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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2016)
18 Wednesday, July 20, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon CAR SHOW: ‘Rat Rods’ were a big feature of this year’s show Continued from page 1 Pease kept the original cab and chassis and added a newer bed and put it on a four-wheel-drive frame. The process of restoration was a slow one, and his son Tanner was an inspiration for Pease to continue to move forward with the project. “He helped me work on this classic since he was about 4 years old. He would hand me the wrench, but it got more and more involved as he got older,” Pease said. “It’s a never-ending project that we work on together.” In the last decade there has been a huge craze in the hot rod world, a very inter- esting trend known as “rat rods.” Rat rods are known for being highly exagger- ated versions of 1950s-style jalopy hot rods. Veteran Sean Barter ’s 1952 Dodge M37 twin-turbo unique rat rod drew a slew of spectators all day. Fans ogled over the original cab of a 1952 Dodge Power Wagon with a military classification of M37, and the fact that the rat rod was sitting directly on the ground. In order for it to roll any- where, it needed an air lift. “I made the air bag up under the radiator, so you can’t see it. It’s amazing how many people get on their hands and knees looking for the air lift,” Barter said. photo by Jerry baldock Sean Barter’s Best Custom Car — a rat rod. The name “GONE 2 FAR” and Rat-T-Kool Kustoms was printed on the door of the cab. “The name is a play on words. The 2 is for twin turbo and it’s radically customized which is the Rat T Kool.” The cab was a Korean War Dodge and had been to Korea and back with the Army dur- ing the war. After the Army brought it back from Korea, the Oregon Department of Transportation snatched it up and the Dodge became a tow truck. “I found the truck in Powell Butte on a farm and asked the owner what he was going to do with it. He wasn’t sure and asked me what I would do with it, and I told him I was going to turn it into a rat rod, so he gave it to me. And I just started building it and adding on and went crazy from there,” Barter said. The Dodge had its origi- nal ragtop, but Barter made the frame, suspension, head- ers and the exhaust. At the other end of Main Avenue, classic car buff Ron Robbel from Bend was busy showing folks his 1936 Desoto Airflow that he restored back to factory condition. Robbel found the Desoto in Anchorage, Alaska in 1978. The Desoto sat in the lobby of a bank in unrestored photo by Jerry baldock Candy Brandy Wine 1967 pontiac gto won people’s Choice. condition, being admired along with a number of Model A cars. “I became good friends with the owner of the Desoto and told him how much I would like to buy that car someday, if he ever wanted to part with it.” Robbel told The Nugget. When the owner passed away in 1998, his family con- tacted Robbel. “The family knew I wanted the car, so I had the first option to buy the Airflow and I did. It only had 95,000 miles on it, but needed some original parts.” Finding all the factory parts for the Desoto took Robbel two years to com- plete. He even had to buy an entire parts car just because it had the right bumpers for the Desoto. Then he had it painted Winchester gunmetal grey, the 1952 original fac- tory color. “Everything is back to factory, including the pin- striping on the wheels. I was just going to make it into a daily driver, but I never quit. There was always something to do,” he said. At 2:45 p.m. Emcee Bob Buckmann announced the official winners in all 14 categories. People’s Choice Award went to Sisters resident Alan Melton for his 1967 GTO. Ron Robbel picked up the award for Best of Show for his 1936 Desoto Airflow. Best Custom award went to Sean Barter from Prineville for his 1952 Dodge rat rod. “I was just going in for 10 minutes.” But then the check-out line was so long. Even with the windows partly down, the heat can rise from 80º outside to 102º inside the car in a short time.* Parked cars are deathtraps for dogs: On a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can soar to between 100 and 120 degrees in just minutes, and on a 90-degree day, the interior temperature can reach as high as 160 degrees in less than 10 minutes. Animals can sustain brain damage or even die from heatstroke in just 15 minutes.* FURRY FRIEND S 501 ( c )( 3 ) FOUNDATION www.furryfriendsfoundation.org t ’ n o d s d n e Fri friends in leave ked cars! par *www.peta.org