As president of the BC Hot Rod Association, when Keith Biddlecombe isn't working on cars, he's helping others keep the love of Hot Rods alive. He and the club's 300 busy members participate in shows in BC and across North America, but the club itself only holds one major public event a year.
"Although our members attend show-andshines, road tours and garage tours in BC and other provinces as well as the US, the only car event that we organize and officially sanction as a BCHRA event is the 'Hot Rod Saturday at Park Royal'."
Keith's love of cars began early.
"I got into Hot Rodding when I was 13 years old- buying a 1955 Morris Minor convertible from my older brother. I bought my first performance car when I graduated from Gladstone High-a 1968 Mustang GT with a 390/4 speed. I used to drag race that car at Mission Raceway back around 1970. That's where I started getting into 'hopping up' cars."
Today, he's the proud owner of a stunning 1965 Chevrolet Impala that turns heads wherever it goes.
"I found it in a barn in Chilliwack where it had been sitting for over 25 years. It didn't look too bad, but the frame was totally rusted out and the 45+ years of age were really showing on the old paint, rusted chrome and body parts. But the key thing was, it was all together. All the trim and interior pieces were still attached which is very important when you are going to restore and modify an older vehicle."
Since then he's put 6,000 man hours into it and made some serious modifications.
"I had a custom frame made that would give the car better handling and safety with having new steering, disc brakes, and special performance shocks and springs. There is an original 409 motor that we located in a farm vehicle in the prairies. It's now 505 cubic inches and 685 horse power with twin turbos all hooked up to a Viper 6 speed manual transmission and a Jaguar style Independent Suspension in the rear with a quickchange center unit. My favorite modification is having the motor being a 409. 1965 was the last year they made them, they are rare. To have it fuel injected with twin turbos-..well-that is something that usually amazes anyone that sees it. The independent rear suspension in a 4,200 lb car is really special too."
The years of neglect also demanded changes to the body.
"We did over 50 body modifications including shaving the door handles, modifying the front and rear
bumpers, and lengthening the fenders. There is a full custom interior with heated seats, a floating dash panel, Aluminum "one-of" custom wheels made by Boyd Coddington. I installed a 6 amp - 7,000 watt Arc Audio sound system and the car was painted Candy Apple Liquid Fire Cabernet with Caramel on the top surfaces."
The result is amazing and the car has been shown across North America.
"The car has been to the SEMA show in Las Vegas in 2007 and 2008-once when it was under construction and once again when it was finished, as well as the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California and the Sacramento, Portland, Seattle Roadster shows, The Blackie Geijian 'Invitation Only' Fresno Car Show-and of course locally here at the Abbotsford Car shows."
For Keith, the time and effort pays off when people see the car.
"Having people come up to me and tell me 'that car is amazing'. That does it all for me. Just being able to show people something different, something that is a full custom creation-.something that has not been done before-.yet I can still drive it with the top down."
For the BC Hot Rod Association, Hot Rod Saturday at the Village at Park Royal is one of the highlights of the year.
"This is our seventh year of being involved with the Park Royal Shopping Center Merchants and it is a lot of fun. We get to meet a lot of people while they are viewing the hotrods, answer their questions, show them things they haven't seen for a long time-maybe never-.and it is really a fun, fun day for everyone, young and old. With over 160 cars being shown, we get to 'hang out at Park Royal' and give people a trip back in time to the 'old days'. A lot of young children, many with their grandparents, attend the show----and they often have never seen 'old Hot Rods' before. Old kids and young kids, both having fun. It doesn't get any better than that." ?
