HOT RODS INFLAME PASSIONS AT EUGENE AUTO SHOW.

Byline: Jim Feehan The Register-Guard

Most guys remember their first kiss, their first love and their first car. For some, their first car is their first love. Just ask Greg Roach of Salem.

While a student at McNary High School in Salem, Roach fell in love with a 1931 Chevrolet coupe owned by a good buddy. In 1967, he paid $1,250 for the two-seater. He would go on to display the classic Chevy at car shows in Oregon during the late '60s and early '70s, including one in Eugene in 1968.

Speed ahead some 36 years, but throw a detour in there, too. Roach's vintage Chevrolet, along with 200 other classic cars and hot rods, was on display Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the 24th annual Eugene Autorama at the Lane Events Center.

The detour was a drive through Splitsville, when car and owner briefly separated, when Roach strayed from his first love. He cast his eye on a newer Chevrolet - a 1976 Corvette - and sold the coupe for $2,500 to help pay for the 'Vette.

"When I sold it, I said to myself `Why did I sell it?' ' Roach, 54, said Sunday.

"My mom was always mad at me for selling it."

By sheer luck, Roach and car would be reunited.

In December 1997, Roach was working for Qwest Communications in Salem. Late one night, he and a co-worker went for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. It was closed, so the two headed for another eatery. There, Roach bumped into an old high school friend who said he saw Roach's old Chevy around town and that the owner was interested in selling.

Almost 22 years after buying it the first time, Roach bought the classic car again, this time for $9,000. The coupe was about 6 miles from his house for more than 20 years, yet Roach never saw it.

"It had to be destiny," he said of reuniting with his long-lost love.

During the next three years, Roach spent $130,000 to restore the car, a far cry from his initial investment. Two years ago, the coupe won top honors at a car show in Redding, Calif., that featured 2,500 hot rods, and custom and restored vintage cars.

On Sunday, he won the Eugene show's top prize, the Oregon's Most Beautiful Hot Rod award.

Cruisin' the Beach was the theme at this year's show, which attracted 4,000 people during its three-day run.

The Rhody Cruisers of Florence won the title of best display, and the $500 that went along with it. The car club's vintage and muscle car collection was featured next to a towering aluminum reproduction of the Siuslaw Bridge near Old Town, complete with several driftwood stumps.

"It took four of us old, fat farts to comb seven miles of the beach to come up with that much driftwood," said Tim Smith of the Rhody Cruisers.

Smith's cherry red, twin-engine, 2,000-horsepower 1932 Ford roadster was a crowd favorite among car show aficionados Sunday. "When it comes to horsepower, too much is all right," he said.

In addition to the roadster, Smith and his wife, Pat, own a 1941 Willy, a 1956 Corvette (Pat's car), a 1926 Model T, a 1956 Chevrolet truck, a 40-foot tractor trailer truck that was used in the television series "The Highwayman," a 1957 Chevrolet, a 1940 Chevrolet truck with an extended cab, and a Stalwart, a 5-ton British amphibious truck.

The couple flipped through a small photo album of their cars and trucks with the loving look of doting parents. Like many of the car owners at the show, the Smiths took pride in their cars, first love or not.

"This is our baby book," Pat said with a grin.

CAPTION(S):

Owner Woody Campbell sees the days of drive-ins in the rear view mirror of his 1941 Chevy Coupe, on display at the Eugene Autorama at the Lane Events Center.