Keith’s Blog: Cadillacs and 4Cs in Camas

Social media has its plusses and minuses, but a definitive positive is the ability to find out about events you would never hear of otherwise.

Late Friday night I was forwarded a notice of the “Discovery Vintage Car Show – Vintage Wheels and Timeless Appeal.” It was being held at Discovery High School in Camas, WA. That’s only a 20-minute drive from my condo.

I also liked that the show was scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., much more reasonable than getting up at 6 a.m. to get in line with a thousand others at Cars & Coffee. There was no admission charge, but I was sure there would be a way to make a donation.

I had just brought the Alfa Romeo Spider S4 home from local guru Nasko’s shop, and it would be the perfect car for the trip. The weather was supposed to be in the 70s, so the A/C, which we had completely overhauled three years ago including a new compressor, would keep me cool.

The show’s Instagram site says, “The Discovery Car Show is an event from the minds of Lochlin Butterfield and Wyatt Simko. The show was created for their Senior Project and Discovery High School, the goal was to come up with an idea for a super fun, community-based event to help raise donations for the Discovery ASB and student fund.”

There were probably 50 cars on display when I arrived, ranging from American muscle to a Chevrolet Corvair coupe to a Porsche 356C coupe. Most imposing was a classic Cadillac Eldorado convertible.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t the only Alfa there. At one end of the line was a red 4C coupe. Naturally we Alfa owners began talking. The 4C is owned Bradley and Nicole Butterfield, parents of one of the organizers of the show. Their son, Lochlin, was showing his Mazda Miata NA that he had built a strong NB engine for, including tubular headers.

Bradley said that although he had owned over 60 cars and linked tinkering with them, this was his first Alfa. He had found the 4C on a used car lot on 82^nd Ave. He found the online Alfa forums invaluable in maintaining car his car, including directing him to a shop on the East Coast that recovered his cracked dash in Alcantara for $700, rather than the $1,500 the dealer quoted him.

I spent a pleasant hour at the show and made a donation. The trophies were impressive, but I didn’t stay to see them presented. I am always pleased and impressed when I see kids involved with cars. While the role of cars in our society continues to evolve, our passion for these machines that offer us personal mobility continues to be strong.

Alfas being Alfas, the ice-cold air from my A/C became tepid as I drove home and the day got hotter. Nasko thinks it is a fuse. I knew I’d be seeing him again soon.

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