Langley Good Times Cruise-In charity car show is coming up. And in advance of the huge community event being held in downtown Aldergrove on Saturday, Sept. 10, the Langley Advance Times has put together a series of stories talking about the people involved and the festivities planned. Stay tuned here, daily, for more about the upcoming Cruise-In.
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At car shows, Sean “Hollywood” Sinclaire’s bare metal 1932 Ford Roadster tends to attract attention.
“People will ask me if this is clear-coat,” Sinclaire remarked.
It isn’t.
Sinclaire keeps the exposed metal from rusting with regular application of oil, the same way hot rodders did after the Second World War, when they would get a roadster with an ugly paint job and sand it down to the bare metal.
Most people he talks to think that means a lot of extra maintenance, but Sinclaire says no.
“I don’t have to wash the car,” he pointed out.
His car was built as a tribute to his father, Lance, who used to race in Burnaby and Vancouver.
“He had a ’32 that he used to race at all the local tracks,” Sinclaire reminisced.
“Since I was a kid, that has been my dream car to have. I’ve always loved the ’32s. That’s the iconic hot rod for every kid.”
He told the Langley Advance Times how he picked up the pace on his ’32 project after his late mother-in-law, Marlyn Woof (who was in declining health) told him “before I go, you’ll have to take me for a ride.”
“It turned it into a get-it-done kind of thing,” Sinclaire recalled, and the moment when he first backed his roadster out of his Parksville garage in August of last year, Woof was his passenger.
A few weeks after that, Sinclaire took his car on a test drive, all the way to Aldergrove and the Langley Good Times Cruise-In, where it snagged the coveted Jimmy Shine Award of Excellence.
He was getting ready to leave, when one of the volunteers suggested he delay his departure.
“Hey, you might want to stick around,” he said.
When Sinclaire heard the Shine award being announced, it started with the runner-ups, and he thought that might be what he was being asked to wait for.
Until all the runners-up were announced, he was thinking there must have been some other reason.
Then, he heard his name, as winner.
“It was a complete shocker,” Sinclaire recalled.
“I was absolutely floored.”
This year, Sinclaire will serve as a judge at Cruise-In, looking for the next Jimmy Shine recipient, someone who – like him – has put their “heart and soul” into their creation.
“He [Shine] really likes, ‘blood, sweat and tears builds,’ I like to call it,” Sinclaire commented.
READ ALSO: Father and son debut car at Langley Good Times Cruise-In
He will be bringing his roadster, too.
“I still drive the car all the time,” he said.
Technically, this was the year Sinclaire finally retired.
His version of retirement, is pretty active, however.
He has his own shop in Parksville, Goodfellas Hotrod Garage, and he makes custom glass shifter knobs for hot rodders.
“I’m, twice as busy,” Sinclaire laughed.
The “Hollywood” nickname? It belongs to a time when he was deeply involved with motorcycles, and known for doing fairly dangerous stunts.
He was never hurt doing a trick while riding, but he gave it up some time ago.
“I’m too old for that now,” he chuckled.
RELATED: Langley Good Times Cruise-in hopes to bring back Concours d’Elegance to Aldergrove
Have a story tip? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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