Love of Hotrods Revived
with 1931 Ford Coupe

Donna Sisson was basking in the warm Ocean City sunshine beside her husband's dream car. She told the story behind their 1931 Ford Coupe, painted a brilliant torch red with gold flames burning the edges. "In 1960, we had a custom '55 Chevy Bel Air convertible which we had to sell to buy furniture when we got married." Their son-in-law, Steve Waltjen, purchased a hotrod last year and they began attending car shows with him and their daughter, Janice. Desires to get back into the hotrod scene began to emerge. They found this 1931 Ford Coupe steel body last year in Easley, North Carolina. "My husband has waited all these years to finally find the car of his dreams and this is it."

Ray Sisson, Donna's husband, added to the story. "I was into hotrodding years ago in 1961. Had a car in Rod and Custom magazine. I was Maryland State E-gas champion in 1961 with that car. For years we still wanted to do cars, but just couldn't afford it with raising children." Now the family is consumed with the thrill of owning hotrods. Referring to Donna, Ray said, "She's looking for a car. We were over looking at the mini cars. We were looking at this '63 Chevy Corvette split window. The guy said is that the one you want? I said no, not this little model, she wants the real thing!" Actually they have another car in mind. "We're really looking for a '58 Impala convertible, because we also had that when we were younger."

For now, Donna, Ray, Steve and Janice, all of Pasadena, Maryland, are content to sit side by side at the Cruisin' OC show and display their stylish cars. Donna said, "It's the joy of participating with people who do the same thing that you do and admiring all of their cars. They are absolutely phenomenal." (Read the story about Steve and Janice Waltjen and A Dream Come True! about Donna's new car.)