Ephrata car show brings car gurus together

EPHRATA — The Ephrata Chamber Anything With Wheels Car Show and Shine saw 155 entries this past Saturday. For some however, it is more than just a car show.

“It’s just a great opportunity to get out and visit with people and talk to them about their cars,” said Ephrata Chamber Director Rita Witte. “You know, so many of these are special cars and motorcycles.”

There were vehicles of all makes, models, colors, shapes and sizes.

Scott Watkins of East Wenatchee brought his Chevrolet S10 truck to the show. Watkins said he has always wanted to rebuild a car but the timing was never quite right. Finally this past year, things seemed to aline and his wife pushed him to follow his dream. Watkins is very proud of the fact that he, along with help from his wife and son, did all the work themselves rather than pay someone else to do it. They not only redid the body and replaced the motor, but painted and upholstered it themselves as well.

Patrick Lyons of Soap Lake has multiple cars he brings to shows but for this show he brought his 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. He said it is not very hard or expensive to order parts for vintage cars like his because there are lots of catalogs specifically for those to restore older cars.

“I’ve got ten of ’em sitting on my kitchen counter,” Lyons said, referring to the catalogs.

Lyons is retired and enjoys going out to shows to meet people and show off his cool cars.

For Nye Evert Brown Jr., the Ephrata Car Show and Shine has special meaning. Brown, an Ephrata resident, entered a 1926 Ford golf cart called Lil “T” that resembles the look of a Ford Model T. It was created from a Cushman golf cart chassis with a 1926 Ford front end, Brown said.

His father built the vehicle for the Fourth of July Parade in George when Brown was a kid. His father sold it to a flower shop, but 28 years later, Brown said he found it and was able to get it back. While it had changed hands over the years an unknown amount of times, when Brown found it, he said he knew he wanted it back and that it would never leave the family again.

Brown said his nephew, Brady Smith, will be the next keeper of Lil “T”.

When asked how he knew it was the exact same one his dad had built, Brown said: “Because I knew.”

Brown said his father initially was almost mad he got it back because he traded it for something worth more than the modified golf cart but the memories Brown had made with his dad in creating the vehicle was worth it, Brown said. Over the years it had not been maintained so Brown got the opportunity to rebuild it with his dad again.

“So I bought it back, it looked totally different from this. (I) took it to my dad, he had it for seven years, stripped it down to the bare frame, rebuilt it back up to what it is now but it wasn’t finished and my dad had a stroke,” said Brown. “So not last winter, but the winter before, I brought it home. (I) hung it from the roof in my shop, stripped it down and fought really hard to get it finished by this time last year for the (Ephrata) car show. First car show it had ever been to, only one my dad made it to.”

Brown’s father passed away in December 2021 but that has not kept Brown away from the show. He will proudly tell his story to anyone that will listen about how much it meant to him to rebuild the vehicle with his dad one last time. He put his dad's hat, a pillow made from his dad’s shirt and a wooden memorial sign on the hood for the show.

Brown has plans to add on to the vehicle and create a custom trailer to haul it and enter it in more shows as well as a more permanent memorial to his dad on the vehicle.

The vehicle is street legal, although it only goes about 20 miles per hour, Brown said.

“Guaranteed, you’ll never find another one like it,” said Brown.

Rebecca Pettingill may be reached at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.

The Winners:

Best of Show: 1953 Buick Riviera, Kyle Hussey, Ephrata

People’s Choice: 1949 Chevrolet 3100 Truck, Ty Grant, Soap Lake

Kids Choice: 1978 Harley Davidson Chopper, Collin MacLeod, Ephrata

Fred Goetz Memorial: 1967 Chevrolet El Camino, Shane Goetz, Ephrata Chose to give his trophy to Caleb Johnston

1967 Chevelle Malibu, Caleb Johnston, Moses Lake

Lia Preciado Memorial: 1959 Edsel Corsair, Steve Foryan, Moses Lake

Best Pre-’30s: 1924 Ford T, Jerry Barksdale, Chelan

Best of the ’30s: 1933 Plymouth Coupe, Roger Miller, Ephrata

Best of the ’40s: 1940 Chevrolet Coupe, Rod Egbert, Davenport

Best of the ’50s: 1953 Chevrolet Coupe, Dennis Herrera, East Wenatchee

Best of the ’60s: 1966 Chevy Nova Wagon, Pat Brown, East Wenatchee

Best of the ’70s: 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass, Robin Peterson, Soap Lake

Best of the ’80s: 1983 Chevy S-10, Manuel R., Moses Lake

Best of the ’90s: 1996 Ford Mustang, Moses, Moses Lake

Best Late Model: 2008 Ford Mustang, Jeffrey Waskiewicz, Mountlake Terrace

Best Early Model Truck: 1937 GMC Pickup, Bob Carpenter, Ephrata

Best Late Model Truck: 1968 Chevrolet C-10, Dan Martin, Ephrata

Best Farm Vehicle: 50's International B275 Tractor, Bob Butt, Ephrata

Best Import: 1967 Volkswagen Bug, Darren Star, Moses Lake

Best Motorcycle: 2003 Harley Davidson Road King, Dick Moser, Ephrata

Best Host Vehicle: 1968 Ford Mustang Coupe, Kevin Danby, Ephrata

Most Unique: 2009 Altered A/Fuel Drag Car, Kevin Burck, Ephrata

Best Work in Progress: 1976 AMC Pacer Pickup, John Spiess, Soap Lake

Coolest Wheels: 1969 Ford Mustang Mach I, Dennis Henry, Wenatchee

Best Engine: 1965 Pontiac GTO, Fred Hurst, East Wenatchee

Most Likely to be Pulled Over: 1964 Ford Mustang Fastback, Jeff Kreider, Coulee City

Best Low Rider: 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS, Eddy Zamudio, Wenatchee

Best Rat Rod: 1950 Willys Pickup, Ken Guffey, Chelan