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Cool Creek Nites of Olympia parks, judges and registers the vehicles for the event and donates a portion of the money raised to a local fire department.
Each year it donates $3,500 so that the fire department of its choice – typically a volunteer department in a rural area – can purchase emergency equipment such as portable defibrillators, said Denise Spillmann, secretary and a charter member of Cool Creek Nites.
The number of cars was down this year, largely because of the suddenly cool weather and rain, said Allen Raphael, president of the nonprofit. In past years, as many as 350 vehicles have participated in Summer’s End, Spillmann said.
Still, there were plenty of cars to see, including a few “muscle cars,” those American-made vehicles from the 1950s to the 1970s that were known for power and speed. One of those on display was Mike and Margaret Scheppke’s 1967 Ford Mustang.
The Tumwater couple spent six years restoring the car – a car once bought and owned by her parents – after it had spent about 25 years at a wheat ranch outside of Lewiston, Idaho, Mike Scheppke said.
He didn’t disclose the cost to restore the car, except to say the same amount of money might pay for a four-year public-university education.
But it was an important project, Scheppke said, because it kept the car in the family.
The Ford Mustang has had its grips on this car-loving country for years, and Scheppke said that’s because it was one of the first affordable-but-still-sporty vehicles to compete with sport cars imported from Europe. It also was built with classic lines and power, he said.
The Scheppkes car has a 289 cubic-inch V-8 engine that generates 230 horsepower. And rather than the stock three-speed automatic it once had, it now has a five-speed stick shift.
Mike Scheppke described it as “quick and solid,” a car that accelerates with a lot of torque.
“There’s no hesitation, and it barks pretty good, too,” he said.
Still, sometimes the idea of a “classic car” is in the eye of the beholder.
Michael Springer of Olympia drove his 1972 Ford Pinto to the show, a car he paid $300 for and that he once used to deliver pizzas. Springer argues that the Pinto meets the definition of a classic car because a generation of drivers still remembers the car, and some remember it fondly.
He was right: many people who attended Saturday’s event couldn’t help but stop and talk about their memories of the Pinto. The Pinto went into production in about 1971, and in 1972, it was manufactured with a trunk rather than with a glass hatchback, Springer said. Ford made the car until about 1980, he said, and it cost about $2,000 brand new.
“It drives like a go-kart,” Springer said about his car, adding that it can’t go real fast but is great on corners.
Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403
rboone@theolympian.com
www.theolympian.com/bizblog
