6th annual West Seattle Car Show: As-it-happened coverage

(UPDATED post-show with award-ceremony video, list, more photos)

Sunbreaks at the West Seattle Car Show – and “bright overcast” in general! Come on down to The Junction for what looks to be a few hours of good weather, now that even the fog has passed. Next door at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, it’s the Zucchini 500:

That continues until 1 pm; the car show will continue for a few hours past that – c’mon down! Though admission is free, consider bringing a few dollars for raffles benefiting Pencil Me In For Kids, which provides school supplies to kids in need. You can get your tickets at California/Alaska, which is where we (in our sixth year as a co-sponsor) are hanging out too – a few yards from the SDOT camera providing this view looking north:

This is the sixth year of the car show – produced by Michael Hoffman of Liberty Bell Print and Design. More car photos shortly!

11:47 AM: This might be the most unlikely sight at the show, at the northeast corner of California/Alaska:

It’s here on behalf of the Seattle Lutheran High School auto shop – and here’s what it’s from:

The photo explains that “this year’s project (is a) frame-up rebuild of a 1963 Bel-Air wagon.” If you pass that corner, stop by our nearby table for a free WSB-labeled ice scraper – we brought along a few leftovers from our giveaways at last year’s fall-festival season.

Not much ice-scraper weather last year, but you never know, might come in handy.

Speaking of weather, another sunbreak is moving through, and things have definitely dried out since the brief thunderstorm a few hours earlier – which even at its height didn’t deter spectators. We spotted a couple Junction entrepreneurs snapping pix:

That’s Dean from West 5 at left, Matt Vaughan from Easy Street Records at right. Dean’s co-proprietor Dave Montoure is here too – we photographed him with mom Paula, whose ’58 Nash Metropolitan is in the show:

12:31 PM: The sun’s even brighter. The forecast suggests this is the big break before stormy weather this evening, so now is PRIME TIME to get outside if you haven’t come on down yet. Turnout’s been excellent:

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by to say hi! Couple more hours to see the cars before the winners are announced. Speaking of which, more photos, starting with this 1970 Ford Gran Torino:

And a 1956 Alfa Romeo:

Voting wraps up around 1 pm. Lot of folks here are looking ahead to tonight’s football game – we’re seeing Seahawks jerseys everywhere.

1:55 PM: About an hour until the awards are announced, so if you’re still thinking of coming to the show – it’ll likely be clearing out around 3:30 pm, so don’t wait too long. We’ve seen one politician so far today – Mayor McGinn circulated in the late morning:

He and challenger State Sen. Ed Murray will both be in West Seattle this Tuesday (September 17th), 1 pm, for a forum/debate at the Senior Center of West Seattle (as previously reported here) – all welcome. Back to the cars:

That’s a 1956 Porsche. For some reason, it’s the mid-’50s cars that have caught our eye today – this is a ’56 Ford:

The rain’s continued to stay away except for a brief sprinkle that blew through about an hour ago.

3:40 PM: The show’s a wrap – awards have been handed out and the cars are leaving. We rolled video on the awards ceremony and will add that here after we upload it back at HQ.

5 PM: Thanks to whomever texted us that the streets in The Junction are open again – as you can see via the “live” camera in this story.

6:51 PM: Jim Clark has a wonderful gallery of car-show photos – browse them here. And he shared these two with us for publication:

Meantime, here’s our video of the awards ceremony that concluded the show:

(added) We asked show producer Michael about a written list – here’s what we received:

Favorite West Seattle Car – Bob Harvey / 1937 Buick 10
Favorite Foreign Car – Dennis Saxon / 1965 Austin Healy MKIII BJ8
Favorite Ford – David and Alissa Riker (father & daughter) / 1970 Ford Torino
Favorite Mopar – Gini Bailey / 1933 Plymouth Coupe
Favorite Chevy – Mike Wilson / 1962 Chevrolet Belair
Favorite 20s – Greg Holmes / 1929 Ford “A”
Favorite 30s – Terry Skiple / 1932 Ford Coupe
Favorite 40s – Steve Neilsen / 1947 GMC COE
Favorite 50s – Ken Thompson / 1950 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight DLX 4 door
Favorite 70s – 1970 Dodge Challenger SE

Participants’ Choice:
Winner: Chris Alther / 1966 Chevy Nova supersport
Rudy Alviar / 1951 Chevy Bel Air 2 door hardtop convertible
Ron Rolfsness / 1957 Chevy Cameo Pickup
Michael Daily (Mission Moto) / 1975 Honda CB125
Bill Dwyer / 1954 MG MG

NSRA Safety Award – Fred E. Yeates / 1938 Olds 2 door

Sponsor Awards:
Liberty Bell Print & Design – Scotty Almoslino / 1967 Pontiac GTO Convertible
Don Swanson Insurance – Jack Gentry / 1968 Chevy Impala
West Seattle Thriftway Award – 1968 Chevy Camaro
Gary Parker Memorial – Steve Olson / 1967 AMC Rebel SST

P.S. – Next street-closing celebration in The Junction will be this year’s Harvest Festival on October 27th (as announced earlier this month).

miws September 15, 2013 (3:06 pm)

Had a great time at the car Show today. Managed to make it there between the “weather systems”, and even enjoyed the sun trying to come out a couple times!

