SEPTEMBER 2016 | 19
CHINOOKOBSERVER.COM
TALES OF PERSONAL PASSION
a problem, and often you’ll think of
one. Sometimes you do get sick of it
though, and you just have to leave the
shop for a week and come back to it.”
A 30-year passion
Silva said he has been building
custom cars for over 30 years
“As a kid, I was fascinated by it,”
he said. “I lived in California, and I
rode my bike down to the local auto-
motive shop and watched Big Dad-
dy Roth. I was a pest, I would hang
around the shop until eventually they
let me hand them tools, they realized
I knew what tools were, I swept the
shop. They were always cutting stuff
up and building hot rods.”
At the age of 9, he learned how
to weld. Over the years, he expanded
his repertoire to sketches, automotive
painting, building frames, sectioning
and chopping, working on transmis-
sions and rear-ends, glass installation
and numerous other skills.
“The only thing I haven’t tried is
upholstery,” he admits.
No one was bugged by this trio of VWs at a recent Rod Run to the End of the
World.
When he’s not helping friends
with their cars, he is working on his
1941 Willys.
“I cut the top off of it, made it
into a roadster,” he explains. “It has
a 13-point cage, 586 big block; it’s a
killer machine. Great big wide tires
in the rear, customized suicide doors,
low to the ground, big woofers and
tweeters, two big amps — all the little
toys.”
As one would imagine, rebuilding
a car takes dedication and patience.
“You have to love it because
there’s not a lot of partners that would
put up with being out there in the wee
hours of the night during the week,
that’s why guys like me are divorced,”
he laughs. “It is very time consuming,
but it’s the satisfaction you get out of
it — even if you’re a person that gets
it done in a lot of different phases. As
long as they get their hands dirty and
take part in that creativity of it, they
can see a clunker out in the field and
turn into something of a dream. It’s
kind of a spendy hobby. And I hate to
say it, but people like me, and Ross,
are a dying generation, and there’s
no one to take our places. Now, peo-
ple buy pieces and bolt it on, nobody
knows how to cut a car in half like I
do and weld two cars together.”
He also adds that classic car en-
thusiasts can actually build a great hot
rod for less than they expect.
“I have a bunch of books of differ-
ent makes and cars from all over the
world. So, for example, someone said
It was definitely “top down” weather
for this classic Impala at Rod Run.
they want to have a ‘32 Ford. Half
of those people that want a ‘32 Ford
can’t even afford the headlights. But
they can achieve the same look and
appearance with a ‘34 Chevy. They
can build a great car for less than they
expect, and I can tell them, ‘You don’t
have to spend $30,000 to $50,000 to
build a car like this.’”
For those following Silva’s advice,
there will be plenty of project inspira-
tion on view at this year’s Rod Run.
Enjoy the
Rod Run to the End
of the World!
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