Trophy Winner:
Best 55-56-57
David Jothen’s 55 Chevy
Trophy Winner:
Mike Meza
Trophy Winner:
Dennis Earl
August Cruise-In & Car Show Calendar
August 10
Billy Bob’s Endless Summer Cruise In
4:00-7:30 *Weather Permitting
257th & Division Gresham
$8.00 per car
Raffles, Trophies
August 12-14
Cruise the Gorge 2011
Variety of Events
The Dalles, Oregon
Www.midcolumbiacarclub.org
August 13
Rockin’ Round the Block
8:00 to 3:00
Historic Downtown Gresham
$20.00 Admission
503-666-1568
August 13
9th Annual Vintage & Specialty Car & Truck Show
11:00 to 4:00
Heritage Park, Scappoose, OR
$15.00 per car
Dash Plaques, Trophies, Food
503-543-7090
August 13
All Truck Show
9:00 to 12:00
Fat Moose Bar & Grill, Woodland, WA
$15.00 per car
Dash Plaques, Trophies, Goodie Bags
August 13
6th Annual Route 99 Car Show
Valley View Retirement Village, McMinnville, OR
9:00 to 2:00
15600 SW Rock of Ages Rd.
$15.00 Registration
Trophies, Prizes
Www.macautoclub.com
August 13
9th Annual Mid-Valley Cruise
9:00-4:00
2817 Santiam Hwy, SE. Albany, OR
Free
Live Music, Trophies
August 13
1st Annual Kruse In at Kruse Way
11:00 to 3:00
4550 Carman Dr. Lake Oswego
Free
Door Prizes, Music, BBQ
August 14
Sizzling Summer Car & Hot Rod Show
9:00 to 3:00
8515 SW Tualatin-Sherwood Rd
Dash Plaques, Raffle, Trophies
503-692-6297
August 16-21
9th Annual Vintage Thunderbird Convention
Various Activities
Red Lion Inn Jantzen Beach
Www.nwtbirds.com
August 17
Billy Bob’s Endless Summer Cruise In
4:00-7:30 *Weather Permitting
257th & Division Gresham
$8.00 per car
Raffles, Trophies
August 20
9th Annual City Harvest Church City Car Show
Jason Lee Middle School
8100 NW 9th, Vancouver, WA
9:00 to 3:00
$10.00 per car. $5.00 ea. Additional class
Keith 360-600-8412
WWW.PHARAOHSSTREETRODDERS.COM
August Cruise-In & Car Show Calendar
August 20
Cruise the Road to Damascus
8:00-3:00
Damascus Community Church
14251 SE Rust Way
$15.00 per car
Free T-Shirt first 100, Dash Plaques, Free Lunch, Engine Blow,
Raffles, Trophies,
August 20
6th Annual Old Time Cruise to Estacada
12:00-4:00
Downtown Estacada
$15.00
Dash Plaques, Goodie Bags, Trophies
August 20
Wapato Showdown
Gaston, OR
8:00-4:00
$15.00 per car
Prizes, Trophies, Various Events
Info: Don Allen 503-985-95848
August 20
8th Annual Banks Car Show
8:00 to 3:00
$12.00 Entry Fee
Sunset Park, Banks, OR
Dash Plaques & Free T-Shirt first 100, Trophies
Info: 503-324-9550
August 20
4th Annual Car Show
$15.00
Molalla Fountain Plaza, Molalla, OR
Trophies
Info: Andrea 503-759-3764
August 20
11th Annual Classic Car Cruise In
10:00 to 3:00
Highland Community Church
4100 SE 182nd Gresham, OR
$10.00 Entry fee
Dash Plaques, Raffle, Trophies
503-665-6618
August 21
2nd Annual Classic Car & BBQ Event
10:00 to 2:30
Happy Valley, OR
Free– Bring a toy for Emmanuel Children’s Hospital
Trophies,
August 21
Les Schwab Cruise In
10:00-2:00
122nd & SE Division. Portland, OR
$15.00 per car
Dash Plaques, Raffle, Trophies,
August 21
Cruise In 2011
Life Christian Center
5497 SE International Way. Portland, OR
11:00-4:00
$10.00 per car
Dash Plaques, Food, Trophies
503-656-5433
August 21
12th Annual Cadillac & LaSalle Car Show
Gateway Elks
711 NE 100th. Portland, OR
9:00-3:00
$10.00 per car
Prizes, Live DJ, Awards
503-775-7754
WWW.PHARAOHSSTREETRODDERS.COM
August Cruise-In & Car Show Calendar
August 27
Cruise In by the Park
9:00-2:00
Canby, OR
503-266-9860
August 27
Start, Stomp & Go End of Summer Car Show
9:00-3:00
Camas High School
26900 SE 15th
$15.00
Dash Plaques, Goodie Bags, Trophies
August 27
Rod Run for the Lord
Northeast Baptist Church
6701 NE Prescott. Portland, OR
10:00-3:00
$12.00 per car
Free BBQ, Music, Games, Prizes, Raffle
August 27
1st Annual Free Fun Run
9:00 to 4:00
Starts at old GI Joes parking lot on McLoughlin in Milwaukie
Ends at Albertsons on S. Beavercreek Rd. in Oregon City
503-222-MHMF
Www.mhmf.com
August 27
2nd Annual Cruising for a Cure
Van Mall Leisure Retirement Community
7808 NE 51st St. Vancouver, WA
Prizes, Food, DJ
Info: 360-896-9140
August 27
Flying Eagle “A’s” Annual Car Show & Cruise In
10:00 to 2:00
America’s Tire Warehouse
8120 NE Vancouver Plaza Dr.
$10.00 Entry fee
Dash Plaques, Raffle, Trophys
360-907-3566
WWW.PHARAOHSSTREETRODDERS.COM
Many Thanks to all of our Sponsors & Volunteers at the Ralph McKee Show
Please Support our Trophy Sponsors!
Weston Buick-KIA
Get Bent Exhaust
Aging Resources
Human Bean Coffee
Lovely Tire & Wheel
Donna Tallman: State Farm Ins.
Canton Grill
David G. Photography
David Jothen: KMO Realtors
Diamond Custom Construction
DR Steinke Construction
Junk Away Hauling
Laura Steinke: Chrome Classic
Car Insurance
McGraw Marketing
Mitch Kim
NAPA Beaverton
NW Classic Auto Mall
Pizza Roma
Punky Salon
Pup Scrub Self Serve Pet Wash
Rex Heating
Rob Hansen
The Sunset Group Realtors
Vendors, Performers & More!
Milwaukie Elks Club
Ron Ruedi-Music
David G. Photography
Junk Away Hauling
Lynne Versheuren-Canteen Corp.
Milwaukie HS Cheerleaders
Monique Stabler
Mountain Man Snacks
NW Classic Auto Mall
Spiderman Pinstriping
WWW.PHARAOHSSTREETRODDERS.COM