The Poor Boyz car club is a different breed from the tuner crowd. CREDIT: Shannon Lee Mannion, CanWest News Service ADVERTISEMENT

OTTAWA - Amidst much hilarity, the roar of engines and the smell of exhaust, six members of the Poor Boyz Car Club make a grand entrance into the parking lot across from the former Technical High School in downtown Ottawa.

They don't stop in the parking area but boldly stream across the grass and come to rest on the basketball court, where Casey McGowan hastens out of his 1972 Camaro.

"We aren't all here yet," he apologizes. "The Firechicken [a.k.a. Firebird] ran out of gas so the others are on a gas run."

Poor Boyz are poor of pocket, maybe, but not of spirit, as four more cars pour across the grass, the gas dilemma solved.

Introductions all around, firm handshakes and polite "pleased-to-meet-yous." Most appear to be in their early to mid-20s, but one could be twice that. Turns out Panch Davis, who owns a 1984 Chevette with a 427-cubic-inch V8 stuffed into it -- "a mini-funny car," he says -- is sort of the den father. "Yeah, they're all my adopted sons, good kids," he says. "They all have keys to my garage."

One of the Hetherington brothers pipes up. "Yeah, he's got the garage and the tools. He's cool."

Carman and Chris Hetherington have considerably different tastes in cars. Carman's choice is a '56 four-door Chevrolet that someone unearthed from a barn where it had sat for 37 years. He touched up the blue paint recently, dabbing on a near colour-match with a brush." I did that for a photo shoot last week for our Web site," he says. "I did the rims red; it's traditional."

Chris is more into later American metal and drives a '68 Chevelle. The brothers plan to launch a clothing line they call Poor Boyz Custom Clothing in June. The designs on the T-shirts, tanks, hats, etc., are inspired by Carman's original tattoo-style artwork and blend urban wear with "hot rod kustom kulture."

The circle of faces turns thoughtful when I ask, "What does car culture mean to you?" and then erupts. "It's when we drive around and then show up at the same place."

"It's when we spend the winter in the garage building a race car."

"It's when go to car shows, cruise nights, work on each other's cars."

But why form a separate club when there are at least 50 you could join?

Casey jumps in. "Sure, there's the import guys, the super-tuners, but it's rare to get guys of our age with a passion for these types of cars. It was passed on to us from our parents and grandparents."

Adds Mike Maxsom: "My dad got me my first car, a [1972] Gremlin, from a junkyard for $50."

Mr. Maxsom's other Gremlin, a '74, is his race car. "I've got 30 grand into [it]. It's a seven- year ongoing project that I haven't finished yet.

He shows his commitment by whipping up his sleeve to reveal a red Gremlin tattooed on the side of his arm.

This gives Boz Davis, son of Panch and owner of a '91 Ford Mustang LX 5.0-litre, impetus to demonstrate a few of his tattoos. Up comes his pants leg. A mass of colour covers his lower leg muscle. On his neck is what seems to be a large baby-blue insect. What looks like a trilobite is, in fact, a spark plug.

Everyone has at least one tattoo. Given warmer weather, the interview would have resembled a biker reunion.

Unlike many import tuners, the Poor Boyz don't have loud sound systems to match their engines. "We like all kinds of music," Troy Forgie says, "but we took our radios out. We like the sound of our cars. It's about driving, not listening to music."

"I like to listen to my car percolate," insists Joey Verboomen of his '71 Nova.

Oddly, all the cars present are blue or silver. There are no import brands. "We burn Hondas and Yamahas," growls Panch.

(Ottawa Citizen)