A record 500-plus classic and collectable cars covered every corner of the Parks Canada lands surrounding the Niagara-on-the-Lake Kinsmen Club Sunday for its 23rd annual Show and Shine.
As impressive as that was, even more so were the stories behind many of the much-loved and obsessively-cared-for vehicles on display. And every vehicle there had a story.
Fonthill resident Tom Spence’s red Corvette featured a licence plate reading “58FUELIE”.
“It’s one of 104 built with this combination,” said Spence of his striking 1958 classic with an impressive red lacquer finish, “with this motor, fuel injection and an automatic transmission. Being red in ‘58, it might have been one of about 25 built. White was the most common colour back then.”
Spence has owned the car since 2014, but he had his eye on that exact Corvette 37 years earlier.
“It had just been restored then, with this same paint,” he explained. “That lacquer paint is pretty rare. You can’t even buy it today. They don’t use it in the auto industry anymore. It’s used in the aerospace world, but they don’t want the auto industry to use it because of its effect on the environment.”
Spence kept track of the car for about 10 years. He would call its owner periodically but he was never ready to sell it. He later came across the ‘Vette, then owned by someone else, at a car show in Toronto. He befriended that owner, and began his campaign to convince him to sell it to him.
Spence bought other Corvettes along the way, but kept hoping he could somehow acquire the ‘58. He finally convinced the owner to part with it nine years ago.
“I had to redo this car because it had sat in underground parking,” Spence told The Local, a sister publication of ThoroldToday. “The fuel system went bad, and the bumpers corroded, but I didn’t want to take the body off the frame. It took a couple of years of steady work to restore it.”
Spence is proud that all the gauges, the door panels and the steering wheel are all original from 1958. He had the bumpers and trim work rechromed and did some work on the interior, insisting on attempting to bring it back as close to its original condition as possible. And he wanted to make it driveable.
“Back then, people would see this car and think it’s a race car,” Spence said. “But General Motors was trying to make this car into an economy version, with an automatic transmission and lower horsepower. It’s great to drive.”
Kinsmen Club member and event organizer Ken Slingerland couldn’t believe the turnout of both participants and browsers for the club’s biggest fundraiser of the year.
“We typically gross $15,000 to $20,000 on this,” Slingerland said. “It supports a lot of the things we do, including Cystic Fibrosis research and the Girl Guides and Pathfinders, who have their meeting right here in our hall.”
NOTL resident Howard Bogusat was there with his green 1934 Chevrolet that looked like a classic Hot Wheels toy this reporter had as a kid. The former owner of MB Foods in Virgil has only owned the car for about eight years.
“I bought it as is,” said the 77-year-old. “I usually drive sports cars. My daily drive is a Porsche Panamera hybrid. I shocked a lot of people when I first drove up in this thing.”
Bogusat was coming home from his cottage one day when he spotted a 1935 Chevy that piqued his interest. He started looking for a similar car online. It took him a while to take the plunge and put in an offer. This year’s Show and Shine was only the fourth car show that he’s entered. But he loves driving the ‘34.
“It has power steering, it steers really easily,” he says. “When I drive around in it I get a lot of thumbs up. It’s kind of a radical-looking car. It gets a lot of looks, and the women smile at me all the time.”
Perhaps the story of the day revolved around Ross and Debbie Bell’s white 1964 Chevy Impala. Looking like something out of American Graffiti, the beautiful car was outfitted with a drive-in restaurant tray complete with a fake burger and an A&W mug.
The Wainfleet residents found the car in Abilene, Texas in 1987..
“We drove down south in our Chevette and went looking all over for a car,” said Debbie. “We found this in Abilene. He drove it back and I drove the Chevette back.”
They both laugh when it is suggested the Chevette would have made a great “classic” to have in the show.
The ‘64 is not the first Impala driven by Ross, nor the first one in which he has taken Debbie for a spin.
“I had a ‘63 when I was 18 years old,” he told The Local. “We were dating at the time. I wanted to find another ‘63, but I settled for the ‘64. ”
“I was just in high school,” Debbie recalled. “He wanted to pick me up at lunch time but I was too afraid to get in the car with him. I would walk down the sidewalk and he would drive alongside me and we would talk.”
Both recall actually sitting at Welland’s A&W drive-in in that original ‘63 Impala 49 years ago, enjoying a burger and fries. And they weren’t the only ones nostalgic for that simpler time.
“I bet 50 people have stopped to take a photo of the tray,” laughed Ross.
Though no awards were handed out at the show, if there had been one for the best story behind the car, the Bells may have been a lock. Ross said the car, though, did win the Manager’s Choice Award at the General Motors Show ’n’ Shine earlier this year.
Slingerland told The Local that the early days of the Kinsmen event did feature awards, but the club decided to change it to more of a friendly gathering a few years ago.
“It’s a nice summer event for our club,” Slingerland said. “Right from the start it’s been a good fit for us. We carry it on, and a lot of the collectors look forward to this show. And we’re seeing more and more younger people beginning to show their cars. Everybody tells us it’s one of the best shows around.”
