A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015
FROM PAGE A1
ENDERS:
HAWKINS:
continued from page A1
Well, that’s kind of where
I’m at. I really enjoy what
I do.”
Enders owns about
eight vehicles, including
some project cars that are
not finished. He said his
favorite is a ’57 Chevy
pickup he bought six
months ago that is about
“ready to hit the road.”
He completely tears down
some vehicles and works
on them from the frame
up, but he said the pickup
was actually in good con-
dition when he bought it.
The largest project he
has ever done was us-
ing three cars to create
a highly customized ’46
Mercury Coupe.
“It was a pretty elabo-
rate project,” he said. “It
took us about a year to get
it done. Most conversions
or street rods or whatever
take anywhere from six
months to a year. It just
depends on how fast the
customer wants to shell
out money buying parts
and paying for labor.”
These projects range
in price from $8,500 to
$50,000 or even more de-
pending on what the cus-
tomer wants, he said.
Enders said one of his
favorite jobs was working
on a Ford Mustang — for
two different custom-
ers. The first wanted the
car set up for racing, and
the second purchased it
without a motor and had
continued from page A1
SEAN HART PHOTO
Jerry Enders admires the trophy he won for Best Muscle Car
at the A.C.E. Car Show Saturday in Echo. Enders entered a
1962 Ford Falcon Ranchero, a car with a pickup bed, which he
said was not actually a muscle car.
Enders return it close to
stock.
“I got to do it both
times, so that was pretty
fun,” he said. “I already
knew the car.”
Despite years of work-
ing on many top-notch
gas-powered
automo-
biles, Enders said his fa-
vorite car to drive was
actually a Tesla Model S
electric vehicle. He was
able to drive one last year
A.C.E. Car Show Best Muscle Car
Jerry Enders won Best Muscle Car at the A.C.E. Car Show Satur-
day in Echo with his ’62 Ford Falcon Ranchero.
He said the “car with a pickup back half” isn’t really a muscle
car, but it was able to hold up a soapbox-style cart he outfit-
ted with a small engine.
Enders said the Ranchero was a “$300 piece of junk” when
he bought it. After about 400 hours straightening the body,
rebuilding the front suspension and transmission, working
on the motor, painting it and applying a bed liner, he is now
selling it for $6,500.
“It’s just a fun rig to drive,” he said. “There just isn’t that many
of them left. They’re really kind of rare.”
at a weeklong electrical
vehicle conversion con-
vention in Missouri, and
he was impressed.
“It’s quite an automo-
bile: all electric, no gas,
no sounds, just absolute
acceleration and about a
250-mile range,” he said.
“They’re an amazing au-
tomobile. They’re also
horribly expensive. I’ll
never own one, but it was
fun to drive one.”
Enders said the con-
vention was a unique ex-
perience, and he eventu-
ally hopes to convert one
of his street rods to elec-
tric power.
“I’ve been a gearhead
all of my life and certain-
ly have been a proponent
of gasoline-powered ve-
hicles, but I really think
it’s time we took a look
at where we’re going and
what we’re going to leave
for the next group of peo-
ple that are going to in-
herit this mess,” he said.
“Electric is a pretty good
alternative.”
SATURDAY MAY 30, 2015
ROY
RALEY
PARK,
PENDLETON,
OR
PACKET PICK UP STARTS AT 8 AM COLOR DASH STARTS AT 9 AM
is the car that I’ve always
had, and this is what I’ve
done with it and how I’ve
taken care of it and just
wanted people to see it
and enjoy it, because I
enjoy it.”
Hawkins said he
cleaned the car up for
the show and has only
made a few minor re-
pairs through the years.
It still has its original
paint and seats, and
he said he only has to
maintain it to keep it in
good shape. He stores it
in a shop with a car cov-
er, he said, but drives it
several times a week.
“I go down (High-
way) 395, and people
are thumbs-upping and
saying, ‘Nice car,’ ” he
said. “What use is it
to have a car like this
if you don’t go and
drive it? You can put a
$10,000 paint job on it
and sit it in the shop and
look pretty, but unless
you can get out and drive
it, how do you enjoy it?
Every time I get into
this, it brings a smile to
my face. It reminds me
of some younger times,
but it also gives an ap-
preciation for something
that has lasted 43 years,
and you don’t ¿nd that a
lot.”
Hawkins said his cus-
tom model features fac-
tory cruise control and
air conditioning, and
he bought the car from
a coworker in 1985
for $2,300. He said he
SEAN HART PHOTO
Perry Hawkins explains what’s under the hood of his 1972
Pontiac Le Mans GT Custom Saturday at the A.C.E. Car
Show in Echo.
SEAN HART PHOTO
Perry Hawkins has owned this 1972 Pontiac Le Mans for
30 years, but the A.C.E. Car Show Saturday in Echo was
the Àrst show he has entered.
would probably never
sell it and plans to enjoy
it as long as he can.
“I love classic cars,
and I love muscle
cars,” he said. “That’s
the era I grew up in.
When I was in junior
high, the muscle cars
were it. The GTOs, the
Le Manses, the Char-
gers, the Challengers,
you know, even the big
block Camaros — they
had the style, they had
the body lines, and
that’s what appealed
to me was how they
looked, how sleek the
design was on them.
Even to this day, you
can see a lot of these
cars are going back to
those old-style looks.”
Hermiston Cinco De Mayo Inc.
Committee would like to thank
the following sponsors in making
this year's a successful event.
City of Hermiston
Tom Denchel Ford Country
Fiesta Foods
Radio La Ley
Umatilla County
Commissioners
Anderson Hansell PC
Cottage Flowers
Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce
Umatilla Electric
River Point Farms
Hale Farms
Bob Levy
Simmons Agency
Wal-Mart Distribution
Center
Lifetime Vision Center
JSH Farms
Bellinger Farms
Eagle Ranch
Windy River Farms
Heller and Sons
La Voz Hispanic Newspaper
Without sponsors like you, this home town
community event would not have been the
success that it was. THANK YOU!
PRESENTED BY
McKay Creek Estates
presents:
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Join us as we host a lecture series to
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to keep you and your loved one safe!
S
FIRST
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Healthy Back Habits for Caregivers - C O N C L U D E D
TUESDAY, MAY 26, 3:30PM
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TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 3:30 PM
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TUESDAY, JULY 28, 3:30 PM
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1601 Southgate Place
Pendleton, Oregon 97801
www.PrestigeCare.com