CARNUT CORNER
TAKE YOUR MOM TO A CAR SHOW THIS WEEKEND ... AND A KID
This weekend is one of those rare times when there are more local competition events than car shows.
Still, there’s a must-see show at Tom the Tire Guy’s Mother’s Day show. See you there!
Last weekend, I spent Sunday at the D.W. Poppy Secondary School car show. I arrived at 7:30 a.m. in anticipation of the 8 a.m. opening and it was like a mini car show right there on the street with a few hundred cars lined up on either side of the school. As always, the large group of volunteers did a great job once the gates opened and parked the almost 700 cars very quickly and efficiently.
I tried to shoot the cars as they entered, but it was a juggling act with two gates open. After a while, I wandered around to check out the cars. Always on the lookout for four-gear muscle cars, I saw a stunning 1967 Pontiac GTO bought new at Buchanan Pontiac Buick in Chilliwack. The car was equipped with the optional Heavy Duty four-speed manual transmission, a push-button radio, rear window defroster, electric clock for $18.96, electric windows for $100, a Saf-T-Track Differential for $63.19 and the ultrarare “Notch Back” front bench seat with a fold-down centre armrest as a no-cost option.
Of course, most GTO’s came with the bucket seats, but the bench seat was a must have for the more romantic muscle car owners.
This car was much a part of the present owner Mike Braun’s parents’ romance as they met while Braun’s father was cruising to the Langley A&W in this car back in the day.
It was bought new by Braun Sr.’s best friend and Braun’s dad bought it in 1971 instead of it being traded in for a new Corvette. Many years later, he gave it to Braun as a 16th birthday present, but it was not to be driven until they restored it together. Unfortunately, Braun’s dad passed away, so he secretly restored the car and unveiled it at his mother’s 60th birthday party. The results could not have gone better.
I’m also a sucker for old trucks and the Chevy built by Metal Craft in Langley with full-on patina and modern pinstriping on the half-ton Chevy of the same vintage as my 1966 Chevy really grabbed my attention. Looking like stock-painted rims with the white-painted “dog dish” hubcaps, these were actually massive custom rims with the little skinny tires more reminiscent of a Pro Touring Camaro than a farm truck.
Sheldon Friesen’s early ’40s Chevrolet farm truck also left its rural life in the rear-view long ago. Originally used by his wife’s uncles as a welding truck on the farm with a water tank on the back, it has seen it’s share of modifications, including a Corvette independent rear end and a beefy V-8 mill. The bodywork was left alone in favour of driving it sooner and the bullet holes have been left intact.