Eight year restoration project earns ‘Best in Show’ at Cars for CASA

(ROCKWALL, TX – May 22, 2015) Over eight years of reconstruction paid off for Don Silaff last weekend after his upscaled 1937 Ford Convertible took home Best in Show at the Cars for CASA auto show for the second year in a row.

Silaff said he has owned the car for more than a decade, and the restoration process wasn’t easy. He first created a hand sketch of the car, and then spent eight years building most of it himself in his spare time on weekends.

“What I could not do, I had ‘professionals’ do – like Roger Lynskey, Brian Vastine, Andy Martin and George Jezek, along with many other friends. But I could not have done anything without my loving wife Pam and my family,” Silaff said.

“We started with a concept drawing of what we wanted it to look like and decided to have what is called a ‘resto rod’ or ‘newstalgia rod’ which is to say it would look mostly like original on outside, but with all the modern things like power steering, power windows, power disc brakes, AC/Heat, modern engine and automatic to make it function on the road and comfortable driving in the Texas heat.”

Many of the parts Silaff used to restore the car were actually manufactured in 1937.

“We started with a reproduction fiberglass body and then through friends and e-bay we were able to find parts that were original 1937,” Silaff said. “All the stainless on car is original 37 items that had to be straightened and polished and I did that myself.  The hood, side panels, grill are also original items.”

The color Silaff chose to paint his completed car is a 2002 Volkswagen color called Fresco Green. The interior is custom dyed leather in a color called Eucalyptus Green.

“Since I like greens, it was a no brainer to have our car some shade of green,” Silaff said. “ I wanted something that was different for ‘streetrods’ as they are more of the reds, blacks, and yellows, but not many what I call ‘classy’ colors.  I did go around looking in car lots at colors first.  So I started out with a few sheet metal outlines of the 37 and painted several ​different colors of green. Once I painted the VW color, I just knew that was it.”

Silaff said he frequents car shows, especially those for charity. But his car can do more than sit pretty. Silaff said he and his family drive it all the time, the convertible top is fully functional and it even has a toll tag.

Silaff said he is honored to have won the Cars for CASA show twice in a row, but the most important parts of attending the car shows are the friendships forged with fellow car-lovers and the donations made to a good cause.

“To win for the second year in a row is unbelievable,” Silaff said. “I was shocked the first year and now [to win] again is almost a dream.  I have been very blessed to even have the car, and then to attend events like this and actually win any award is just more than I can ever imagine.  We car guys and gals have a great time at the shows, seeing all kinds of rides. Then you throw in the wonderful people we meet including the spectators, its just is a fun time for all. I try to attend charity events a lot because they are all good causes. You make many friends and see many cars, and then the causes that are involved just make it all worth while.”

2015 Cars for CASA Auto Show Winners

Best of Show Car: 1937 Fresco Green Ford Convertible, Don Silaff

Best of Show Truck: 1931 Tan & Black Ford Model A Truck, Betsey & Jim Gault

Best of Show Motorcycle: 2011 Black Harley Davidson Streetglide, Brent Lemmond

Best Paint: 1965 Green Single Cab Volkswagen, Terry Roden

Best Interior: 1937 Packard Cream Packard 120C Convertible Coupe, Mary Sue Smith

Best Graphics: 2001 Red with Flames Chevrolet Corvette, Joshua Forsyth

Best Engine: 2014 White Ford Mustang GT, Tom Grammer

The Club Participation Award went to Dallas-Fort Worth LX for the 7^th consecutive year.

Lucille Bell, Executive Director of Lone Star CASA, reported that the event raised $58,764.58 in support of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), an organization that defends abused and neglected children. Well over 300 cars were entered in the show.

Story and event photo by Julie Anne White, Blue Ribbon News reporter. Other car photos courtesy of Don Silaff.

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