He is actually older than the car, but Tom Fraser's smile and warm nature are as young as a new day.
Fraser, 84, stood by his 1929 Model A Ford with a sense of pride and pleasure. He's owned the unique car for about 50 years and remembers exactly how he got it.
"When I got it, it was also in a garage on Aurora," Fraser said. Fraser had been the longtime owner of Fraser Auto Sales, which had a shop downtown before relocating to auto row in north Seattle.
So the guy looked at Fraser and said, "Make me an offer," Fraser recalled. Fraser, by now a veteran of Blue Book values looked at the heap and said, "Well, the junk man pays $25 to haul it away, so how about $25?"
"Sold!" the man said.
Now the ol' car sits under a carport where, like an ancient museum piece, it continues to drift away from the modern world of iPhones and rockets. The all-orignial upholstery smells musty and the floorboards are made of wood. The crank at the front of the car still works and if you want a little air, just open up the windshield.
Frasier's son, Ross, is going to bring the car to the showgrounds at West McGraw Street in Magnolia Village.
Once again, the show is being organized by Eric Berge, owner of Werner's Crash Shop in Queen Anne. He has a lot of friends with stylish and hot-rod cars. And he continues to woo those who have yet to enter.
"I ask anybody pretty much," Berge said. "There's a dentist on the hill, a Magnolia resident his whole life, he's got a couple of cars I'd like to get out there."
He remembered growing up in Magnolia where cool cars were unavoidable.
"I was always around cars and you couldn't help it," he said. "It was the era of the mid-'60s muscle cars."
The car show is free and is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 21.[[In-content Ad]]
