WAYNESBORO – There are two things that everybody loves – parades and car shows.
Folks won’t have to wait much longer for the annual Fourth of July parade, part of the Jubilee festival.
This past Saturday, Mainstreet Waynesboro, Inc. and Appalachian Golden Classics Car Club coordinated a car and truck show that was, no doubt, a memorable event.
How could it not be? Cars on display dated back to 1923. Owners proudly displayed their “toys” to passersby and told of how they take care of them in order to keep them in mint condition.
According to organizers, this year’s event included a record turnout, with all the available spots claimed by vehicles. The event was sponsored by Buchanan Automotive.
Brian Caron, of Hagerstown, Maryland, must have caught the eyes of people when he parked his 1967 Volkswagen Transporter in front of Brio on the downtown square.
In fact, he posted a bio of his fascination with Volkswagens dating back to when he was a kid. He bought the yellow and white beauty online and drove it home from Charlotte, North Carolina.
“That’s what they were,” said Caron of the description of his vehicle as a bus. Equipped with three-row seating that comfortably fits eight people – but not a whole lot of horsepower in the engine – the 55-year-old VW that conjured up images of surfing and joy-riding was one of a few Volkswagens on display.
“It was found in a junkyard in South Carolina and restored in Canada,” Caron said.
Caron’s VW was one of nearly 200 vehicles at the car and truck show, which ranged from Model A’s to old-time pickup trucks and classic Mustangs to modern corvettes.
“I’ve owned this bus since October 2002 and have done a lot of work to it and enjoy every drive I take in it,” noted Caron. “The bus retains the majority of its original sheet metal that it was originally shipped to San Francisco with in January of 1967.
“Volkswagen produced the Transporter beginning in 1950 and the ‘Samba’ models since 1952. The 1967 model year was the last year for split windshield buses, and it features a lot of ‘one-year only’ parts and features. There were 21 windows in all, slightly different from the 1952-1963 23 window models.”
Awards were presented to nearly three dozen owners, as voted on by presenters.
Glenn Moats, of Waynesboro, picked up an award for his 1953 Mercury Monterey.
“I’ve got quite a few awards,” Moats said. “I like doing it; it doesn’t matter if I get an award. You get your chance to walk up and down and vote for whoever you want to. I won a grand prize one year.”
And, of course, Moats, other car owners and the hundreds of spectators who turned out in near-perfect weather conditions (plenty of sunshine and low heat and humidity) got to see dozens of restored cars and trucks, all with their own signature features.
“I try to get to shows as much as possible,” Moats said.”
Bob Tracey bought his 1959 Chevrolet Impala from a co-worker in 1982. Its black exterior and cherry red interior is a perfect combination for the time period it was built.
“One of the conditions of sale was that I had to build a garage and keep it in it,” said Tracey, who will turn 82 in November. He and his wife Jeanne have been married for 46 years and share a love for old cars.
“It’s my little toy,” he said. “I drove a 1959 convertible when I was younger. It’s all steel. I had to repaint it. It’s only got 72,000 miles on it.”
Tracey said he has won 300 awards since showing the car at area car shows since 1993.
