A kid exists in all of us, especially car lovers

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

I like video games. John Madden Football is my favorite. I remember the first Madden game I got, Madden ’92, for the Sega Genesis console.

Since then, I’ve fallen in love with the game and can’t wait for the new Madden to be released.

Guys who buy vintage cars usually do it because of what they remember as a teenager.

When I talk to others about playing Madden, there’s a level of understanding you share with that person. Maybe it’s because you know you’ve invested hours upon hours of your life to mastering a particular game by running an efficient offense or picking the right defensive play to counterattack.

Guys with cars do the same thing. They spend hours restoring their vehicle and must carefully pick which part — engine, interior seating or wheels — they want to put on their dream automobile.

People need to belong to subcultures. They give a group of people something to relate to.

I get to boast about how good I think I am when I’m playing Madden. Or I simply spell the pros and cons between playing Madden for the Xbox or Playstation 3. I can talk or play for a while with somebody I hardly know.

Guys with an infatuation, or perhaps an obsession with vintage cars, are the same way.

This weekend, there are at least two car shows in the Puget Sound area. One will be held at the Tacoma Narrows Airport from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The other is the Goodguys Car Show held at the Puyallup Fair and Expo Center from Friday through Sunday.

Why they decided to have two car shows — one of which is much bigger than the other — on the same weekend is pretty unfortunate. Nonetheless, after talking with quite a few old-school car lovers, I felt their passion for their throttled-up Fords, Chevys and Cadillacs.

While sharing an interest in Madden is much different — you could start with saving thousands of dollars — most of the guys I spoke with do it for the same reason: They desired to have one as a teenager years ago.

Folks like harbor resident Bruce Dishman, 66, said he couldn’t afford one when he was a kid. Last year, his 1949 Mercury Coupe won coolest custom at the Goodguys Hot Rod show.

Another nice guy from the harbor area, Glen Wasmund, 65, will be doing the car show for the first time. As a kid, he said he always liked a particular style and car — a 1939 Chevy two-door.

Do you get the picture here?

As most of the people I spoke to were more than 60 years old, we hold onto those childhood memories and make every effort to make that dream come true.

After the first time I played Madden as a young boy, I pretty much knew I’d be playing the game until now — and afterward.

Almost every guy I spoke to was retired and has the time and money to spend on a classic automobile or hot rod.

The old saying, “they sure don’t make them like they used to” rings pretty heavily in my mind. I doubt we’ll see a group of people stuck in the ’90s about Chevy or Ford trucks, because they aren’t nostalgic modeled cars.

The window between the late ’40s to mid-’60s was a period of time where people fantasized about a particular vehicle. And they had every reason to: It was a prime era where cars were made with style, elegance and superiority.

I wonder why people are so proactive to those childhood memories? I can’t imagine as a kid setting my eyes on a car and just falling in love with it.

Then again, I’m an ’80s baby, and there wasn’t a whole lot to romanticize about when it came to a beautiful automobile.

Gas was also less than a dollar per gallon. That didn’t make big car companies as hesitant about marketing a car with a big engine.

While on one hand putting in tens of thousands of dollars into a vehicle may seem obsessive, you only get one life to live. And if getting that old 1956 Chevy Belair — like Steve King wanted since he was a teenager — then spending a large sum of money shouldn’t stop him.

When their cars are complete, they go to shows and network with other classic car show-goers. It gives people something to look forward to and appreciate what they’ve done around the same kinds of people.

As a kid, I fell in love video games. Others have fallen in love with cars. But when you think about it, there’s a kid inside all of us.

We just go to different stores.

The following is some information about the local hot rod enthusiasts:

Steve King

Age: 54

Car: 1956 Chevy 210

Q: Why did you decide to invest your time and money into your car?

A: I’ve always had a fascination with hot rods since I was a teenager. You sell them, miss them and then you re-buy. It’s one of those things I didn’t have one for a couple of years, and then I decided I had to have one of these.

Q: How did you become interested in hot rod cars?

A: As a youth, you cruise around with the guys. That was it. As a youth growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, that was the thing to do back then.

Q: What is the car’s signature feature?

A: It has a small block Chevy 383 Stroker engine with a 671 blower. It’s a supercharged engine.

