You could鈥檛 blame auto buffs who lined up on Belleville Street Thursday afternoon for not being able to get the Beach Boys hit Little Deuce Coupe out of their heads.
It was Dixieland jazz, however, that ushered in the first wave of colourful vintage cars from California that rolled off the Coho for Northwest Deuce Days, the ninth event of its kind held here.
Billed as the world鈥檚 largest gathering of 1932 Fords, the three-day event that this year attracted auto legends including Vic Edelbrock and Danny Sullivan ends after today鈥檚 public showcase downtown.
鈥淭his is a real drool-fest. Sun and surf and hot rods. Could it be any better?鈥� said Dixieland Express tuba player Don Cox.
Hundreds showed up to greet 120 candy-coloured cars (any built before 1952 were welcome) that slowly exited Black Ball Ferry terminal, with road marshals managing the inevitable gridlock.
Spectators cheered as one eye-popping car after another rolled along, including a flashy red deuce coupe, a canary-yellow dazzler and a sporty white Corvette.
鈥淪he鈥檚 taking pictures of people taking pictures,鈥� laughed one onlooker as a deuce passenger snapped shots of fans taking photos. Others honked horns and waved tiny American flags.
鈥淲e got lucky,鈥� said Tom Ksiezak, a tourist from suburban Chicago who collects 1968 Chevelles. He stumbled onto the spectacle with his wife Debbie, daughter Katie and son Joey during an Alaskan cruise stopover.
Conditions were ideal this balmy summer afternoon, with the sun beating down on hundreds of smiling faces, the aroma of sunscreen and American cigarettes filling the air.
Reid James, general manager of Hotel Grand Pacific, was one of those smiling faces, despite having his hands full in the Belleville Street hotel鈥檚 crowded lobby.
鈥淭his is very good for the city,鈥� said James, whose challenges included finding parking for 140聽vintage automobiles.
鈥淭here are almost 1,200 cars coming, most from out of town, so that鈥檚 probably 1,200 rooms times three or four nights.鈥�
While hot rodders celebrated inside Belleville鈥檚, Days Inn鈥檚 harbourview hotspot, Don Delaney handed out roses to drivers.
鈥淭hey love it,鈥� said the longtime volunteer, a standout in his white tuxedo and top hat.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something no other car show does. It鈥檚 one of those little things they remember.鈥�
Organizer and auto restorer Al Clark, who is showcasing his own 1932 Ford roadster, said hot-rod culture鈥檚 enduring popularity doesn鈥檛 surprise him.
鈥淢ost of these people were doing this when they were teenagers, but they couldn鈥檛 afford them,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow that they鈥檙e grown up and their kids have grown up, they can afford them.鈥�
Bill Wiprud, 86, knows how expensive it can be to maintain such a dream machine, having sunk nearly $300,000 into his pristine yellow 1932 Ford Cabriolet.
His eye-catching convertible has power side windows, air conditioning, a fuel-injected Corvette engine and is computer-controlled.
It wasn鈥檛 just the Oregon pilot and auto enthusiast鈥檚 flashy car that turned heads. It was also the chicken masks Wiprud and his girlfriend, Pat Stephenson, 86, wore.
鈥淲e have a lot of fun with it,鈥� said Wiprud. 鈥淲e鈥檇 have parades in central Oregon and she rides horses. In this western town, Sisters, we鈥檇 put the top down and wear chicken heads.鈥�
Wiprud鈥檚 passion began in high school, when he had a Model A roadster and put a V-8 engine in it, before acquiring a 1932 Ford three-window coupe and chopping its top.
He said he began flying airplanes and owned 14 after he broke his back in 1952 when his roadster flipped and rolled five times during a high-speed drive to Yuba City from Travis Air Force Base.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 ride in a fast car after that,鈥� smiled Wiprud, who did drive his new old car 120 km/h to Ponoma, California, in 93 F heat last summer. 鈥淚t was like driving a new Lexus.鈥�
