Every Friday evening during the summer months, Alderbrook Park in Brush Prairie fills up with special interest vehicles, usually each with a unique story between car and owner.
A wide variety of sweet rides filled the Alderbrook lawn on Friday, July 31. Three car owners shared their stories behind the vehicles they drove that evening.
From carefully restored Corvettes and rare Packards to unsuspecting "sleeper" hot rods, many of the vehicles on display represented years of dedication, family memories and lifelong passions.
A pair of sleeper classics
For Portland resident Rick Glover, appearances can be deceiving.
His weathered-looking 1947 Plymouth two-door sedan may wear faded patina, but beneath the exterior sits a 1949 DeSoto Hemi engine paired with a five-speed transmission, four-wheel disc brakes and an extensively upgraded suspension.
"It's a ‘47 Plymouth two-door sedan, but it's got a 1949 DeSoto Hemi in it with five-speed transmission, Fatman front end, four-wheel disc brakes," Glover said. "The body's all patinaed, but they did put a new interior in it."
After owning the car for just over a year, Glover said the project has continued since he purchased it.
Asked what he enjoys most about driving it, Glover didn't hesitate.
"Scaring the sh-t out of people," he said with a laugh. "At a stoplight, you know, they come beside me and laugh at me, and I leave them in the dust."
He described the Plymouth as "a sleeper," noting that its understated appearance hides significant performance upgrades.
"It's got all new suspension under it, an eight and three-quarter Chrysler rear end, sway bars front and rear, Corvette master cylinder," he said. "It's been tricked out."
Glover said he and his son, James, also own a 1952 Ford powered by a 300-cubic-inch Ford truck engine producing roughly 350 horsepower.
"My buddy built it probably 10 years ago and didn't put 20 miles on it," Glover said. "And then he died and I got the car from his widow."
While Glover previously attended larger cruise events in Portland, he said Alderbrook Park has become a favorite stop.
"I can spend $30 here for the both of us," he said. "And down at Beaches, it'd be $60. And so, guess what? We come here."
Rare Packard rescued from machine shop storage
Bob Waner brought one of the evening's rarer vehicles, a fully restored 1953 Packard Caribbean convertible.
The top-of-the-line Packard nearly remained hidden indefinitely after spending years tucked away behind machinery inside a machine shop.
"It's kind of a rescue situation," Waner said. "It was in the back of a machine shop, and we spent the morning moving the milling machines and the lathes out of the way."
Unable to clearly see the car beneath several tarps, Waner relied on touch.
"I could feel through the tarps, and I felt what it was like braille," he said. "And I said, 'Oh, this is a ‘53 Packard Caribbean Convertible.'"
After purchasing the vehicle, Waner and his wife embarked on a complete body-off restoration that lasted about three years.
A parts car supplied a replacement engine and transmission after the originals proved unusable.
"I had a parts car that thankfully had a good transmission and a good engine, because the engine from this one was shot," Waner said.
The Packard features hydraulic windows, a hydraulic seat and a hydraulic convertible top powered by the company's renowned 327-cubic-inch straight-eight engine.
"I think what I like about it more than anything is its roadability," Waner said. "Its drivability is very good. I wouldn't say it hugs the road, but it's a very comfortable car to drive, and it's very stylish."
His appreciation for the car extends beyond ownership after having met a person responsible for the sleek and classic look.
"I knew the designer of the car, his name was Dick Teague," Waner said. "We got to know him, I spent some time at his house over dinner."
Corvette became part of a love story
For Don and Bev Brissler, their 1957 Chevrolet Corvette represents far more than a classic sports car.
"The story to this car," Don Brissler began, "this car was out in a chicken coop in Boring, Oregon in storage. No engine. No transmission. The seats were in the trunk."
He and a friend hauled the Corvette home before restoring it.
"We restored it and put it together 40 years ago now," Brissler said after Bev corrected his original estimate. "She always corrects me."
The Corvette also played a role in the couple's relationship.
"I met her in the paper at the time, because we didn't have online," Brissler said. "And she said she had a couple old Corvettes. So I said, 'Can you send me pictures of the Corvettes?' That's a true story."
The couple eventually sold their other Corvettes but kept the 1957.
Today, the nearly numbers-matching Corvette remains close to factory specifications.
"It's almost a numbers match car, which means if you walked in the showroom in 1957, this is what you would see," Brissler said.
One detail made the car even more meaningful for the couple.
"We traced it back and it's a real, real late '57. It was built on about Aug. 21 of '57, which happens to be her birthday," Brissler said.
When asked what he enjoys most, Brissler pointed to the simple pleasure of an evening drive.
"Oh, just to drive in it in the evening about this time of day," he said. "When the sun's going down and the top's off and you listen to the exhaust, it's just fun. Brings back a lot of memories, you know. When you were young and dumb. I'm still dumb, but I'm not young."
The Corvette fulfilled a lifelong dream for Don Brissler.
"I've wanted one since I was 16 years old," Brissler said. "That was my ultimate car. It was a '57 Corvette, and I never got one until I married her. So I got a wife and a Corvette."
The restoration also sparked another passion. After initially hoping to have the Corvette judged by the National Corvette Restorers Society, Brissler instead became one of the judges.
"It made it fun," he said. "So we went all over the country judging cars. It was a fun thing to do. Met a lot of different people and heard the history of the cars."
The Friday Night Cruise-in concludes on Sept. 18, with events every Friday — weather depending. Alderbrook Park is located at 24414 NE Westerholm Road in Brush Prairie. Gates open at 4 p.m. with the weekly show ending at 8 p.m. For more information, visit alderbrookparkevents.com/cruise-in.
