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
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Fri friends in
leave ked cars!
par
*www.peta.org