The 50th Portland Roadster Show in Portland, Oregon, reached a new benchmark with its 50th anniversary. To say it was popular may be a misnomer, as 800 cars showed up for the 500 spaces, but show chairman "Big Don" Van Dinter pieced the puzzle neatly together and the show carried on. To get a perspective on what the 50th show meant, we asked local automotive historian and longtime automotive journalist Al Drake to give his account of the first PRS from 1956.
Before Angel Hair: The First Portland Roadster ShowThis year marks the 50th anniversary of the Portland Roadster Show, and, as probably one of the last people still kicking who had a rod on display in that show, I have an obligation to recall that time 50 years ago when the doors first opened. It was a memorable event, but I have to admit, some things from that time have grown fuzzy. Rather than cite facts, which could be suspect, let me focus on impressions, which have their own kind of truth.
First, we were all terribly young! There were a few guys who might have been 30, but most of us were recent teenagers, moving into our 20s, finally legally able to consume some suds. Our age alone could account for the energy and excitement we demonstrated. We could work at a job all day and wrench half the night and wake at dawn feeling alive and ready to go. I have the impression that most of the younger guys were single, which gave them the freedom to fool with cars and a few extra bucks to spend on them. Also, it was a high point for car clubs; there were dozens of them, more than anyone remembers. Some were big, some small, but none allowed females. Each had a built-in camaraderie among members and a friendly competition with other clubs.
The show was staged in this spirit of fun, fellowship, and competition. There were also practical reasons for having a show. In 1956, there were no rod runs as we know them today. The streets of Portland were filled with interesting cars, but the only way to see them was to stand at a main intersection or hang around a drive-in restaurant night after night, hoping for the chance to see one drive past. The car remained still for a couple of days when it was parked at a show, and you could study it at length-to understand how the headlight brackets or suicide front end was built, or what kinds of taillights looked good in a '51 Merc-so you could figure out if you wanted to apply those ideas to your own rod.
Somehow guys with working class jobs found the dough to not only buy a car, but to pay to have an engine built, paint sprayed, and plating done. In those simpler times we made simple distinctions: A show-quality rod or custom had both paint and interior, as opposed to the vast majority that lacked one or both. The cars in that first PRS went beyond that. Every one was worth looking at. For the most part, they were examples of what is generally referred to as "classic" examples-cars that builders today work to emulate, at least in spirit. It would definitely grab our attention if one showed up today at a car event.