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The streets of downtown Chehalis were crowded with hundreds of people for hours as Experience Chehalis’ annual ChehalisFest was held Saturday, July 26.
Over 70 vendors lined the streets for Gemini Events’ ChehalisFest Vendor Fair. A free blueberry pancake breakfast was held at the Lewis County Historical Museum. Among the many events held during the annual ChehalisFest celebration was the ChehalisFest Car Show.
According to Experience Chehalis Executive Director Annalee Tobey, car show registration was maxed out with 128 classic cars and trucks lining Northwest Chehalis Avenue, Northwest Prindle Street and Northwest Park Street in downtown Chehalis.
More classic car owners showed up wanting to enter, but Tobey had to turn them away as there was no room left. She added she plans to expand the car show’s footprint next year.
Some of the proceeds benefited Experience Chehalis along with the Veterans Memorial Museum in Chehalis, which will also be hosting the annual Rust or Shine Car Show at the end of August.
Some of the cars at Saturday’s ChehalisFest Car Show that caught The Chronicle’s eye included a 1963 Ford Falcon Futura convertible, a 1980 Chevrolet LUV Mikado 4x4 edition and a 1970 Jeep Jeepster convertible.
Reunited with a Falcon Futura
Back when he was in college, Dave Muller’s first car was a first generation Ford Falcon, which was produced from 1960 to 1963 before Ford engineers redesigned the body shape for its second generation.
Unfortunately, that first Falcon’s fate was a tragic one.
“My brother wrecked it. One of those things. I had sold it to him though, so what can you do?” Muller said.
Now living south of Newaukum, Muller had been looking for a Falcon to drive again for a while, and finally found a 1963 Ford Falcon Futura convertible.
The Falcon itself began life as a scaled-down version of Ford’s full-size sedan, the Galaxie.
Falcon Futuras were the higher trim models — which unlike base model Falcons with inline-six motors making between 95 and 101 horsepower, featured Ford’s 4.8 liter small-block Challenger V8 engine pumping out 164 horsepower.
“It’s basically stock as it was sold. I just don’t see them the way they were. It’s got a little 260 (cubic inch) V8 in it, and a three-speed transmission in the column," Muller said. “It goes, but it would be nice if it was a four-speed. These evolved into the Mustang. In 64, they started making the Mustang, and these things got phased out.”
In fact, while the body styles may be different, the chassis, suspension and drivetrains from 1963 Ford Falcons were all used in 1964 Mustangs.
While Muller wants to keep his Falcon Futura as close to it was when it originally rolled out of Ford’s factory in 1963, he has done some work to fix the handling.
“The old Fords, the steering and suspension, as it got older, got loose. So you’re going down the road, you’re holding the steering wheel tight, but it’s wandering on you. Or you go to turn the steering wheel and it’s a quarter-turn before it reacts,” said Muller. “The suspension has been redone, so the steering works nice and it rides really nice.”
Giving some love to a LUV
While the truck is no stranger to rust damage and needs a lot of restoration still, Chehalis resident Joshua Brooks ensures he at least keeps his 1980 Chevrolet LUV Mikado 4x4 edition running until he can afford to fully restore it. Why?
“Because of how small they are and how rare they are,” Brooks said.
Additionally, he still uses it as a work truck.
Produced by Chevrolet from 1972 to 1982, the LUV, short for light utility vehicle, was the company’s affordable compact truck option featuring economical 1.8 liter Isuzu inline-four motors which got more than 30 miles per gallon in terms of fuel efficiency.
The LUV actually began life as a rebadged Isuzu Faster pickup truck. The Mikado edition was a higher end trim package which included special Mikado badges along with upgraded interior styling and optional exterior styling.
“I’m a Ford fan myself, but I see a lot more Rangers out on the road than you do these Chevy LUVs,” said Brooks.
Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming popularity of Ford Rangers, Chevrolet discontinued U.S. sales of the LUV in 1982 in favor of the Chevrolet S-10.
So when his neighbor said he had an old LUV he was trying to get rid of in 2023, Brooks went ahead and purchased it.
Cruising in a convertible Jeepster
For Winlock resident Rusty Jordan, driving his 1970 Jeep Jeepster convertible isn’t just a way to travel down memory lane as a Jeepster was his first car, but also a way to connect with family.
He’s owned his Jeepster for four years now, and though he didn’t do any of the restoration work on the car, his uncle did.
Jeepsters were a higher trim level package of Jeep Commandos, produced from 1966 through 1973.
“My uncle, Alyn Swedberg, who does metal work, did the metal work on it way back, like in the 80s and the early 90s,” Jordan said. “That’s part of the reason why I bought it. When I found out he did some of the metal work on it, I thought, ‘I’ll get to have something Uncle Alyn worked on.’”
Additionally, his Jeepster includes the Continental kit, which unlike most other Jeepsters of the time, had a functioning powered convertible top which folded back into the car’s body. Additionally, the Continental kit also included a full-size spare tire.
“Most of them have a hard top or a soft top, it’s like a roadster that you have to take (the top) off,” Jordan added. “... It’s a fun little car. I had one in college.”
Some of the fabrication work Swedberg did on the car included new rear quarter fenders and redoing the interior convertible panels, which were originally fiberglass, in sheet metal.
