Court Street Cruise showcases classic hotrods and their owners

The 24th annual Court Street Cruise took place Aug. 3, 2024 at Weiser City Park, which transformed into a classic car dreamland for a day.

 Visitors were treated to some of the best examples of rolling American steel from around the area and beyond. They also had the opportunity to purchase a t-shirt depicting last year’s class winners, as well as one of Weiser’s most iconic landmarks, the Pythian Castle.

 Located at 30 E. Idaho St., next door to the Weiser Signal American newspaper office, the Pythian Castle was built in 1904 and originally owned by and commissioned by the Knights of Pythias, an international, non-sectarian fraternal order established in 1864.

 This year’s event included live music by the River Brothers Band, a beer garden and the annual “Drag the Gut” cruise around town consisting of many of the cars that were on display at City Park.

Last year’s class winners:

 People’s Choice – Doug and Helen Deines, 1955 Ford F-100; Rodders Choice – Christy and John Hoff, 1928 Ford Speedster; Cruiser’s Choice – Bill and Delores Lawson, 1948 Ford F-1.

 Every year, the class winners’ cars are featured on the following year’s Court Street Cruise t-shirt.

2024 winners include:

 People’s Choice – Dan Haberman, 1955 Ford Ranch Wagon; Rodders Choice – 1977 Chevy Luv; Cruiser’s Choice – Bill and Kitt Bienampfl, 1959 Cadillac El Dorado Seville.

 This year’s winners will be featured on the 2025 Court Street Cruise t-shirt.

 Drag the Gut ticket drawing winners: Brandon VanNess, Dave Schroeder, Richard Cirelli and Dustin Bartlett.

 There were 98 total cars registered for this year’s event.

 Among them was Dennis and DeLayne Keith’s 1929 Chevy.

 “I really think it’s a great car because you always see Fords, but you don’t see too many Chevys,” Keith said as he walked around the car with the Signal American at his home on Haas Road. He is a Vietnam era U.S. Navy veteran who served as a jet mechanic.

 Inside the large shop located on his property is a 1927 Ford Model-T pickup truck and a 1970s-era Chevy Camaro, both of which Keith works on with his wife DeLayne.

 The gray/silver-colored ’29 Chevy sports a V-6 taken from a Buick Grand National. In 1986 and ’87, what was promoted as the “Buick Regal Grand National” set high a long-lowered bar in automotive performance, which sadly began in the 1970s with monstrous, de-tuned, emissioned, gas-guzzling motors with scant horsepower compared to 1950s and 1960s era cars. 

 Buick was the first to take a step back into the glory days while forging a new path for the future with, of all things, a turbocharged intercooled V-6.

 The 1987 models came with up to 275 horsepower, which was definitely a glimpse into the past considering horsepower for most car makes and models had dipped down into the low or high 100s up to that point.

 “I believe it came out of a 1987,” Keith said of his BGN V-6. “It was one of the last years they made the Grand National engine.”

 The car was regularly transported between the previous owner’s home in Seattle and his home in Arizona. Unfortunately, he passed away while in Arizona and his kids, who were still in Seattle, placed the car’s paperwork and service records in the proverbial File 13. So, much of the information on the car has since been lost.

 “The gentleman who owned this car before me, unfortunately, passed away about six months after I bought it,” Keith explained. “He had all the paperwork. He lived in Seattle, Wash. and he was down in Arizona for the last three years of his illness. I didn’t get any of the paperwork. His kids cleaned out his house and threw it away. I was really upset about it.”

 Who wouldn’t be after spending $20,000 on a classic car?

 Though there are no records available, the Chevy’s road behavior, however, is confirmation enough of the motor’s production year.

 “Yes, it can go pretty fast,” when asked. “I try not to abuse it too much, but I’ve got it going pretty good. I’ve never tried to really get it up to a hundred miles an hour with no power steering. You might end up in a ditch or something.”

 Interestingly, according to Keith, the body consists of a wood frame and floor and is mounted on a Mustang chassis. Also interesting is the fact that the car is an automatic and was upgraded with air conditioning.

 The car shows 100,000 miles, but without any paperwork, Keith is not sure if they are original following the engine swap.

 Regardless of lost paperwork, he is more than happy with his ’29.

 “It’s one of the coolest cars I could have ever bought,” he said.