Mike Smith

Age: 68

Car: 1956 Chevy Belair

Q: Why did you decide to invest your time and money into your car?

A: I’ve been a gearhead since I was 14. I always played with cars. It was my

first love.

Q: How long, from start to finish, did it take for you to finish fixing up

your car?

A: I spent three years restoring it. It’s the baby of the family.

Q: How did you become interested in Hot Rod cars?

A: It was a dream to have a ’56 Belair. Sports were never as important as a

car. You could go cruising with the guys. Without it, you stayed home. My

dad was a backyard mechanic. We never had a lot of money, so we fixed

things.

Q: What is the car’s signature feature?

A: It has a very special motor. It’s a Corvette motor with two four-barrel

configurations.

Bruce Dishman

Age: 66

Car: 1949 Mercury Coupe

Q: Why did you decide to invest your time and money into your car?

A: We bought it in 1988 when the stock market was crashing. I figured

putting the money into a car would be better than putting it into the stock

market. Plus, I like the license plate. It says HerMerc.

Q: How many car shows do you go to a year?

A: About five or six.

Question: How long, from start to finish, did it take for you to finish

fixing up your car?

A: It’s been a working progress for 20 years.

Q: How did you become interested in Hot Rod cars?

A: I’ve been interested since I was a kid. I couldn’t afford it when I was a

kid. I’m not sure if I can now (joking).

Q: What is the car’s signature feature?

A: The grill is a 1955 Desoto grill.

Glen Wasmund

Age: 65

Car: 1939 Chevy two-door

Q: Why did you decide to invest your time and money into your car?

A: Back when I was a kid, I always liked that style and car.

Q: How many car shows do you go to a year?

A: This will be my first show.

Q: How long, from start to finish, did it take for you to finish fixing up

your car?

A: I put it into a shop and have them do 99 percent of the work. It’s been

five years.

Q: How did you become interested in Hot Rod cars?

A: I was interested in my late teens and early 20s, but I got married and

couldn’t do it anymore. I always wanted one. The drive was always there, but

the finances weren’t. I went down to the casino and won some money. It

happened a couple of times. I started looking for a ’39 Chevy Sedan. I found

one on the Internet.

Q: What is the car’s signature feature?

A: I really like the color. It’s a British racing green. I picked it (color)

off a 2005 Jaguar.

Larry Hanson

Age: 65

Car: 1959 Cadillac Deville

Q: Why did you decide to invest your time and money into your car?

A: I just enjoy cars.

Q: How many car shows do you go to a year?

A: I’ve been doing cars shows for 50 years.

Q: How long, from start to finish, did it take for you to finish fixing up

your car?

A: It took me eight years to build it. It won four trophies and a Top 30

finish out of 5,500 cars in a cars show in Reno.

Q: How did you become interested in Hot Rod cars?

A: I just like old cars. I like more of the custom than the hot rod of the

’50s and ’60s.

Q: What is the car’s signature feature?

A: It has a 454 engine.

Bruce Glundberg

Car: 1940 Ford two-door

Q: Why did you decide to invest your time and money into your car?

A: I’ve always had an interest in cars. I retired about five years ago, and

my goal was to build a hot rod. And that’s what I’ve done. It’s been an

ongoing process. I’m in the final stages now. It’s a fully functional car

and hopefully painted by the show. It still needs the interior completed to

be a completely finished car.

Q: How many car shows do you go to a year?

A: Three to four.

Q: How long, from start to finish, did it take for you to finish fixing up

your car?

A: About eight years.

Q: How did you become interested in Hot Rod cars?

A: When I was younger, the older kids always had cars, and it was in that

time when hot rods were becoming popular. I happened to be lucky because the

older guys would spend time with me and they had great cars. I’ve always had

an interest in cars and automotive hobbies. I spent more than 30 years

working in manufacturing of heavy-duty trucks. Cars are the recreational

side of what I’ve always done.

Derald Christensen

Age: 66

Car: 1949 Cadillac Convertible and 1957 Cadillac Convertible

Q: Why did you decide to invest your time and money into your car?

A: I just love old cars. I restore cars on the side.

Q: How long, from start to finish, did it take for you to finish fixing up

your car?

A: I bought the ’49 Cadillac in 2004. It took 300 to 400 man hours to

restore it.