Every year, on the Saturday before Mother’s Day, classic car owners all over the Portland area fire up their cars before the sun and head to the east side of town for an early morning gathering. This is where the Portland Transmission show kicks off the car show season, sprawling across a big chunk of the inner southeast portion of the city. There’s always a bunch of great stuff at this event — from Gassers to Model Ts, military vehicles, hot rods, muscle cars and trucks. I rolled out at 5:45 am that morning with my Canon 6D to shoot the […]
Every year, on the Saturday before Mother’s Day, classic car owners all over the Portland area fire up their cars before the sun and head to the east side of town for an early morning gathering. This is where the Portland Transmission show kicks off the car show season, sprawling across a big chunk of the inner southeast portion of the city.
There’s always a bunch of great stuff at this event — from Gassers to Model Ts, military vehicles, hot rods, muscle cars and trucks. I rolled out at 5:45 am that morning with my Canon 6D to shoot the event, catch up with some friends and kick tires on some completed winter projects out for their first showing. Here’s some of what I saw:
When’s the last time you saw a Tri-Five Pontiac Gasser?
Sitting low on up and down the block.
Model A with a period Flathead Ford wearing a bunch of Thickstun speed parts.
Lots of body and paint hours spent on this B-body.
Mopars with their Air Grabbers ready…
A wide range of stuff shows up, from Corvettes to lowriders.
How about a Rambler delivery wagon? Real or reimagined? Hard to tell, but certainly cool.
Just like any car show, the details matter here. Even before breakfast.
Clean Pontiac leads a GM row.
Nice Cobra Jet Cyclone.
Patina is still hot in the truck world, as are utility boxes.
Anybody know what this thing is?
Woodgrain, Redlines, seating for the family and a barely hidden 426 Hemi under the hood.
Dig this powertrain combo — not your usual 350/TH350 setup.
Clean orange rod done up as a C/Gas drag racer. Nice orange windshield!
How to make a 4-dr Edsel cool: Lose the door handles, add chrome reverse wheels and rebrand it “SLED.”
Model T making the rounds — and standing out.
Hemi-Powered Dart looks ready for the strip.
For Official Use Only. That includes a drop and an LS conversion.
GM X-bodies don’t often get the Gasser treatment. This one was very cool.
Vintage DUKW looking still ready for a beach landing.
Plenty of firepower on this GPW.
The coolest factory induction system of all time goes to the Chrysler 300F’s long-runner dual-four setup.
Hard to go wrong with a Corvette-injected 1956 Bel Air.
Simple and ornate — just about everything shows up for this Spring event.
Clean classic Cadillac convertible in an understated color.
Of all the ’32 Fords here, this was my favorite. From the induction, exhaust, wheels, stance and side curtains, everything about it was just right.
A vintage-build lowboy, complete with a Chevrolet W-block and triple carbs.
If you’re in the area and want to come to next year’s show, it’s always at the same time and place: Saturday before Mother’s Day at Portland Transmission Warehouse and the surrounding neighborhood, from about 5 am until 11 am or so. Come check it out — and bring your car!
