What to do in Portland on a rainy March Saturday afternoon? When the Roadster show is
going, the choice for Kelly Sweeney and I was an easy one. We were treated to an
awesome display of automobilia. The level of craftsmanship that goes into these cars is
incredible. The paint jobs are the kind that you can look into and see yourself smiling
back. The engines are so clean you can eat off the valve covers.
We were impressed by some engine "stuff" jobs (you had to have been there to see just how small of a space you can stuff a V-10 into).
The variety of vehicles covered every kind of rolling stock; motorcycles, sprint cars, muscle cars, customs, trailer queens, and project cars. I have been told that the inventory was smaller this year than in years past. There were at least eight Plymouth Superbirds owned by the same collector brought in to help fill space. Now that there are two car shows in Portland, many of the cars that would have been at the Roadster Show were at the show two weeks earlier. I have heard that this was the last year the Multnomah Hot Rod Council will be putting on this show.
There were so many beautiful cars it would be hard to pick a favorite. Kelly fell in love
with a 1946 "?" cabover. In his mind this would be the ultimate road warrior for the
morning commute up Highway 26. I found a Ford GT40 kit that I think I would look
awfully good in.
This is a fun show to walk through and I hope the rumors of its demise are premature. I can think of only a couple of things that are more fun on a rainy afternoon.