Classic stories that come with classic cars

Every classic comes with a great story.

Sure, you might think that statement is a reference to the vehicles on display Saturday at the 27th annual Philomath Classic Car Show. And although several of them very likely have interesting stories, it’s the classic car enthusiasts at such events that can really catch your attention.

The owners, builders and collectors are classics in their own right.

Brian Quakenbush, a 78-year-old from Corvallis, is one such person. He can tell you about the first car that he drove at age 11 — a 1930 Model A Coupe. Or, you’ll certainly be interested to know that he was buying and selling cars by the time he was a teenager.

During his adult years, Quakenbush ran a couple of Corvallis businesses on Second Street that might ring a bell — G&J Tire and G&J Auto. He retired 16 years ago.

“There’s a lot of great things about the car show,” Quakenbush said. “I mean, it gives somebody a chance to bring their car out and show it and display it. It’s fun to see the reaction of people when they see your car.”

Quakenbush, who estimated that he’s been coming to the Philomath show for eight or nine years now, simply loves cars. It’s a passion. Take the 1958 Chevy Impala convertible, turquoise in color, that he was showing.

“It’s gratifying because for me, I did a lot of the work on it — I built most of it myself,” Quakenbush said. “I didn’t maybe do the interior work but I built the car and so you’ve got tons of hours and lots of money involved. It’s kind of gratifying to bring a car out and see people appreciate it.”

Quakenbush said he built the car for his wife.

“It’s been about 10 years restoring it,” he said. “I spent a lot of time and money building it but it’s fun and she loves convertibles so it worked out great.”

Quakenbush lives on about three-quarters of an acre on his Corvallis property, which includes outbuildings for storing cars.

“I’m kind of car poor, like a lot of these car people,” Quakenbush laughed. “I seem to have nine or 10 of them, I guess.”

Quakenbush has always been around cars. In fact, he was pretty much running a used car business before he had a high school diploma.

“By the time I graduated from high school, that was in ’63, I had 26 or 27 cars,” he said. “I’d buy and sell them and make extra money on the side.”

Quakenbush said that back in those days, the cost of Chevys were pretty modest.

“The kids just loved them so I’d buy one that was kind of reasonable, fix it up and sell it,”  he said. “I was in high school. I’d go to school in a Chevrolet and come home in a Ford and my parents never really knew what I was driving. I’d take the title with me in case I could sell it.”

The car show appeared to attract a good number of participants this year with rows and rows of vehicles set up at Philomath City Park. Such events predictably attract mostly an older crowd considering the era when many of these machines went on the market. Then again, there were also a number of younger people taking in the show.

“It’s good entertainment for the people, the young kids, everybody,” Quakenbush said about the car show. “It’s a family thing.”