Cool cars fire up crowd

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, May 29, 2005

EVERETT – Hundreds of cool cars were there – black T-Birds, red Mustangs, a turquoise Buick Riviera, an orange El Camino.

There were Ford Roadsters and pickups from the ’20s, and cars made in about every year through the 1970s, all meticulously polished and cared for.

Dan Bates / The Herald To the amazement of onlookers, flames shoot out the back of Les Sanders’ black 1950 Mercury Coupe as he drives up and down Colby Avenue with hundreds of others in classic and custom automobiles during Sunday’s Cruzin’ to Colby event.

They all pleased the crowd as they cruised up and down Colby Avenue in downtown Everett on Sunday, drivers and passengers waving and sounding musical horns.

But the car that revved ‘em up the most did so not by how it looked, but by what it did.

At first glance, the 1950 flat black Mercury with red-and-yellow flames painted on it seemed to blend in with the other vintage vehicles. But then, a couple of times per block, it would rev to a roar and shoot flames several feet out both its tailpipes.

Girls screamed. Boys ran to take pictures. Cheers rose every time.

“It was awesome. We liked it a lot,” said Anna Andrukov, 13, of Maple Falls, one of the screaming girls.

Dan Bates / The Herald Les Sanders wears a hat that matches his 1950 Mercury Coupe that throws flames. Sanders drove the car at Cruzin’ to Colby on Sunday.

“That seems to be the big hit today,” said Debbie Jackson of Everett, who sat in a folding chair on Colby with her husband, Tod, and sons Jeremy and Joey. It was their first visit to the Cruzin’ to Colby car show, now in its sixth year.

The flames were supplied by Les Sanders of Woodinville, who equipped the Mercury with spark plugs in the tailpipes and a button under the steering wheel. When he pushes the button, the spark to the engine is cut off and diverted to the spark plugs in the tail pipes, igniting gases in the exhaust. The car stalls momentarily, then rolls along.

“It’s actually the safest way to do it,” said Sanders said. Tailpipe flames can be created other ways, he said, such as with propane, capable of shooting 100 feet. But that wouldn’t be appropriate for a show with a couple of thousand people lining the streets, he said.

Sanders, 63, wore a straw hat painted black with flames, to match his car. He estimates he’s put about $45,000 into the Mercury, which he’s owned for 10 years.

“It’s not about the money, it’s about having fun,” he said.

Of course, nostalgia is also a biggie.

“This is just like my first car that I bought here in Everett,” said Cathy Sexton, riding with her husband Stan in their electric blue, 1954 hard-top Bel Air.

“She used to cruise Colby when she was in high school, Class of ‘58,” Stan said.

Cruising on Colby was a tradition for high school students in the Everett area up until it was made illegal in the early ’80s, said Connie Abramson of Snohomish. She is the treasurer for Seattle Rod-Tiques, the group that organizes the show.

The group was looking for a place to stage a car show and, with the help of Flying Pig owner Joel Starr, came up with the Cruzin’ to Colby concept, Abramson said.

“It started as a one-day event, just a car show,” she said. Now, it includes a ’50s and ’60s concert – Johnny Limbo and the Lugnuts played at the Everett Events Center on Saturday – a sock hop at the Events Center Sunday night, and a show by Elvis impersonator Danny Vernon and a barbecue cook-off today.

This year, Seattle Rod-Tiques is donating proceeds from its $20 vehicle entry fee of 469 registered cars to Camp Fire USA of Snohomish County and Hospice Services of Snohomish County.

More than 800 vintage cars are expected to be on hand for viewing from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. For more information go to www.cruzintocolby.com/ index.html.