BEACH BONANZA
Show of shows a fitting end to summer season
When Richmond roofer Rick Ambrose was invited to put one of his eight collector muscle cars in tomorrow’s Crescent Beach Concours d’Elegance, he reached into his toy bin to select the car that means the most to him.
That would be the 1965 Corvette roadster he bought 40 years ago in a local bar.
Ambrose took over his father’s contracting business to begin Arbutus Roofing when he was just 20 years old. He had worked part-time for his father doing renovations and had purchased a new 1973 MGB for $3,825 at the age of 18.
Within two years, he had the itch to buy a year-old 1972 Corvette. He had sold his MGB and had put together $6,000 and began the search. But fate would intervene. While having a beer with his brother-in-law at the Richmond Inn, they ran into a local classic car upholsterer who happened to live next door to the brother-inlaw.
When the conversation turned to Ambrose’s quest for a Corvette, the upholsterer said: “You don’t want a 1972 Corvette. You want a 1965!”
He told them a customer had dropped off a red ’65 Corvette for some work and inexplicably never came back for it. The upholsterer subsequently took ownership of the car for the unpaid bill.
A deal was soon put together and Rick bought the 1965 Corvette roadster. He still has it. “I picked my wife up in that car for our first date,” he says. “I also used it to deliver roofing material to job sites in the early days.”
Since then, he has treated the car to a full body-off-the-frame restoration to turn into a true showpiece, a fitting selection for display at the Crescent Beach Concours d’Elegance.
He also has a concours-quality 1966 Corvette. This car is a blue coupe equipped with the optional 427-cubic-inch engine putting out 425 horsepower. The car has almost every option including side exhaust and knock-off wheels.
Ambrose has been collecting and restoring cars for 40 years. To select a car for tomorrow’s Crescent Beach Concours d’Elegance, he could have reached deeper into his man cave for other muscle car magic.
For instance, his concours-quality maroon 1968 Oldsmobile 442 with the W30 option that delivers 360 horsepower from under the hood driving through a four-speed manual transmission.
Then there is the 1962 Chevrolet two-door hardtop known as a ‘bubble top’ because of the shape of the roof. Under the hood lurks a 409-cubic-inch engine delivering a pounding 409 horsepower hooked to a four-speed transmission. This car is about power versus weight so no heater and no radio were added.
Beside the Chevy is an arrow straight 1965 Mustang fastback with the optional K Code 271horsepower engine. And a four- speed manual transmission, of course.
Above, on a lift, is a meticulously restored red 1965 Sunbeam Tiger with its original 260cubic-inch Ford V-8 engine and four-speed transmission. The car is equipped with an optional hardtop.
Ambrose’s red Corvette roadster will be displayed at the Crescent Beach Concours d’Elegance beside some other notable collector cars, including some cars preserved for years in long storage.
One of the best woody station wagons in existence is the 1940 Ford standard station wagon owned by Bob and Sharon Lee of Coquitlam. The all-original museum piece had been stored in a Seattle garage for 35 years having travelled just 112,000 kilometres.
Similarly, Bill Miloglav’s magnificent 1955 Cadillac convertible spent more than 20 years dead, stored in a North Vancouver garage.
Historic cars to be displayed include the 1959 Watson Indy roadster known as the Simoniz Special No. 16. It set two course records at Daytona International Speedway and came second in the Indianapolis 500.
Mark Hovander will display his 1965 Shelby Mustang, which is historically significant as it is the first street-driven Shelby.
Frank Daly’s 1935 Chrysler Airflow will be displayed as representing one of the most controversial designs of the 1930s art deco period.
Crescent Beach Concours d’Elegance founder Brad Pelling brought the event to Blackie Spit at Crescent Beach five years ago after it had been held in Vancouver’s Gastown for eight years.
The world-class car show, which hosts rare and historically significant vehicles from around the world, is open to the public with donations to support Alexandra Neighbourhood House.
“I picked my wife up in that car for our first date. I also us edit to deliver roofing material to job sites in the early days.
RICK AMBROSE OWNER OF 1965 CORVETTE ROADSTER