Big engines that can

Jeff Benson

Tom Gephart beamed as he showed off his sunshine yellow 1940 Ford

Woody to a relaxed Sunday crowd at the first Coastline Car Classic at

Crystal Cove State Park.

The Coto de Caza resident said he put about $250,000 and several

years into repairing it, so he has a lot to be proud of. Gephart has

adjusted the car’s wheelbase from a four-door to a two-door model. It

took a repairman an entire year to install the light-wood siding. And

even the gas tank underneath was spotless and painted bright yellow.

“This has got a Corvette engine in it,” Gephart said. “I know that

sounds sacrilegious for a Ford, but one of the good things is that

you can put all kinds of different parts in it.”

The Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce hosted the Coastline Car

Classic from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to raise money for the Assessment

Treatment Service Center, which helps troubled, mentally ill and

abused youth with counseling and family rehabilitation. Thousands

showed up to the inaugural event, sponsored by Meguiar’s car care

products, Jaguar, Newport Autosport and Newport European Motorcars,

Ltd.

“The turnout’s more than I anticipated,” said the Chamber’s

executive director and event spokeswoman Linda Leonhard. “The

participation of our sponsors and vendors has been tremendous. A lot

of people put a lot of their time and money into this.”

Gephart, who has 12 classic cars at home, wasn’t alone in shelling

out the big bucks. He said many of the approximately 250 car owners

spent at least tens of thousands in modifications.

Others showed off the newest and sleekest models. Among the old

Rolls Royce limousines, T-Buckets, Roadsters and Fastback Mustangs

were the newest Ferraris, Maseratis, Maybachs and Jaguars.

Parked right next to Gephart’s car was a crystal-silver-colored

2005 Mercedes SLR, one of about 50 McLaren versions shipped from

Great Britain to the U.S. this year, said Caliber Motors salesman

Larry Poudrier. Air intakes, side dual exhausts, carbon fiber chassis

and a 617-horsepower engine push the asking price to $950,000, he

said.

Judges gave out awards for their top 25 cars, with Newport Beach’s

Jim Dillon winning the award for “Best of Show.” Dillon’s 1955 Chevy

Nomad is 9 inches wider and 11 inches longer than the standard ’55

Nomad and is worth about $400,000, chief judge Marc Greeley said.

Escondido’s Harry Tabke won the “Best of Paint” award for his

tangerine-pearl 1932 Ford Roadster. Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway

also handed out the “Mayor’s Award” to Newport resident and cancer

survivor John Andrison, owner of a 1932 Ford Phaeton.

“I thought there was a great cross-section of exclusive cars,”

Chamber President Chip Stassel said. “We basically accepted cars

across all lines, which makes people want to come to it. We made it

open to everyone in the local area, no matter what kind of car they

have.”

* JEFF BENSON is the news assistant and may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at [email protected].