By Tom Hallman Jr.

The Oregonian/OregonLive

When Jim Westrick was growing up, he'd stare longingly at a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air as the owner drove it through Longview. He knew the man, a guy who'd bought the car new off the lot.

One day, when he was 19, he noticed a "for sale" sign in the car's window. And that was that. He went home, counted the money he'd saved and closed the deal.

"I loved that car," said Westrick, 73, who still lives in Longview. "When the transmission quit, I went to the junkyard, bought a manual overdrive transmission and put it in myself."

The car became a diary of his life. He took it back and forth to work. He dated in that car, wooing the woman he'd eventually married. The couple left for their honeymoon in the Bel Air. In time, the couple had kids. Westrick knew he needed a bigger, more practical, car.

Westrick sold the Bel Air and bought an Impala. Over the decades, the Bel Air was owned by 24 different people, all of whom lived in Longview. The car was like a ghost. Around town, from time to time, Westrick would see someone driving what he forever considered his car.

In 2010, the car was for sale.

Well, you know what happened.

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The Oregonian/OregonLive

A '56 Bel Air

"I'll never get rid of it," Westrick said. "I carry a lot of memories with that car. I guess you could say it has its hook in me."

Everyone over a certain age remembers the cars of their youth. Back then, a car was more than a car. It was magic carpet, a way to get away from your parents. Once you left the family home, you were on your own. No cellphones, no way to reach you. You might have a curfew, but most of the time you were free to explore not only the city, but what it meant to be an adolescent.

You spied on kids from school, driving by their home five or six times a night. You took risks, doing things with that car that you and your friends still talk about when you get together.

Those cars weave themselves into our memories, reminding us of a bygone era and a simpler time we believe we can recapture, if only for a moment, if we get the chance to get behind the wheel.

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Brent Wojahn

Memory Lane Motors

Dale Matthews, 73, understands. He's the owner of Southeast Portland's Memory Lane Motors. For the past 40 years, Matthews has specialized in buying and selling classic cars. Customers come in, see one of his cars and are transported to another time.

"Those cars are part of who we were," he said. "In those cars, we did the things in life that we never forget."

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Melvin Matsuda, 66, a responsible Portland-area periodontist, said he used to race cars on city streets with his buddies when he was a kid living in San Diego.

"I wouldn't have wanted my kids to do that," he admitted. "When I was growing up, all we wanted to do was drive. We didn't need an excuse or a destination. We had to be in that car. Kids now are different. Driving for them is so different than it was for us."

Matsuda said old cars are his addiction. He likes to buy and sell vintage cars. He can't imagine future generations getting excited over a Kia, Toyota or Subaru, solid and practical cars that will never have the personality of a Plymouth Barracuda, a Pontiac GTO or Ford Torino.

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The Oregonian/OregonLive

The Corvair

David Martindale, 59, bought his first car for $25 when he was 12 and living in Northeast Portland. He'd saved money from his paper route, and learned about a car with no engine that was for sale.

"I bought the car and had the man drop it off at my friend's house," he said. "My parents knew nothing about it. I would jump in the car, and my three friends would push me around a field. One day, my dad came looking for me. He saw me in the field in the front seat. He made me take the car back to the guy and get my money back."

But he had the bug.

"When I was 15, I bought a Corvair," he said. "In high school, I bought an old delivery van my mom called the 'sin bin.' I wish I could have all the cars I once owned."

Five years ago, Martindale was diagnosed with cancer. He underwent a year of chemotherapy and radiation. He sold his special car.

"I saw it as just a hunk of metal," he explained. "I was exhausted by the chemo."

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Earlier this year, doctors found new tumors and Martindale was told the outlook was grim. But he was given new drugs that attacked the tumors. He's healthy now, full of life.

He's passionate about tracking down the cars that remind him of his youth, cars that are a testament to the promise of a wonderful future that all teenagers naively believe stretches out before them.

"I'll chase those cars," Martindale said, "until they drop me in the box."

--Tom Hallman Jr.

thallman@oregonian.com; 503 221-8224

@thallmanjr

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The Corvette

Here's a few more cars from bygone eras. These were photographed at the Mecum Portland 2017 auto auction.

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Dave Killen/The Oregonian/OregonLive

Dodge Charger

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GT

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Nova

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Thunderbird

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Trans Am

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Jaguar

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Austin Healey

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Buick