Portland

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. In 2014 the truck was advertised for sale in Portland, Orgeon.

Bud Parham's 1925 Ford Roadster Pickup

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.

Clayton Paddison's 1926 Ford

Thor Sanden's 1929 Ford Model A Roadster

Justin George's 1927 Ford Model T 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

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.

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

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Gerry Huth's 1940 Mercury was sold to Tom Black of Portland

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

Al Forrester's 1950 Mercury Hardtop

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. In 1974 it was sold to John Corno of Portland, Oregon.

Bill Hoffman's 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air 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.

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 was found in Portland in 1987.

Donn Varner's 1956 Ford F-100

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

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.

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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.

According to Slo Poks of Vancouver member David Donaldson, Portland was the Los Angeles of the Northwest when it came to hot rods and custom cars back in the days.^[1] Well-known Portland hot rodder, author, and historian Albert Drake remember seeing a hot rod in Portland for the first time in 1947. By 1950 there were hundreds of hot rods and customs in the area. "It seemed impossible not to see a fixed-up car on every block," he writes in an excerpt from 1982, describing the cars as "a lowered and skirted Chevy fastback, a '40 Ford with '49 Plymouth bumpers, a Nash Lafayette with dual pipes, a '39 Dodge coupe with inset license plate and painted that new Ford Crestliner color 'Chartreuse.' Some had warmed-up engine, but most were stockers, and provided sharp everyday transportation."^[2]