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We attended the inaugural Sequim Prairie Nights car show on Saturday, August 19th, up in Sequim, Washington. For those of you that aren’t familiar with the area, Sequim is so far north in the state that it boarders the Straight of Juan De Fuca and sits in the rain shadow of the nearby Olympic Mountains. They see only a fraction of the rain the rest of the region does. while Seattle is sopping wet, the residents of Sequim are likely out enjoying the sunshine.
There really was a little of everything at this show.
The show opened for participants and registration at 7:30am where teams of volunteers had already been working and were setting up for the show, directing traffic, and managing parking. By the time we got there at about 8:00am, the street was already filling up and there were tons of great cars lined out and ready for the show.
The Olympic Peninsula Rat Racers was one of the clubs that came out to represent at the first annual Sequim Prairie Nights show. It's always fun to see what people do with a rat rod.
Lots of people where involved and they put a lot of time into it – Randy
The olympic Mountain Cloggers performing (left), the roller girls (center), and Bobby Rose at the KSQM FM audio booth operating the soundtrack for the show (right).
After the show portion, starting at 4:00pm, any interested show entrants were invited to take part in a cruise around Sequim and the surrounding areas. It was about an hour long excursion and of course, we couldn’t pass up an invite like that!
The show had plenty of raffle prizes donated by their generous sponsors, a 50/50 raffle, and even a larger drawing for the old Gull fuel station sign that once stood proud in downtown Sequim. There was plenty of fun for everyone and the prime location in downtown Sequim put them right on Washington avenue where there were plenty of restaurants to choose from when it was time for lunch, or just a nice cold milkshake.
We’ve been to a lot of car shows and have to say that this was definitely one of the best executed events that we’ve attended. Even as their first year putting on the show, things went off nearly without a hitch. The music was on point, the variety and volume of the entrants was impressive, and the cruise that followed the show was just spectacular.
Now that we’ve summed up the event as a whole, it’s time to take a closer look at some of our favorite show entrants. Here are our top five picks from the first annual Sequim Prairie Nights car show.
Dave Mann’s Stovebolt-6 Powered ’54 Belair
A couple things drew us towards Dave’s Belair. We love the retro look of the paint and the cool-factor of a tri-powered 235 cubic-inch 6-cylinder engine. A lot of people call this style scalloping, but Dave prefers the term outlining instead. Dave, a Port Hadlock resident, didn’t have to drive far to get to the show.
The look was started by Larry Watson back in the late ‘50s. “I understand why he went away from that,” Dave explained. “It’s so time consuming. It took a whole week to do the paintwork with all the masking involved.”
Dave has had the car for 18-years, but only recently gave it the retro look of the outlining. “I just did that about 3-years ago,” he told us. “It was just the baby blue before.” Although these cars look good pretty much whatever color they are, the flair added from the outlining really does wonders to make this car stand out.
We love seeing the creativity people put into their cars. This is about as retro as it gets and we just love the fact that Dave kept the 6-cylinder!
The drivetrain is also setup just a little bit differently from when Dave got it. Although it retains its original straight-6 motor, the tri-powering off of a 1954 Corvette is something Dave added. He also put in a close-ratio 5-speed manual transmission out of a Camaro in place of the original 3-on-the-tree transmission.
The engine only has about 100,000 miles on it, but Dave has a 261 cubic-inch Pontiac engine at home that’s just waiting to go in here. He also added a Magneto distributor, original Moon fuel block, Corvette steering wheel, and custom radio.
The Moon equipment is a nice touch.
Diane Shager’s LS Powered 1929 Pierce Arrow
This car is certainly one for the record books. It’s “Boston Blackie,” the 1929 Pierce Arrow that’s powered by an LS1 engine out of a 2000 Pontiac Firebird. It’s not a hotrod or a high horsepower build, but rather the LS engine was added for reliability because the owner, Diane Shager of Sequim, Washington, drives her car—a lot!
Diane and her husband bought the car back in 1974 and it took ten-years to get all the parts and time together to get it back on the road. Pierce arrow stuff is scarce, and although the car was pretty complete when they got it, there was still a lot of work to be done.
