Old Car River Run & Tour
May 11, 2002
Story by Genny Paauwe
Photos by Bob Paauwe
The Old Car Run & Tour, put on by Ev and Gus Young May 11, had a
little bit of everything for participants. However, the neatest
part of the event were the Youngs themselves.
Ev and Gus (Gus is a lady!) can make or fix just about anything.
They have built airplanes, restored numerous antique cars,
manufactured or repaired parts for these machines and sewn upholstry,
curtains and automobile tops, amongst other things. In addition to
all those skills, Gus has a loom and weaves blankets, rugs and
clothing, while Ev gets a kick out of forging his own car parts in
his extensive machine shop. Of course, then there's the vineyard
they own, supplying Sauvignon Blanc grapes to Mondavi. Even their
pooch, Good Dog Carl, is a joy. He runs so hard around the vineyard
that he wears the pads off of his feet!
So it's no wonder that the event they planned for SAMOA was fun and
interesting. We started out at the usual Rancho Cordova meeting point
and headed into the foothills east of Sacramento, meandering south to
Lake Camanche. Here, we turned west, dropping into flat farmlands,
finally pulling up into the Young's driveway for a look at their
antique cars.
In their garage (the size of a small warehouse), the Youngs had their
cars on display, including signs that gave the make, model, engine
type and cost when new. Their pride and joy is a 1920 Apperson
Jackrabbit. There were very few made and with a lot of loving care,
this prized possession was restored by the Youngs and sports a dual
tone green paint with vermilion spoked wheels. It was the luxury car
of the day and hardly driven by the original owner.
They also have two Peerless, both in a state of restoration, a 1921 Franklin Touring car, and a Depression-era Plymouth.
Sitting in the middle of the garage is an almost complet airplane that
Ev has been working on for a few years. The Youngs decided they liked
working on cars better than building flying machines, so the airplane
project (they've built five already) is now on hold indefinitely while
their old car restorations take flight.
All the cars are painted some shade of green; as original as Gus could
find after sifting through old records and talking to old timers.
Ironically, their '97 Miata is Marnia Green!
At the end of the tour, Barbara Penfield presented the Youngs with a
handmade quilt with embroidered antique cars done in green. The
Youngs were overwhelmed and Gus said, "No one has ever done anything
so nice for us!"
Our next stop on the tour took us to the Sacramento River Delta where
we snaked our way along levee roads. We crossed a slough on a CalTrans
ferry that carried eight Miatas across at a time.
We then continued toward Sacramento and stopped for lunch in Walnut
Grove where some ate at the Pizza Factory and others opted for Mexican
down the street to save time after overwhelming the pizza parlor.
After our bellies were full and a good amount of ice cream devoured,
we set off for the final destination: the Towe Auto Museum in Old
Sacramento. The museum is filled with various cars, mostly Ford's,
of course, that show the evolution of the American automobile through
the decades. The visit was worthwhile and free, due to SAMOA's museum
membership and support.
Bob and I followed Ev around for most of the self-guided tour and
absorbed a lot of information about how the cars worked, including
gearing, pedal placement and quirks about the mechanical engineering
on various cars. We think Ev should be a docent!
Our sincerest thanks goes out to the Youngs for all their effort in
putting on this event. More than anything, we think the Youngs are
a couple of the most fascinating people we know.
