Oregon

Jerry Campbell's 1948 Chevrolet Fleetline Aerosedan of Portland, Oregon. Campbell was a member of the Ramblers of Portland car club, and he restyled the Chevy in the early 1950s. Known for its distinctive blend of elegance and power, Campbell's meticulous customization earned national recognition, with the car being featured in Hot Rod Magazine March 1955.

Art Jones' 1948 Chevrolet Fleetline Aerosedan of Portland, Oregon. Jones was a member of the Aristocrats of Portland car club, and his car was originally restyled by Jerry Campbell in the early 1950s. After buying the car, Jones had Gene Cargail of Gene's Custom Shop rebuild it. This second iteration, showcasing bold and unique styling, was featured in Car Craft October 1959, capturing national attention and admiration.

Gene Winfield's 1935 Ford Shop Truck of Modesto, California. The '35 was Gene's second shop truck, and when he got it, half of the kustomizing had been done by Rick Lefelt. After completing the build, he started showing it in 1960. The truck was sold to a fellow named Buddy in Oregon in 1965.

Gene Winfield's 1935 Ford Shop Truck as it sat when it was found in 2008.

Jim Hill's 1921 Dodge truck of Vallejo, California. Jim was a member of the North Bay Rodsters, and the build was completed in 1951. In 1952 Jim won first prize for originality with the truck at the Oakland Roadster Show. The car was last registered in 1967. After that it stayed almost 50 years in storage in Oregon.

Bud Parham's 1925 Ford Roadster Pickup

Clayton Paddison's 1926 Ford

Justin George's 1927 Ford Model T Roadster

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Ken Austin's 1927 Ford Model T Coupe

George McIntyre's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster Pickup

Thor Sanden's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster

Bill Peterson's 1932 Ford Roadster of Portland, Oregon. The roadster was built by Bill and Dee Wescot in 1955. Once completed, the roadster won the 1956 Portland Roadster Show, becoming the first Sweepstakes Winner of the show.

Gary Guthrie's 1932 Ford 5-Window Coupe

Don Sealy's 1933 Chevrolet Pickup of Grants Pass, Oregon. Named "The Hauler," Don got the truck from a young man that stayed with him and a wife for a while in the later 1950s or the early 1960s. Don began installing the drivetrain from a wrecked 1957 Chevroler 210 around 1964-1965. The project was abandoned in 1965, but the truck remained in the family, and in 2020 it was owned by his son Robert.

Wayne Mahaffey's 1935 Ford Phaeton

Dee Wescott's 1936 Ford Roadster

Ed Park's 1936 Ford Convertible of Marshall, Missouri. Ed's '36 was originally restyled by Red Swanson of Portland, Oregon in 1944. R.I. Steere of Tacoma, Washington continued restyling it in the early 1950s. Ed bought the car in 1959. After buying it, he parked it in his parent's chicken house until 1977. In 1977 he started a restoration that he completed in 1983. Since then the car has gone through a couple of iterations. Ed still owned the car in 2020. He had thousands of miles on the car since the restoration, and he was still working on it.

Delwyn Triska’s 1936 Ford 5-Window Coupe of Kagel Canyon, California. Del's coupe was restyled in the late 1940 or the early 1950s. He bought it in 1948 or 1949, shortly after he had graduated high school. In 1996 Delwyn moved to Oregon, bringin the old custom along.

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Dick Bertolucci's 1938 Chevrolet was found in Veneta, Oregon. The current owner planned to convert the old custom into a 4 wheel drive, but Carl Hoganson of Eugene bought and saved the car.

Gale Morris' 1940 Mercury, restyled by Art Center Design School student Gale Morris

Gerry Huth's 1940 Mercury Convertible got sold to Tom Black of Portland, Oregon

Dick Katz' 1949 Chevrolet Sport Coupe of Dalles, Oregon was built by Dee Wescott.

Larry Watson's 1950 Chevrolet - The Grapevine was sold to Jim Becker of Albany, Oregon in 1958. The car stayed in Oregon until it was destroyed in the mid 1960s.

Randy Rhoades' 1950 Chevrolet of Eugene, Oregon. Randy's Chevrolet was built as a clone of the "Heartless" version of Larry Watson's 1950 Chevrolet. The build was started in 1995 and completed in 1997.

B. M. Buckley's 1950 Chrysler New Yorker

A. J. Fisher's 1950 Ford, of Oregon was built by Alex McPherson.

Bill Schott's 1950 Ford Coupe of Portland, Oregon. Bill was a charter member of The Kings of Portland. He bought the Ford late in 1958 and had Wilkenson’s Body Shop lower the car for him.

Roger Cunningham's 1950 Ford Convertible of Portland was restyled around 1955/1956.

