In need of a workshop? Here’s help

Beaverton couple who rent space for auto enthusiasts to work on their cars will bring two of their own to Forest Grove’s Concours

By Ashley Pennington

The Forest Grove News-Times, Jul 14, 2010, Updated Jul 14, 2010

Ashley Pennington / News-Times

Bill and Karen Becker of Beaverton stand near their 1909 Brush Runabout, one of two cars they’ll bring to Forest Grove’s Concours d’Elegance show this Sunday.

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What’s a 1909 Brush Runabout worth? What about a 1934 Phantom II Rolls Royce?

If you ask Bill and Karen Becker to answer those questions, they’ll look at you as if you’ve just asked them to put a price on the family pet.

“It’s like pulling teeth... you know, they become the fabric of your life,” Karen said.

She notes that their son shined up their 1917 Hupmobile to take his date (now his wife) to the senior prom. And their daughter used the car on her wedding day for the trip from the church to the reception.

Hupmobiles, for those who aren’t specialty auto experts, were built between 1909 and 1940 by the Hupp Motor Company. The Beckers’ 1917 runs, according to Karen, as well as it did when it was first purchased.

“We drove it up the Olympic Peninsula, to Port Angeles and ferried over to Victoria and then back around – and we’ve been to the beach with that one. So we drive our cars,” she explained.

These are two auto restorers who aren’t afraid to put the rubber where the road is, which means they’ll be driving their ‘09 Brush Runabout and their 1906 Holman T from their Beaverton home to the Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance this Sunday.

According to Bill, it’s just this experience – of driving a car that’s more than 100 years old – the 16 or so miles to an auto show that makes all the time and effort worth it.

Own business

“The only one that we would ever say is anywhere near a ‘trailer queen,’ if you will, is the Rolls – and that’s simply because in traffic it’s too hazardous to drive. People are too busy looking at it, instead of the road,” Karen said.

“It also burns too much fuel,” Bill interjects – apparently the Phantom II gets about three miles per gallon.

Bill and Karen own their own auto restoration business, located on their property just off of Tile Flats Road. A short drive through a set of gates reveals three buildings, which serve as a buzzing hub of activity on Wednesdays and Saturdays, when people come to tinker with their cars.

Bill, who’s been working on cars almost since grade school, no longer restores them himself due to injuries related to his work in the sandblasting business. The couple now rents space out to those wishing to do their own restoration work.

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