The Sequim Prairie Nights car show is only in its second year, but you wouldn’t have known it from the turnout. There were over 200 cars lining Washington Street in downtown Sequim and plenty of great music and prizes to go around.
The weather was right, the cars were cool, and the atmosphere could not have been better. There were tons of trophies to go around, lots of raffle prizes, and even an auction in the middle of the show for a couple of special items. While there were lots of great cars and trucks at the show, a few stood out to us, so without further delay, here are our top five picks!
The trophies were some of the coolest we've ever seen and the custom pinstriped pedal car was one of the awesome auction prizes!
Two-Tone ’50 Dodge Meadowbrook Custom
The two-tone paint draws you in, but the classic hotrod drivetrain and custom interior keep you looking! This ’50 Dodge Meadowbrook belongs to Fred Robbins of Port Orchard, Washington, and he bought it from his neighbor, the original owner’s daughter, two-decades ago. “I’ve had the car for 20-years,” Fred explained. “It was in the garage for 10-years and it’s been on the road for 10 years.”
The color combo and unique Route-66 interior are a really cool style that we thought deviated from the norm.
“It was forest green and the body had a few rust spots,” Fred continued. “The motor was the original flat-head.” He got it running, but it smoked really bad so he decided to upgrade the drivetrain a little bit.
Fred put on a Nova front clip with a small block 283 cubic-inch engine, 700-R4 automatic transmission, and 3.08:1 geared rearend.
Fuel is supplied by an Edelbrock 650 CFM Carburetor and Vintage Air A/C keeps the cab cool!
The upholstery is a really unique custom touch that highlights the classic hot rodding heritage of the build. When Fred was getting ready to have the upholstery done he was looking through an upholstery sample book and this really struck a chord. Not only is it a nice canvas that keeps cool on the hot days and doesn’t freeze when it’s cold, but the color scheme goes well with the exterior also and it’s just another reason why we love this build.
Fat-Tire ’32 Ford Pickup
We love the look of some really fat tires on either side of the bed of a hotrod pickup like this. The primer black paint on the body and stunning candy-apple red on the roof really make this build stand out. We talked to the owner, Dick Tames of Sequim, Washington, and he filled us in on the finer details of his wicked hotrod.
Just look at those meats!
He has had the car for a year and although it was mostly like this when he bought it, Dick has added a few finishing touches to make it his own. The engine powering this truck is a 302 cubic-inch Ford crate engine with a roller camshaft and dual Edelbrock 500cfm carburetors. Out of the crate, this engine is rated for 340-horsepower, but with the dual quads and air gap it’s pushing 360-horse. The transmission is a Ford C-4 automatic and the rearend is a 9-inch Ford with 3.50:1 gearing.
The combination of the matte-black body and bright metallic red roof make for a really cool high-contrast look.
The base of the bed is a beautiful tigerwood that really finishes the look of the build, and the instruments are direct from Ford Motorsports. This beauty is really all Ford and it’s cool to see a build totally dedicated to the blue oval pride. Part of what makes the hobby so cool is that there are builds of all types where people use a motors, transmissions, and bodies from all makes, and there are builds like this that stay true to a single brand. We love it.
All-Custom 1938 Ford Deluxe Coup
This all-steel ’38 Ford belongs to Al Richardson of Port Angeles, Washington. Al has had the car for more than twenty years and he’s been taking it to shows since it hit the road in at the turn of the millennium in 2000. “I bought the car in 1994,” Al said, “It sat for two years and I had it to it’s first show in 2000.”
This old Ford is all modern and all custom—we love this thing!
“I bought it because it was the ugliest Ford I had ever seen,” Al continued. “I felt bad for it. If you had ever seen a stock one, you’d understand.” While not everyone would agree with his assessment, we can all certainly agree that Al’s ’38 has seen some significant improvements over what Henry Ford offered nearly a century ago.
A big part of what makes this such an amazing build is the gorgeous interior!
The chassis has been fully upgraded with Heidts Super Ride suspension, 2-inch drop spindles, and a front sway bar. The drivetrain has been built up using a 400 cubic-inch small-block Chevy engine with Keith Black pistons, Edelbrock performer heads, a Comp Cams camshaft, air gap intake, MSD ignition, 750cfm carburetor, and March pulley’s pulley and bracket system. The rest of the drivetrain has been upgraded using a turbo-400 automatic transmission and a narrowed 9-inch rearend.
The improvements don’t simply stop at the undercarriage however and follow onto the exterior and interior. The body has been treated to the full shave and fill treatment for the ultimate smoothed look, the bumpers have been removed, and all the seems have been filled. The two-piece windshield has been replaced for a Clacks 1-piece windshield, the rear fender has been molded to the body, and a third flush-fit LED brake light was added. The interior features a ’40 Ford dash, VDO gauges, Weld steering wheel, a tilt column, and all custom leather upholstery by Rick Gentry that goes all the way into the trunk!
Flaming-Hot ’37 Chevy
It doesn’t get more classic than a chopped ’37 Chevy hotrod with flames and a big-block engine. This beauty belongs to Dave Church of Port Angeles, Washington, and he bought the car 6-months ago almost the way it sits today.
“This is all steel and it’s been chopped and stretched,” Dave explained. “The engine and body were this way when I bought it, bit I added the fuel injected. Now, it’s fool proof!” Dave’s Chevy is powered by a 502 cubic-inch big-block and fuel is supplied by way of the recently installed FI Tech fuel injection. Yes, it is very fast.
That 502 cubic-incher barely fits under the hood of this red-hot beauty.
The transmission moving all that power into the driveline is a 700-R4 and the rearend is a Ford 9-incher. The next thing on Dave’s to-do list is to add positraction. With all that big-block power, a one-tire fire isn’t enough! There is plenty going on here to spin the tires while you’re already on the road!
Rat-Built 1933 Ford Model-A Truck
The cab is a ’33 Ford Model A, the frame is from a 1950 gold-ball collector machine, the engine is a ’72 Chevy, and the rearend is from a ’69 GMC motorhome! With that many parts from that many makes and models, it can only be a rat rod!
Rat rods always bring a unique perspective to any car show. They are a recently emerging phenomenon and they take a lot of the old taboo design aspects of hotrodding and extenuate them. They do what they want and don’t care what anyone else thinks. We love it!
This beastly beauty belongs to Dave Schaumburg Jr. of Port Angeles, Washington, and he’s had it for two years. “The body is just how I found it,” Dave said. The bed was actually in really good shape and it was all Dave could do just to get it to rust up and match the cab! “I sanded it to bare metal and let it sit outside for 6-months, but it only started to get surface rust,” Dave detailed. He actually had to use a mixture of peroxide, salt, and vinegar to get it to rust. Once he rubbed that on though, it rusted like this in a matter of two hours!
As we already described, the parts are like a list of things found in a car collector’s garage. The engine is a small-block 350 cubic-inch Chevy race engine, the transmission is a turbo-400, and the rearend is out of a GMC dually motorhome. Dave traded an entire running truck for just the cab, and he couldn’t be happier.
The interior is a unique custom style that matches the rest of the build perfectly. The seat is a single bench out of an old school bus with the steering wheel strategically mounted in the center of the cab.
It's the little details that make a ratrod what it is, and this thing is full of details!
We had a great time at this year’s show and there were lots of great cars and trucks to look at! We can’t wait for next years show, so if you’re in the area make sure you get out bring your classic if you can, or at the very least, spectate! Check out the gallery for more awesome pictures from the show!