Al Forrester's 1950 Mercury Hardtop

Stanley Benett's 1950 Mercury - The Scorpe

Ron Courtney's 1951 Ford of McMinnville, Oregon was restyled by Ron between 1954 and 1956. The car was known as the X-51, and it was the only custom Ron ever built.

Bill Hoffman's 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air of Portland, Oregon as it appeared in 1959.

Dee Wescott's 1953 Oldsmobile

Don Ellis' 1955 Ford Thunderbird of Portland, Oregon. Ellis was a member of the Ramblers of Portland car club, and the Thunderbird was restyled by several of the guys in the club. The build was started in 1958 and completed in 1959.

Marv Shetler's 1932 Ford Tudor Sedan of Scott Mills, Oregon. Marv bought the Ford in Kansas in 1962, while he was in college. At the end of the school year in 1963 he drove the car back to Oregon.

Sy Gregorich's 1955 Ford Crown Victoria - The Victorian of Detroit, Michigan was restyled by the Alexander Brothers, and was first completed in 1959. By 1963, it was owned by Buddy Parazoo of Portland, Oregon.

Bill Schott's 1956 Chevrolet Corvette of Portland, Oregon. Bill was a member of The Kings of Portland car club, and his Corvette was mildly restyled by Von Hunter in 1960.

Ron Luchs' 1956 Chevrolet 150 Sedan - Miss Taboo

Donn Varner's 1956 Ford F-100

Bob Caldwell's 1957 Chevrolet Corvette

Von Hunter's 1957 Chevrolet Corvette of Portland, Oregon. This was Von's personal car. Built from a crashed car, the build was completed sometime around 1967.

Bill Schott's 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 of Portland, Oregon. Bill was a member of The Kings of Portland car club, and his Fairlane was mildly restyled by Von Hunter in 1961.

Von Hunter's 1957 Plymouth

John Toohey's 2E-"T" Ford Model R Toadster of Eugene, Oregon. Built by John, the car made its debut in 1965, at the Portland Roadster Show.

John Toohey's Royal-T Ford Model T C Cab of Eugene, Oregon. Built by John, the build was completed in 1966.

John Toohey's Ice T of Eugene, Oregon. The shortened Model T Touring car was Toohey's third full hot rod build, and he completed it about 1967.

Chuck bought and owned Bob Huffman's 1965 Chevrolet Impala for a while.

The 2nd annual Portland Roadster Show was held October 18 thru 20, 1957 at the Multnomah County Fair Grounds in Gresham, Oregon.

Bob Schoonhoven's 1921 Ford Model T Roadster of Battle Ground, Washington. Known as "Lil' Louie," the build was started in a basement in Vancouver, Washington in 1961. By 1967 Bob had turned it into a show-stopping sweepstakes winner, and it was featured on the cover of Rod & Custom June 1968, who called it "One of America's Top Ten T Buckets Ever Built." The car was later sold to Richard Laughlin of Portland, Oregon.

Clyde Wooten's 1958 Pontiac Chieftain of Portland, Oregon. Featuring bodywork by Paul Gilbert and paint by Mike Parsons, the car made its debut in 2014.

Cedric Meeks' 1931 Ford Model A Roadster of Portland, Oregon. Cedric completed the build early in 2017, and it made its first public appearance at the 2017 Grand National Roadster Show.

Russ Meeks' 1955 Ford of Portland, Oregon. The build was completed in January of 2018 and it made its first public appearance at the 2018 Grand National Roadster Show.

Tom Griffin's 1950 Ford of Portland, Oregon. Griffin owned the car in 2024. The full history of the sectioned Ford is not known, and it is rumored to be an old custom originally restyled in the early 1950s.

Norm Milne's 1931 Ford was sold to Randy Lackey of Randy Rods Inc. Williams, Oregon.

Gene Winfield's 1935 Ford was located in Oregon in 2008.

Dick Bertolucci's 1938 Chevrolet was found in Oregon in the 1990's.

Sy Gregorich's 1955 Ford Crown Victoria - The Victorian was owned by Buddy Parazoo of Portland, Oregon in 1963.

The Skylane Motor Special was moved to Oregon in the 1970's.

The History of Northwest Hot Rodding

According to Albert Drake, the unique development of hot rodding in the Northwest, particularly Oregon, was influenced by its proximity to California, the birthplace of hot rodding. Oregon's favorable climate and varied topography offered a perfect environment for the year-round driving and tinkering of hot rods. The tradition in the Northwest was characterized by ingenuity and a sense of craft. According to Tom "Stroker McGurk" Medley, Oregon had a reputation for "fine machines." The surge of hot rodding in the region was propelled by the lack of information, which led enthusiasts to rely on instinct and common sense to build high-speed, well-crafted machines. This movement gained momentum in the mid-20th century, paralleling the rise of publications like Hot Rod magazine that shared technical knowledge and fostered a community of like-minded builders and racers.^[1]