KINGWOOD — The parking lot in front of the Kingwood Civic Center was packed Sunday with antique cars, Rat Rods and trucks filling almost every space.
Terry Donk, chairman of the car show, said he believed this year’s show would top the last year.
“We had to turn cars away last year,” he said. “There are a lot off beautiful cars out there. People put a lot of time and energy into them.”
He said between 1,500 and 2,000 people visit the car show every year — and that doesn’t include the ones showing vehicles.
Dale Metheny, of Georgia, had two vehicles to show: A 1938 purple Chevrolet and a black 1937 Chevy truck. He said it took 15 years to restore the purple Chevy.
“I had to take it down to the frame. It has push button doors and a gas cap,” he said. “My brother, Densil, and I went to look at the truck. They wanted $1,000 for it. My brother paid for it and when they asked him whose name they wanted on it he said mine. He looked at me and said ‘Happy Birthday. I’m not buying you another car.’ ”
Darrell and Lorna Shuttlesworth, of Morgantown, also made the trip to show off their wheels.
The couple brought their white 1961 Thunderbird to show.
“He got it out of a junk yard 30 years ago,” Lorna said. “It took 20 years to restore it. The top was burned off and it was nothing but junk.”
She said he did all of the restoration work himself.
“I wasn’t looking for this (T-Bird) but I saw it in the Bulletin Board,” Darrell said. “I thought it would be a good car to restore because they are rare.”
Fellow car enthusiasts Rick and Bonnie Gasper, of Morgantown, said it took two years to finish their black 1956 Chevrolet two-door sedan.
“I had someone do the painting and interior,” Rick said. “I did all of the mechanic work. When I got it the body was off the frame. I finished it in 1992.”
Butch Summers made his was from a show in Tennessee to bring his 1935 Ford Rat Road to the Buckwheat Festival festivities.
I’ve been showing here three or four years,” he said. “This is my therapy. I had a stroke several years ago.”
Duane Martin, of Nestorsville, said his blue Mustang stays safely in his garage — well, not all the time.
“I only bring it out on sunny days,” he said.
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