ARLINGTON — It was Ben Sebastian’s turn to host his hot-rodding buddies.
They roared in for their regular Thursday meetup in custom rides displaying a rainbow of exotic hues: Florentine Blue, Cyber Gray and Big Bad Orange.
Several vehicles parked at Sebastian’s house that sunny afternoon included streamlined classics from the Eisenhower era and earlier. There were ’60s muscle cars aplenty and a tricked-out ‘46 Cadillac limousine with seating for 10.
Among the chopped tops, big-block engines and blue-dot taillights, there was nary a stock part to be found.
Some represented the equivalent of years of full-time work.
“The sport to me is kind of like showing a person’s individuality,” Sebastian said. “I’ve always looked at a car as an extension of a person’s personality.”
The guests at his house northeast of Arlington belonged to a fraternity known as the Thursday Night Garage Association. Terms of membership are loose; their motto is “No Rules, no dues, just cruzin’ fun.”
They’re hobbyists and obsessives, mechanics and sculptors.
Of roughly 400 members, Sebastian figures about 100 are active. During warm weather, they meet at one another’s houses. In winter, it’s the Burgermaster on Evergreen Way in Everett.
Many got hooked in their teens, even before they could drive.
“I bought my first car when I was a little over 14 years old when I was working as a box boy at a supermarket,” said Sebastian, now 77. “My dad said, ‘That’s just a phase that he’s going through.’ In fact, I haven’t outgrown it. I’ve probably gotten worse.”
From his first ‘39 Chevy coupe, he moved onto a ‘48 Chevy. A ‘59 Plymouth he modified gave him his first break. The September 1963 edition of Car Craft magazine featured it as the “Sierra Gold Fury.”
He competed around the country, judged and eventually became the promoter for the Seattle Autorama, a popular indoor car show. That lasted more than 20 years, spanning the 1970s and 1980s.
“I would build a car a year for feature advertising,” he said. “I’d use it for two or three years, then sell it and build another.”
His nickname in the sport is “Gentle Ben.” It comes from the brief period when a much-younger, buffer Ben Sebastian moonlighted as a bouncer at a topless go-go club. (That was a second job. Sebastian, who studied electrical engineering at the University of Washington, retired after a career with Pacific Northwest Bell, which later became US West and is now part of CenturyLink.)
Last year, he was inducted into the Washington State Hot Rod Hall of Fame.
Many of the friends gathered Thursday were similarly decorated.
Russ Divers, of Everett, was a 2010 inductee, Warren Kindle, of Lynnwood, class of 2008.
They earned reputations with skilled hands and wild imaginations.
Divers, 82, helped build a car that won the 2008 Ridler Award, the top prize for hot-rod show cars. They dubbed their creation — a 1960 Nash Rambler Wagon with Ferrari running gear — “Ferrambo.”
“Nobody can change metal like he can,” said an awestruck Mike O’Brien, 78, of Marysville. “They call him ‘The Rodfather.’ ”
Before retirement, Divers worked in area body shops, including Bickford Ford in Snohomish. Patrons who stopped in for ding and dent repairs were likely unaware they were entrusting their car to a master craftsman and legendary hot-rod builder.
Kindle owns Sandblasters Inc., a Marysville business where the bodies of many-a-future street rod got stripped down to bare metal.
“That guy has a heart of gold,” Divers said.
The demographic skews older in this crowd, with a notable exception: Sebastian’s 17-year-old son, Bradley. They started working together about four years ago, building a ‘41 Ford, painted Rotor Glow Orange, with a 566-horsepower engine.
Sebastian has lost count of the cars he’s owned. He has about 15 now.
“They’re all favorites,” he said. “Every one of them I’ve sold I’ve regretted.”
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
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