Tom Lincoln says that he first became involved in the collector car hobby when he and his friend, Larry Breed, attended a local, Wednesday-night car show about seven and a half years ago.  It was there that he saw a 1937 Chevrolet for sale. 

Tom bought that car and rapidly became involved in the car hobby.

“I got really hooked,” he says.

That ’37 Chevy is still in Tom’s possession, but looks completely different than the car he bought in the year 2000.  He says his most fond memory of his time in the hobby, thus far, is building that car into what he wanted it to be.

He adds that it was a two-year project, completed in time for the 2003 Detroit Autorama show, at which the Chevy picked up the “Best Interior of Show” award. (Now that’s a way to enter the car show scene with a bang!)

“The credit belongs to Tom Boutos, for the metal work, and Rich Santana, for the interior,” he respectfully adds.

He also notes that both men worked on his second collector vehicle— a 1930 Model A Ford that he found on eBayMotors.com, in 2003.

“I loved the pictures, loved the car and bought it,” he says.

And, between those two cars, Tom has picked up between 45-50 major awards that decorate his garage wall, including several Goodguys awards and the NSRA’s Street Scene Pick.  He adds that he also was once asked to bring the Chevy to Blackie Gejeian’s invite-only Fresno Autorama.

Tom makes sure he hits up a handful of large shows each year, like the Sacramento Autorama, the Grand National Roadster Show, Hot August Nights and Kool April Nights.  He also attends all four Goodguys events that are held in Pleasanton, CA: The All American Get-Together, the Summer Get-Together, the West Coast Nationals and the Autumn Get-Together.

He says the next show he will attend is Cool September Days, which is held this weekend, Sept. 14-16, at Lake Tahoe, South Shore.

Tom is also involved in a local, low-key car club called Coachmans Sacramento; the club is comprised of 11 members who venture to car shows together.

Story by: Becky McLaughlin