Now there's something you don't see every day. It's funny how this big old car makes that LS power plant look small! The moved the battery in front of the engine to fill the void.
The car sat for 37 years before Diane and her husband bought it from Ethel in Seattle, the owner of the car. Ethel ended up with it when her fiancée all the way back in 1937 passed away a month before they were to be married. He had won the car in a poker game back in 1929. After he died in 1937, the car sat until the Shagers purchased it.
Along with the new drivetrain came a new brake system that made them move away from the old wood-spoke wheels. Diane's husband used 1954 Ford wire wheels and brazed and welded the Pierce Arrow emblem on them.
Buying the car was easier said than done, Ethel felt it was her duty to keep the car safe. “If you went up and asked her about the car, she would ask you for a business card, take the card inside, then return with a broom and literally sweep you off her porch,” Diane explained. “She kept all of the cards from every interested person that asked in a cigar box. I wanted that box so badly, but she kept it.”
She felt like it was time for the car to go to a safer place – Diane
Diane also misses the manual transmission and art-deco styled gauges.
Earnie Barber’s 1969 Yenko Nova Tribute Car
When we walked past this at the show we did a double-take and had to find out more. We talked to the owner, Earnie Barber of Port Angeles, Washington, and he told us all about his 1969 Yenko Nova tribute car. “In 1969 they only made 37 of the real ones,” Ernie explained. “There are only eight still left in the US.”
Earnie has had only had the car for about two years, and he described it as 85% complete when he got it. This is the first show he has taken it to since getting the car finished. “I did a lot of the detail work on this,” he explained. He changed the steering wheel, did some interior detailing, changed the valve covers, and added the aluminum radiator and water pump.
This is one of the best-done Yenko tribute cars that we've seen. The paint is just gorgeous, and it's a real bummer that you can't see the full beauty over a computer screen like you can in person.
“I was looking for a Camaro for over a year and everything for sale was back east over 1,000 miles away,” he explained. “I ran across this and it was only seven miles from my house.” It was the right car, the right location, and the right time.
I ran across this and it was only seven miles from my house – Ernie
Russell Beard’s Big-Window 1955 Chevy 3100 Pickup
We wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t show off this stellar ’55 Chevy 3100 as one of our top picks. It’s got the big window in the back and an LS engine under the hood, so we figure there’s no way to go wrong with this awesome ride. It belongs to Russell Beard of Sequim, Washington, and he’s had it just over a year.
“I bought it just like this,” Russell detailed. “Dave McIntosh built this four years ago and invited me over to look at it after he finished. I fell in love.” When Russell found out that Dave would be willing to sell it, he jumped at the opportunity.
The truck is flawless all the way around.
Talk about pro-touring, this is it! – Russell
Steve Pillow’s All Out, Award Winning 1937 Ford Coupe
This 1937 Ford 3-window coupe belonging to Steve Pillow of Sequim, Washington, is a prime example of an all-out custom. Although it’s built after a 1937 Ford, OZE made the frame and body and it’s hardly recognizable as something that would have come off the Ford assembly line.
Steve bought the car from Eric’s Musclecars in Maryland, sight unseen, and couldn’t be happier with the results. He wanted to make sure that Eric got the credit he deserve. “Everything happened that he said was going to happen,” Steve said. “Eric was really cool and it was a good experience all around.”
This is one of the most detailed builds we've ever seen. It's no wonder it took the people's choice award!
The car is powered by a 5.7-liter GM crate motor, 700-R4 automatic transmission, and a Ford 9-inch rearend with 3.70:1 gearing. It sits on a powder coated chassic with 4-link rear suspension, adjustable aluminum coilovers, power disc-brakes all around, and rack and pinion steering. It also has stunning Billet Specialties aluminum wheels on all four corners.
My favorite thing is the uniqueness of the albino alligator in the interior – Steve
On top of being one of our top picks, Steve’s car also won the people’s choice award at the show. A well deserved award for sure!
With all the fun that we had at the show, we can’t wait to come back to see what’s in store next year. Everyone had a great time and if you’re close enough to attend, make the trip up to Sequim for the show. It’s worth it.
Lined up and ready to cruise.
Don’t forget to check out the gallery for more from this awesome show!
