The annual Forest Grove Concours d'Elegance hosts 300 classic and modified cars today, with a focus on British cars 

Some of the car owners on the campus of Pacific University on Sunday, July 17, wrote big checks to take possession of the prized automobiles they are showing. Others, like Stephen Radford, have put countless hours of elbow grease into their vehicles.

Radford, of Troutdale, inherited his father's 1959 Triumph TR3A in 2001. The British sports car, which his dad had bought in the 1980s, looked more like a candidate for the scrapyard than an entry in one of the most prestigious car shows on the West Coast.

But last fall, 20 years after he received his "inheritance," Radford had the car running and restored, and when he heard that the {obj:64267:Forest Grove Concours d'Elegance} was back after a two-year COVID hiatus, he decided to enter.

Early Sunday morning, he fired it up and headed west.

"It was the first time I had it on I-84," said Radford, who admits he was a bit nervous, so he headed out very early to avoid traffic. But the car made it to join about 300 others.

While many of the vehicles have been displayed before, Radford isn't the only first-time entrant. Tony Aylward's 1940 Ford Deluxe Business Coupe, which he purchased from someone in Ohio, is making its West Coast debut. The Beaverton resident said the car had a lifetime of good care and boasts the original components it had when it rolled off the assembly line at Dearborn, Michigan.

Gates to the event opened at 8:30 a.m. and the show will run until 4:30 p.m., at which time a parade of gleaming vehicles will roll out of town. Radford already is thinking about that traffic.

"I'm thinking I'll take the backroads to Troutdale this afternoon," he said.

If you go:

What: Forest Grove Concours d'Elegance

When: Sunday, July 17; trophy presentations begin at 1:30 p.m. with the Best in Show Award at 4 p.m.

Where: Pacific University, Forest Grove

Cost: $8-$20. Free for children 12 and under

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