SHOWTIME

SUTTON — There are no bad summer days for a classic car cruise in the Valley.

Steady drizzle and rains served only to whet the appetites of local vintage auto enthusiasts Sunday who came to check out some of the area’s hottest hot rods and rides at the Valley Trash Car Show at Alpine Historic Park.

Dozens of cars and trucks, ranging from a nearly 100-year-old Ford Model T to a custom latter model Corvette, were the center of attention. As loudspeakers blared with an auctioneer selling homemade pies, visitors at the show gravitated to their favorite showpieces.

For Jim Baukkner of Sutton, that was a green 1949 Chevy Fleetline Deluxe.

“It just nice,” he said. “I like seeing the old cars. It kind of takes you back. This is a fine machine, and it’s just in such good shape for as old as it is.”

That’s what Mark Lords of Palmer was hoping to hear. Lords owns that Chevy and spent the afternoon trying to keep up with his son, Keith. The excited 6-year-old dashed from vehicle to vehicle, stopping only to munch a free hot dog.

Along with showing off the results of his labor in fixing up the Chevy, Lords said he enjoys driving the old sedan, as well as looking at the other cars.

“I would have to say the older ones are my favorites, like the Model T there,” he said. “She’s a beauty. Old cars, they just smell different and you really have to drive them. The newer cars these days drive themselves, pretty much.”

Keith likes to help his dad, mostly with shining and polishing. Asked what he liked about the show, the youngster didn’t hesitate.

“I like the hot rods and stuff,” he said, pointing to a black, red and white Corvette painted with a checkered flag motif. “I like how that one looks.”

Another tandem at the show had Larry Gaines and his 8-year-old son, Chase, showing off their 1963 Nova wagon for the first time. After sitting in the yard for about 14 years, Gaines and a friend got the wagon running and out for its first show Sunday — even if it was without its hood.

“That’s in the garage,” Gaines said. “We got the engine working, but the hood wouldn’t fit. So, this is the first time it’s been out and it rains.”

The top of the wagon is a multi-colored swirl left by sanding. By revealing different layers of the vehicle’s paint, you can see a lot of its history, Gaines said.

“You can see every year on it,” he said. “It was red at first, then somebody painted it Chevy orange, then they primed it and painted it black. I just took a little off to show what it’s always had.”

Asked what his favorite car at the show was, Chase points to his dad’s.

“It’s cool and it has flames on it,” he said, adding if he could add anything to a car, he would “put some lights in it, lights and shifters.”

A candy-apple red 1965 Ford Mustang looked cherry with the raindrops beading on its hood, and it’s for sale. But if the $18,000 starting price is too rich, perhaps a $6.50 bid is more your speed for a rhubarb custard pie from the auction.

But pie wasn’t what brought 49th State Street Rodders members to Sutton. The club is host to the annual show, which brings members together for fellowship and fun, said Miguel Nazario, Sam Little and Karl Burns. The trio huddled together checking out a 1929 Ford, a vehicle they hadn’t seen at one of their shows before.

Burns brought his red 1954 GMC pickup and said he enjoys driving it as much as he did fixing it up.

“It’s a daily driver in the summer, you’ll see it all over the Valley,” he said. “That one drives better than my new truck, actually, and it has a helluva lot more power.”

Little likes the work.

“Fixing them up, working on them, that’s sure it for me,” he said.

The show was also educational. Zack Armstrong is in the Valley performing with the New Old Time Chautauqua show this past weekend. The Tucson, Ariz., resident took time out to check out the local scenery and the cars. He especially liked the Model T.

“I just found out this got 30 miles to the gallon,” he said. “That’s pretty amazing, and they made this in the early 1900s.”

Club member John Baronik of Palmer looked at home behind the wheel of his 1950 Ford two-door sedan. He’s had it for about four or five years, and said there’s not much point in restoring vintage automobiles if you don’t intend to drive them.

He enjoys classic cars because “they all had different shapes to them,” he said. “Nowadays, they all look the same. You put two or three alongside each other and they all look the same.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.