Roadster a dream come true for Steve Pease

Area residents Steve and Nancy Pease are active with a car club called the Drifters. The Village News recently caught up with Steve, a sales manager with Bank of the West, to chat about his passions.

Village News: What year, make and model is your car?

Steve Pease: 1927 Ford “T” Roadster on a 1930 Ford frame; 302 CID Engine with a mild roller; C4 Transmission; eight-inch Mustang rear end.

VN: Where and when did you get your car?

SP: I purchased it locally in 2003 after my son graduated from college.

VN: Why did you choose this car?

SP: I always wanted a Roadster. I owned several cars when I was young, including a 1955 Chevy with a 396 CID and a 1957 Ford with a 401 CID. However, I had to wait until the kids were grown until I could afford one again.

VN: Why it is significant to you?

SP: The car is significant because it brought back many memories of my early years with my wife and me cruising together. We can now do it again after 39 years.

VN: What caused you to be interested in cars?

SP: It started as a kid when I bought my first car in 1966, which was a 1955 Chevy with a 327 CID. The car had a Borg Warner T10 transmission with a 411 positraction rear end. I had a 396 CID built for it and put it in the car shortly after buying it.

I used to run around with guys in high school and cruise Van Nuys Boulevard in the ’60s. Bob’s Big Boy had car hops then and we used to cruise into the restaurant with our hot cars, have fun and occasionally get into a street race, which we shouldn’t have done (for your young readers). That’s when I met my wife, Nancy.

VN: What is the farthest trip you have taken in your car or what is the most significant event you have attended in your car? Do you drive it regularly?

SP: I drive the car regularly on the weekends. The farthest trip I have taken is to Corona. At my age and height, it becomes a little difficult to take it too far.

The most significant event is the annual Temecula Rod Runs that the Drifters put on each year. All the money goes to charity and it means a lot to me and my wife since we contribute our free time to help generate donations for those who need it.

VN: What sacrifices have you made, if any, for your car? What is the most outlandish thing you have for the sake of your car?

SP: I waited a long time to get the car. I wanted to make sure that my family came first, especially my children. College was important and I wanted to make sure that they got off to a good start. The only way to ensure that was for my wife and me to make financial sacrifices along the way in order to get them out and on their own.

The most outlandish thing I did for the sake of my car was to buy a home with a three-car garage, knowing that someday I would be able to put a hot rod in it.

VN: Feel free to add anything else.

SP: As one of the event chairmen for the Drifters Car Club, I have had the profound opportunity to help lead a great car club in supporting a great charitable organization while getting to know some really fine people along the way. They are individuals who equally share in my enthusiasm of hot rodding. However, more importantly, they are a group of good people who love to help others as much as I do.

Together with the P&R Foundation, the nonprofit entity associated with the Drifters, we have helped many local charitable organizations achieve many of their goals with the donations that we have generated through our annual Rod Runs in Temecula.