Sports
Sumner graduate's wheels earn hardware
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| Shawn McNally is part of a team that came up with the award-winning Ferrambo. |
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What is a Ferrambo? For one thing, it is the talk of the hot rod universe right now and 1996 Sumner High graduate Shawn McNally is part of the crew that put the imaginative, bizarre vehicle together.
Technically, the Ferrambo is a 1960 Rambler station wagon body and frame, powered by a 2002 360 horsepower, 12-valve Ferrari engine.
Obviously, the Divers Street Rods organization wanted to push the envelope in the zany street rod business and did a successful job of turning that elite brotherhood on its ear, earning the prestigious Ridler Award earlier this month. It is regarded as the most highly acclaimed distinction in the world, in hot rod circles.
This prized piece of hardware was gleaned at the Detroit Autorama, staged at the Cobo Center Arena in Detroit Michigan and McNally realized a dream in the process.
“I told a buddy of mine that within the next half decade, I aspired to be part of a group of people that could at least put claiming the Ridler Trophy within its grasp and he laughed out loud in my face,” the 30-year-old McNally said. “That's how preposterous the whole idea sounded to him.”
McNally said he was in the right place at the right time, with the right outfit.
“The crew I work with is smart, savvy, bold and unafraid to try new things,” he said. “We just decided as the Diver hot rod squad, that we wanted to do some things that had never even been tried before and just really trick out the car to the max. We put ceramic brake pads on that car that aren't on any car in the country.
“We also combined a Ferrari engine and suspension with Perrilli tires and PPG paint, because companies come out of the woodwork when they want to be affiliated with you and give you free tires and paint to have their stuff seen on your sponsor sheet,” McNally said. “It is all part of the hot rod game.”
Ferrari has never before put one of its engines in the middle of a vehicle, he added.
“To tell you the truth, the Ferrari folks were quite skeptical with regards to us being able to pull that off,” McNally said. “We made it work though and I'm not saying how. That's a Divers Inc. secret for now.”
McNally, who spent his teenage years at Sumner High but lived in Buckley with his father, Buckley City Councilman Mark McNally, has never taken the award-winner for a spin.
“Even if they tossed me the keys and gave me their blessing, there is no way I would risk getting behind the wheel of that little beauty,” he said. “Too many late nights, time, toil, trouble and expense have been put into that car to give it the winning appearance it has.”
The three categories to qualify for the award were engineering, creativity and overall craftsmanship.
It was that final category that McNally and the crew's “body guy” were responsible for. McNally said he had sanded painted and polished the dreamy, freaky hot rod from top to bottom.
Tim Divers, owner of Divers Street Hot Rods in Startup, Wash., reports that McNally is not only talented, but also is a nice kid and a good family man.
“Shawn is one of the more quiet and unassuming guys you would ever want to meet, Divers said. “He is also very good at what he does. He is pleasant, talented and a fantastic person to have on your team.
“He really worked his tail off to help us earn that award, which in the hot rod biz is like winning an Oscar.”
John Leggett can be reached at jleggett@courierherald.com.
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Reader comments:
Lisa wrote on Mar 26, 2008 10:05 PM: " great job!!!!!!!!!!! "
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