'Every car has a story'

MOSES LAKE — The nickname for Paul Brumley’s 1964 Chevrolet Impala is kind of a family joke. “Over Budget,” it’s called. But Brumley’s mom, Janice, said it’s worth every penny.  

Brumley was severely injured in an accident, she said, and during his recovery the car gave him something to think about and work on. It still does, she said. 

Brumley, Moses Lake, and his family brought the Impala to the Farmer-Consumer Awareness Day car show Sept. 14 in Quincy. A section of the field behind Quincy Middle School was filled with classic cars, low riders, muscle cars, pickups; something for every car lover. 

It’s that way all spring, summer and fall in Central and Eastern Washington and throughout the country, probably. Sometimes the cars are the stars, sometimes they’re part of a bigger event. Either way, there’s a car show somewhere all summer.  

Brumley said he sold his first Impala to help pay for his wedding and he always intended to replace it.  

“It took me 20-some years to buy another one,” he said.  

The Impala doesn’t just sit in the garage when it’s not at a show, Paul said. He, his wife and children take it out every week for a drive. That’s not the case with Mark Nunamaker’s 1931 Ford Model A, converted to a truck. Mostly it stays home, out of the weather. Nunamaker, Quincy, took it to a show a few years ago; it rained steadily, and Nunamaker said he apologized to the car the entire day.  

He bought Model A in 1962 when he was 14 years of age, he said, and he’s been working on it ever since.  

“I’ve had five motors,” he said. 

For a while it was a drag racer. Now it’s bright red and comes with an optional pair of mouse ears reminiscent of a famous Disney mouse. He installed the ears for the FCAD parade.  

“When I’m in a parade, the kids love it,” he said.  

It’s been a project since 1962, and like Brumley’s Impala, Nunamaker said it’s money well spent.  

“What got me through Vietnam was this car. It got me through that year,” he said. 

Tony Bell, Spokane, said he bought his 1930 Model A in in part in celebration of an important milestone, the approach of the fifth anniversary of his successful cancer treatment 

“I’m almost to the finish line,” he said in July. 

The Model A was part of the inventory at an estate sale, he said, and he bid the minimum. His wife Denise threw in an extra $150, and that was enough to get them the car. 

Bell’s bright red car is fun to drive down the street, he said.  

“I get a lot of smiles,” he said. “That’s what I like.” 

John Hill’s 1973 bright green Porsche is a memory of a family milestone. His mom had just recovered from cancer, and her family thought she needed to celebrate.  

“We convinced her she needed a Porsche,” he said. 

She bought it new and drove it until she died, he said. It’s been in the family ever since. 

Paul Brumley’s dad Don Brumley said if one person in a family owns a car, everybody in the family does. Kevin and Sara Ray, Soap Lake, have years of sporadic work in their rat rod, which started with a cab and hood found in a field. Kevin Ray had an idea of what he wanted and hunted down old car parts to make that vision a reality. 

“It’s never finished, to be honest,” Sara Ray said. 

Jeremy Reese, Moses Lake, has the 1973 Chevrolet Camaro that belonged to his dad Brett — Brett Reese always liked something that could go fast, whether it was a car, a motorcycle, even a boat. He shared his love of vehicles and of working on them with his son.  

“He raised me on it,” Jeremy Reese said. “I love it.” 

Brett Reese died in 2020 after battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis for seven years. His son started a car show in Moses Lake in his honor in June 2024, and the Camaro was front and center.  

Jason Pastor-Oneel, Walla Walla, inherited his 1981 Buick Regal lowrider from his uncle, who told him to maintain it and never get rid of it. He’s followed his uncle’s advice, he said. 

“We put a lot of love and a lot of pride — and a lot of ourselves — into our cars,” Pastor-Oneel said.  

Oscar Garcia’s red 1981 Ford Courier pickup gleamed in the sun, and its interior was immaculate, but they weren’t the eye-catching part. That was the audio system that filled the entire truck bed, with a hydraulic lift to stand it vertically.  

Garcia, Wenatchee, said with the help of fellow Malditos Car Club member that the idea came from similar trucks he’d seen in the 1990s. He bought the truck for $800, he said, and restored it from the frame up, a project that took about seven months. 

How much was it? Well, in a way it didn’t really have a price, Garcia said. It was the sentimental value that really mattered.  

His fellow Malditos member and interpreter, who gave his name as Giovanni, said that while every car is different, they all have something in common. They mean a lot to their owners. 

“Every car has a story,” he said. 

    Oscar Garcia’s 1981 Ford Courier has the ultimate sound system.
  

    A spectator takes a close look at a rat rod at the Brett Reese Memorial car show in June.
  

    Mark Nunamaker tricked out his 1931 Ford Model A to remind people of a very famous mouse.
  

    Tony Bell’s 1930 Model A draws some interested spectators.