When Dan London began building his 1935 Plymouth Model PJ six years ago, he had no idea of the signifi cance the car would take on.
"It's a beautiful car, built for a beautiful lady," the Lynn Valley resident says of the four-door sedan. Six months after he started on the weekend and evening hobby project, his wife - Patricia J. London - was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow.
Throughout her fi ght with the disease, he continued to work on the car, and renamed it the "Special PJ," in her honour.
She didn't live to see it fi nished.
"It was one of her biggest regrets. When it was fi nished we were going to drive Route 66 together," he says, referring to the historic highway that runs from LA to Chicago.
Patricia passed away a year ago; Dan got his "boulevard cruiser" on the road for the fi rst time earlier this month.
Along with an expected 170 custom-built and restored cars from Vancouver Island, the Interior and all over the Lower Mainland, the Special PJ will appear at this weekend's Hot Rod Saturday in the Village at Park Royal.
This marks the fi fth annual show and it's grown exponentially, says Dan, who is one of the event's organizers. In 2007, the streets of the outdoor shopping centre were closed to showcase about 65 sparkling cars. Initially, a few of the merchants were concerned about the lack of parking for shoppers, but the turnout was terrifi c . . . and it's only gotten better.
This year's much larger contingent means the village's parking spaces will be chock full of fabulous cars for visitors to admire.
"When it fi rst started it was a lot of the hobby purists who came, but now we get a pretty eclectic mix of people to see it."
The show is set up differently than others of its ilk, with cars not grouped by make or model, but instead spread randomly throughout the village.
"You've got the village atmosphere - it's all contained within these meandering streets. We really have everything, from old cars that have been fully restored, to some that are so customized, I would call them a rolling work of art."
Where other hot rod shows give out awards in various categories, Hot Rod Saturday is not a competition, with a few exceptions, including the People's Choice Award, sponsored by the North Shore News.
The band Tom and the Tomcats will play rock 'n' roll, and if all goes according to plan, a dragster will be trailered in.
"A lot of people don't know what 4,000 to 5,000 horsepower sounds like." It's likely to only run for a few minutes though; the nitromethane fuel used to power it costs about $250 gallon.
"We really try to set it up as an event for the public to enjoy."
Their strategy seems to be working. Last year, Dan was walking through the village behind a mother and her son.
"The young fellow was about seven or eight years old. The mother asked him if he had seen enough and did he want to go for ice cream, and he said 'But mom, hot rods are better than ice cream!' "
The best way to enjoy the show, says Dan, is to walk around and enjoy viewing the cars, and to ask lots of questions of the owners, who will be wearing Hot Rod Saturday T-shirts. Just as with his Special PJ, there are many great stories to be told. "People love to talk about their cars."
Planning is also underway for 2012, when the hot rods will be showcased to a much bigger crowd. On Aug. 10, 2012, the fi rst Rolling Thunder Against Cancer will start in Vancouver. Up to 300 hot rods will drive four days through Osoyoos, Kelowna and Kamloops, with stops along the way in more than 20 small communities. The aim is to raise $1 million towards cancer research in British Columbia.
Of course, the cars will return in plenty of time for Hot Rod Saturday. We wouldn't want it any other way.
For more information, visit www.bchra.org or shopparkroyal.com.
