2008 Washington State Hot Rod Hall of Fame
By Brian Curtis

The 2008 Washington State Hall of Fame dinner was held on Saturday March 1st at FX McRory’s Restaurant in Seattle.

The gathering of well over 100 enjoyed a great dinner and the presentation of the leatherman jacket and trophy to the eight honorees.

The Hall of Fame began in 1986 when Walt Kaplin put forth the idea and got it rolling with the first members inducted in 1987.

The work load has been taken over by Pat D’Ambrosio. Emcee Lance Lambert got the show rolling without a hitch.

The car clubs recognized this year were the Baloney Classic Car Club, the Goodguys Rod and Custom Assn., Italian Street Rodders Assn., Kingsmen Car Club, Legends Car Club, Northwest Classic Chevy Club, Rainier Classic Chevy Club and Seattle Rodtiques.

If you have a special club member and would like to nominate him/her for the 2009 Washington State Hot Rod Hall of Fame, contact: Pat D’Ambrosio, Ph: 206-459-0325.

Think About It… How Safe is Your Machine?
By Albert Drake

Everybody owns something, but how safe is it? There’s an epidemic of metal thieves stealing metal to buy drugs, and they seem to operate with impunity, even though they’re hauling off heavy stuff. You might be vulnerable, but you assume that the neighbors are keeping an eye on each other’s houses, and that the police are on the job, and, should anything be stolen, that you have insurance that will cover the loss.

I was away from home on Christmas Eve, and the next morning I realized that two big stacks of 1950s wheel covers were gone! Also three 1940 Ford radiators were missing. Most alarming was the theft of a complete, original 1968 BSA Victor 441 motorcycle (VIN B44Bw52052), a bike I’d owned for 22 years! I soon realized that the items had been taken through my back yard, and that the thieves had ripped up the fence. Then they went through the neighbor’s yard and into the street. The radiators weighed around 60 pounds each, and the cycle weighed 600 pounds, so I assume several people did the stealing.

I did everything I could. I took photographs of the area, including the tire tracks in the driveway, the pop can on my hedge, which I assumed would yield fingerprints, and the scuff marks on the side of a room next to the garage which indicated that at least one thief had climbed over the roof to get to where things were stored. I made a flyer, offered a reward and circulated it to the neighbors; not one replied. A neighbor one house over and across the street said he had a video camera pointed at the street but he would not let me view the tape. I called the cycle shop and the owner said that the cycle was probably already in a container bound for Japan or had been reduced to parts, which were more valuable than a complete bike.

Then I called the police. Officer McLemon came out, looked around, and wrote down my name and address. Otherwise he seemed totally disinterested. “Who’d want an old rusty radiator?” he said. He told me to wait 1 1/2 weeks, then to call in and get a report number. I did that. For the next two months I was on the phone, sometimes for an entire day, trying to get information from the cops. Then I was told that Officer McLemon had never filed a report! Nor would he call me back. Then I realized that he had never taken the VIN, so even when he told me to call for a report number he had no intention of filing a report!

Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised that a neighbor would rob me. I live in the Lents area of Portland, an area called “Felony Flats”. I was surprised that the cops wouldn’t help me, especially when I hear of a human-interest story where they have helped an old woman find her dog. But the final surprise was when I learned that my home owner’s policy would not cover the loss of a motor vehicle. I remember a trip to Mexico years ago when our home owner’s policy even covered our luggage when it was inside the car. Now my policy has exclusions big enough to ride that BSA through!