Hundreds of people took in the Lakers Car Club Show and Shine Sunday, May 26 in downtown Williams Lake.
It was an opportunity for vehicle owners from near and far to share their pride and joy as well as information about the vehicles.
Paul Zacharias of Williams Lake brought his newly-restored 1930 Ford Model A which he has worked on over the last three years after buying it from someone in 100 Mile House.
“I literally took it completely down to every piece, but I had lots of help,” he said, noting he has restored quite a few vehicles in his life. “I used to have a body shop.”
He said he always has to read manuals when working on older vehicles because the technology is completely different.
Zacharias said he drives the Model A all over the place.
“It’s almost 100 years old and you get reminded of it when you drive it. Little things like signal lights and seat belts and all kinds of bells and whistles. There just aren’t any.”
In the back of the vehicle there is a rumble seat, which he jokingly said was for Henry Ford’s mother-in-law.
“The rumble seat was an option,” he explained. “Most of them were bought without them.”
Mark Johnston of 150 Mile House has owned his 1952 Ford F-1 for 15 years. He redid the frame, changed the engine and transmission and chopped the roof.
It is his first and only vintage vehicle, he said.
Jimmy James moved to 100 Mile House six years ago and is a member of the Roadmen Car Club, which he said is a world-wide club created 20 years ago for pre-1964 vehicles.
He said the club started in Washington State and came into Canada 18 years ago.
“It is all over now in Nevada, Las Vegas, Holland, Australia, Vancouver, Kamloops and 100 Mile House.”
James brought his 1931 Ford Model A Coupe to the show and was having fun chatting about it with the public.
Melanie Ablitt was showing the 1972 Chevrolet half-ton she and her husband Troy bought six years ago in Alberta.
“We bought it from a dad who refurbished it for his daughter for a grad present. She drove it and didn’t like it,” Ablitt explained.
John Lindsay was one of the owners in the show whose vehicle came with a matching trailer.
His 1965 Pontiac Parisienne, which he bought 25 years ago, was repainted yellow.
That kick-started his decision to go with a Tweety Bird theme for his trailer, which is jam-packed with various versions of the yellow canary in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes.
He began the project about 15 years ago and once people learned of his efforts he received more Tweety Birds to add to his collection.
Holding up a bird cage with Tweety Bird inside and his pursuer Sylvester the Cat on top, Lindsay said he bought it a garage sale in Arizona.
On the back of the trailer are the words “Tweety’s Twavel Twailer.”
Dwaine Cropley of Williams Lake has his 1978 Lincoln Continental Town Coupe in the show and said he has had it for six years.
“Claude Gendron bought it for his wife brand new and then had it in a shed for years,” he said, adding the car today is exactly as it was when he got it.
Bruce Schellenberg of 150 Mile House said his 1958 Chevrolet Impala was actually made out of two old rusty ones into one good one.
“It was the start of the muscle car era,” he said as he pointed out features under the hood. “There were very few sold in ‘58 because there was a recession on. It was the first year for the four headlights and a lot of people didn’t like those.”
He was drooling over the Impala at the car museum in Summerland when he learned it was for sale as the owner was retiring.
“I worked out a deal with him,” Schellenberg said.
Sherri Smith told the Tribune people can expect to see her smiling if she is out driving her 1973 Triumph TR6.
She purchased it off a former brother-in-law about 25 years ago and just recently got it back on the road.
“We took out the transmission and replaced it,” she said.
The weather cooperated for the car show, which ran from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.
Within half an hour the rain had returned, making for a hasty packing up of another wonderful Show and Shine.
READ MORE: HOMETOWN: Don Kunka brings vehicles back to life in Williams Lake
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