1930s classics to highlight Tempe show
There won’t be any breakers on Tempe’s Kiwanis Park Lake this weekend, but gearheads can still hang ten at the 10th annual Catch-A-Wave Car Show.
About 200 cars and trucks of all makes and models are expected at the show, which is sponsored by the Kiwanis Nuevo Club of Tempe, on Saturday, March 22.
Proceeds will benefit the service club’s charities, including college scholarships for deserving Tempe students.
The club started the car show in 2005 to replace funds lost due to the end of a carparking service at Arizona Cardinals games when the team played at Sun Devil Stadium. Parking cars had been lucrative, raising about $23,000 annually, club member Gene Ganssle said.
This year’s event will shine a spotlight on classics from 1930 through 1934, and the A.C.E. Corvette Club and the Valley of the Sun Buick Club will feature car shows within the Catch-AWave show.
First- and second-place awards will be given in various class of vehicles built before 1986. Owners who entered the judged competition will get a dash plaque and a photo.
Food and merchandise will be for sale. There also will be music, raffle and door prizes, and a silent auction. Packages From Home will accept dona- tions to help send care packages to military personnel serving overseas.
“Catch-A-Wave is one of only two major fundraisers sponsored by the Kiwanis club to raise funds for its projects,” Ganssle said.
Chandler resident Robert Diepenbrock will display his replica of a 1936 Auburn 852 Boattail Speedster.
“It was built in 1969 by Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg, a continuation of the original company of the 1930s, using body molds made from an original Speedster,” he said.
The Speedster features many genuine Auburn parts, including a steel hood, chrome exhaust pipes, and an art-deco dashboard.
A dash plaque pays tribute to Auburn test driver Ab Jenkins, who in 1935 drove a new Speedster for more than 24 consecutive hours at Bonneville Salt Flats at an average speed of more than 100 mph.
“When you consider that a Ford Model A had a top speed of about 50 miles an hour, a car that could do 100 miles an hour for 24 hours was quite amazing,” Diepenbrock said.
From the outside, the Speedster looks all original. But underneath the steel and fiberglass body, it’s entirely Blue Oval. It’s built on a 1967 Ford Galaxie chassis and powered by a 428-cubic-inch Ford V-8 bolted to a Ford C4 three-speed automatic transmission. Power steering and brakes make the car easier and safer to handle. It rides on original Auburn wire wheels with chrome hubcaps.
“While the foundation of the car is modern, the outside is so accurate that many classic automotive experts take it for