STANWOOD – Dustin Williams of Lake Stevens, 12, came across a restored, bright red and green 1919 Allis Chalmers tractor.
Kevin Nortz / The Herald
“Does this thing run?” he asked.
Gordon Wicklund of Granite Falls, the tractor’s owner, answered the question by literally cranking it up. The engine sputtered briefly and then purred. Onlookers said it sounded like new.
“That’s cool,” said Dustin, who said he’d never seen anything like the tractor before.
Mike McGinnis of Lake Stevens, at Wicklund’s invitation, climbed aboard. He began working the metal gear-shift rods and drove the antique slowly around the parking lot, grinning and bouncing up and down in the spring-mounted seat like Eddie Albert in “Green Acres.”
“Fastest lap of the day,” McGinnis joked after stopping.
At a maximum speed of 21/2 mph, the tractor might have been the slowest vehicle at the third annual Idlers Car Show in Stanwood on Sunday. But it attracted plenty of attention.
Organizers estimated that several thousand people walked along a mile-and-a-half of Main Street, viewing the 422 classic vehicles registered. The event also included auto-related vendors and local food.
“It was packed,” said Wayne Deweese, president of Stanwood’s Twin City Idlers, who organized the show.
The club started in the 1950s, died out and was jump-started three years ago by Stanwood car buffs, Deweese said. Starting in 2002 as an informal get-together with about 30 cars, the show has grown each year, drawing 600 vehicles last year.
The threatening weather kept some of the potential entrants away Sunday, Deweese said, but the rain held off and car owners still came from around the Puget Sound area and as far away as Reno, Nev., organizers said.
Most of the proceeds from the entry fee of $10 per vehicle go to charity, except for what was needed to run the show. Numerous local businesses helped sponsor the event, donating raffle prizes, trophies and more.
The Idlers invited other clubs, including the Western Washington Racing Association and members of Monroe’s Sky Valley Stock and Antique Tractor Club, to display vehicles. The show of antique tractors and gas engines was organized by the Stanwood Lions.
Wicklund, who has several other old tractors, bought the 1919 antique from a Snohomish garage seven years ago and personally rebuilt much of the rusting, decaying machine.
Using an original manual, old photos and a plywood model put together with duct tape, he was able to replicate many of the tractor’s original parts. He paid $300 for it and has spent about $700 on restoration, he said.
“He’s done a tremendous amount of work,” said onlooker Chris Greig of Lake Stevens. “It’s the coolest car here.”
Nearby was a display of old gas-powered engines, including a 1914 Sparta used as a power supply for things such as water pumps and washing machines, said owner Ron Hatley of Camano Island.
Mounted on a small wagon, the engine’s red wheels turned and its exhaust pipe puffed.
“Ninety-nine times out of 100 it’ll start on the first pull,” Hatley said, adding that he’s used it for his own water pump. “It’s a runner.”
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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