Got to see some expected familiar faces, including Tracy of WSB, and Michael of Liberty Bell, and one unexpected one from the West Seattle neighborhood I lived in as a small kid 44+ years ago!

Huge thanks to Michael/Liberty Bell, WSB, and all of the other Sponsors!

Mike

onion September 15, 2013 (3:23 pm)

I was there around the same time as the mayor, but we didn’t cross paths. Too bad, because i could have told him what a terrible mayor he has been. I’m counting the days.

Heather September 15, 2013 (4:48 pm)

Sigh…that Alfa Romeo…lovely

Jim Clark September 15, 2013 (5:49 pm)

Some very nice cars this year. A couple of great looking Mini’s and the 69 Mustang is beautiful as well as the Hemi cuda

Mary September 15, 2013 (5:50 pm)

Can anyone tell me what the really cute/tiny orange truck with with the nice wood bed was? It was near the Back to Nature pet store. Thanks!

Mat September 15, 2013 (5:59 pm)

No word on who won what awards?

Also the Porsche was a 356 :)

WSB September 15, 2013 (6:06 pm)

Mat – we recorded the award announcements on video and are processing it now. If a written version is available, we’ll publish it. I do recall the Torino shown in our story won “Favorite Ford.” – TR

West Seattle Hipster September 15, 2013 (5:59 pm)

Thanks to all the car owners for bringing out their works of art for us to enjoy.

And Onion, I couldn’t agree more.

Jeff Dana September 15, 2013 (6:10 pm)

They need to change the date of this car show to earlier in the summer. They should take the date in mid-July that the car show on Alki used to use. This is the second time during the six years where it has had heavy rains, and two other years had rain at some point during the show. The number of cars this year was small, and that will continue to be the case if they don’t move the date since many classic car owners don’t drive their car in the rain. I’ve emailed Michael three separate times about considering a date change and he never responds.

jimClark September 15, 2013 (6:28 pm)

Mary i think it was an Austin

miws September 15, 2013 (6:49 pm)

Yes, the little truck was an Austin Mini.

Mike

let them swim September 15, 2013 (6:54 pm)

@JD, True, rain happens in Seattle but, mid-July—-Hi-Yu going ons, W.S. Street Fair. A more reliable date for no rain would be in mid-August.

LibertyBell September 15, 2013 (9:20 pm)

Jeff Dana – We have looked at other dates. The car show calendar in Puget Sound is full. Six years ago, this date was chosen, due to the lack of shows on the date. Historically, it had been a great day weather wise. August has SeaFair taking one weekend and Hot August Nights in Reno pulls a lot of would be participants away on a second weekend. The other two days are loaded. car show participants are loyal to shows. If we move, they would likely attend the shows they are now attending on those dates instead.
To clarify your facts… of the six years there has only been rain DURING the show two times and this year was one on them. We have been blessed that on several times the skies have waited until right after the show to open up – as they did again this year. In addition, two years were absolutely beautiful days.
There was 148 cars this year. Short of last year’s record, but in my opinion and that of the car club that helps us put on the show, all things considered, it was a success.
Also, I have no idea what email you might be using. I try very hard to respond to all emails. In the future, the car show email is WSCS@LibertyBellPd.com. please feel free to use it anytime with comments. This show is put on as a community event and all comments are appreciated.

Mary September 15, 2013 (9:39 pm)

Thanks, JimClark and miws. That little Austin Jiffy (I googled, too) is my new dream vehicle.

LibertyBell September 15, 2013 (10:13 pm)

THANK YOU SPONSORS!!!!!

I want to send a HUGE Thank You to all of the businesses that sponsored the car show (WS Blog included) this year. It is a simple truth that without them, there would be no West Seattle Car Show. The are too numerous to list here, but can be found on the show’s website: WSCarShow.com. PLEASE take a look. If you enjoyed the show, please let them know you appreciate their generosity!

Michael

skeeter September 16, 2013 (9:48 am)

I really like the West Seattle Car Show in September. The traditional summer months (July/Aug) are packed with events. I much prefer an event in September to spread things out a bit. Well done all!