People and Their Wheels -- Beau Little / 1987 Camaro IROC convertible
Saturday, December 1, 2007 3:08 AM PST
By Brenda Blevins McCorkle / The Daily News
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Background: A lifelong Kelso resident, Beau graduated from Kelso High School in 1999. He and his wife, Casea, have one son, 9-month-old Clayton, and a four-footed family member, Sissy. Beau has worked in the bowling industry since he was 15 years old. He is co-owner of Triangle Bowl in Longview.
His wheels: A 1987 Chevrolet Camaro IROC (International Race of Champions) convertible. The vehicle is one of the 750 built for the 20th anniversary celebration of the Camaro.
Beau bought the car from fellow kegler Peggy Hyland.
"She decided her husband had too many toys," Beau said, chuckling. "She asked if I wanted it, and I immediately said, 'You bet.' "
The Hylands financed the vehicle for the Littles.
"We had it paid off in a year, so it worked out well," Beau said.
His taste for the vehicle began when he and Peggy visited a car show in the vehicle several years ago.
On the drive home, he took the wheel.
"That's what got me hooked," he said. "I remembered the drive home in that convertible, and it was 85 degrees. It was nice."
Plus, Beau said, he was looking for another Camaro. He purchased a 1996 right out of high school, but later sold it and got an Impala SS (Super Sport).
"But I always wanted another Camaro," he said.
Fun car, low miles: Beau and his wife have owned the car for five years.
It is parked in its own garage at their Kelso home. The garage was a wedding present from Beau's grandfather.
"It was stored up at his house on Mount Brynion, and he said, 'Get it out of here,' " Beau said. "So, he built the garage for it."
Beau has put on 4,000 of the 20,000 miles on the car.
"I shouldn't drive it as much as I do sometimes, but it's a fun car and it's a five-speed," he said. "That's what makes it fun to drive."
He said they would like to drive it a little more, if they could.
"If we had more time, we would probably take it to be beach more often," he said. "We've done that a couple of times. Most of the time, I just take it to work once a week during the summer."
The car boasts a 305 V8 engine. It's all stock, Beau said, except for the chrome wheels.
"The wheels that were on it originally were painted brown," Beau said. "I put these on and brought it into the '90s, I guess you'd say."
The color is an orange variation, which glitters in the sunlight, he added.
He has a lot of fun driving around town, although he sometimes puts the top up because people won't stop asking him questions.
"Everybody and their dog wants to talk to me at a stoplight for some reason," he said. "What year is that? That thing looks sweet. What is it?"
Beau said he's only done minor wire replacement work on the car.
"Other than that, it's been a good car," he said. "I get offers on it all the time, but they're not in the ballpark I'm looking at. I wouldn't trade it for anything."
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