News ________________ L
WEdNESÓAy, FEÒRUARy 21, 2001
he CI ac I camas P rint
Seminar features classic cars and master metal workers
STEVE NIELSEN
News Editor
Clackamas Auto Body’s Metal
Straightening Seminar, held Monday
right in the auto body shop at the col-
ege, gave local hot rod enthusiasts
ind metal workers an opportunity to
;ee classic cars and some master car
lege in Cupertino, Calif. Cooper met
Ron Covell in 1975, around the same
time that they were both competing in
an Artists Soapbox Derby.
The 75 vehicles that competed in
the derby were all made by artists and
were designed for a coasting contest.
Among many interesting entries
were a Popsicle car that split into two
and a Polaroid camera car that actually
About 150 people, many of them
wearing jackets from local hot rod
:lubs, filled the garage at the end of
Barlow between two rows of classic
:ars, including a ‘61 Corvette, a ‘57
Z'hevy and a ‘48 Ford, all of them in
mint condition.
Wayne Austen got the seminar
started by talking about the street rod
.lass that the Auto Body department
wants to offer this spring. After that,
re introduced speakers Mike Cooper
Mike Cooper started out as a sculp-
or and a teacher at a com-
mu-
took pictures of the track as it coasted
down it Though they were excellent
pieces of art they were sometimes me
chanically flawed.
“If you have artists racing each
other, someone’s going to get killed,”
said Cooper.
Coopers latest and most exciting
project is “The Tubester,” a '33 Ford
pickup truck he bought with a blown
engine and built into a fully functional
metal sculpture.
“I love hot rods,” said Cooper. ‘Tt
was designing the headers that really
got me going.”
“The Tubester” sports a pneu
matic airfoil, a chopped top,
a channeled body and a bed
that was first
shortened, then
completely
made over.
STEVE NIELSEN / Clackamas Print
"The Tubester," featuredin seventeen Street Rodder articles,
took $100,000 and 8,000 man-hours for Mike Cooper to build.
STEVE NIELSEN / Clackamas Print
Audience members watch as metal crafter Ron Covell quickly shapes a hood scoop from a
flat piece of aluminum.
Cooper put $100,000and 8,000man
hours into the truck Half of that money
was spent on the paint, motor and up
holstery. Seventeen articles about
“The Tubester” have appeared in
Street Rodder magazine since 1976.
Before “The Tubester,” Cooper’s art
of a car he crafted for Don Varner, his
shopmate and an industrial designer
who designed the car. Varner wanted
to build a car for The Grand National
on metal shaping as he skillfully crafted
a hood scoop out of a flat piece of
Roadster Show in Oakland, Calif.
tools, books and videos, in addition to
the workshops on metalworking that
consisted almost entirely of wood,
even some life-sized replicas of motor
cycles with wooden moving parts.
Covell crafted Varner’s car, the “Cali
fornia Star,” from scratch.
“Back when I built this car, I didn’t
have any sophisticated metal shaping
equipment at all,” said Covell. “Ekery
Several of his sculptures appeared
in a show at the Museum of Mod
em Art in San Francisco. The
theme of the exhibition was the
part of the body on this car was done
the hard way, with a mallet and sand
bag, a hammer and dolly and a file.”
The ‘ California Star” won the award
absurdity of guns and Cooper’s
sculptures included a tricycle made
out of a gun, a swiss army gun, and a
gun with genitalia sprouting from the
for most beautiful roadster at the show
in 1984 and Varner sold it two years
barrel.
Ron Covell, also known as “Profes
sor Hammer,” of Street Rodder maga
zine, spoke next Covell showed slides
later to a private individual who still
owns it.
“If it wasn’t for that car, I don’t think
I’d be here today,” said Covell. “That
car got my career off to a start”
Covell also gave a demonstration
aluminum in about 40 minutes.
Today, Covell has his own line of
he offers nationwide.
Besides the ones inside the auto
body shop, several other classic cars
were parked outside and in other
rooms adjoining the garage. Buffet
style food was served before and
during the seminar. Several door
prizes, like posters signed by Mike
Cooper and Ron Covell T-shirts,
were also given away to people
who’s winning ticket numbers were
drawn from a paint can. The Auto
Body department plans to hold the
Metal Straightening Seminar again
next year and plans to invite Covell
back again.
road: Planning Commission objects to Glen Oak option
Continued from page 1
"My argument has been that they
>ught to just widen Glen Oak and put
ipatrafficsignal,"Keysersaid. "They
lave arguments that I don't buy into
|uite yet, so we're in protest"
In his letter to the Planning Com-
nission, Keyser proposed a solution.
“The widening of Glen Oaks seems
to us to be the most logical means of
The Planning Commission has ob
jected to the college's plan so far be
improving
access
between
Beavercreek and Highway 213,” he
said. “It would be significantly less
costly... Itseems, though, that it would
protect the valuable block of land be
cause they do not think that the Or-
egcin Department of Transportation
tween the College and Glen Oaks,
which has wetlands and green belt
uniqueness.”
will approve putting another stop light
on Glen Oaks and is concerned with
putting a major highway through the
residential area. They have also had to
deal with keeping the roads built in
side of the urban growth boundaries.
. SchoolBoarck^
-------
¿fe
Professor at Oregon Health Sciences
University
Raised over $9 million in federal
grants for research
Advisory Board Member, Oregon
Child Health Research Center
Advisory Board Member, National
Institutes of Health Grants Review
"I think it (the plan) has some real
problems. When they turn it over to
traffic engineers and transportation
planners, I think they look at a map of
the whole area and try to bring some
symmetry to it," Keyser explained.
"They may make decisions that aren’t
and more, there are just going to have
to be more connecting roads to allow
people to move easily from
Beavercreek to 213. This will alleviate
some of the stress that develops when
everybody wants to use the one inter
section."
Although Keyser objects to the
The road proposal will be finalized
after the city Planning Commission
road being built, he acknowledges that
it may be necessary in the future.
"In trying to think of any advan
tages to the college," Keyser said. "I
suppose that, as the area grows more
has come to an agreement and sent
their plans to the city council for ap
proval.
"If they useGlen Oak," summed up
Keyser. "I think it would work."
the best decisions for everybody."
“I
I
I
I
I Speech team competes in Coeur d’Alene
Thirteen members of the
entire team will go. Last year,
I speech
team will head to Idaho
were seven states repre
I this week to compete in the West there
sented at the tournament and 42
I ern States Forensics Tournament schools competing.
I in Coeur d'Alene Feb. 23-25.
Read
next week's
The
I
Advisor Kelly Brennan said the
Clackamas Print for an update.
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