Clinton News-Record, 1984-09-05, Page 26Page 6
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Antique car show continues to grow at :the Reunion
By James Friel
A growing part of the pepular
Threshermen's Reunion is that .of the anti-
que cars, showcasing beautifully restored
historic cars.
And when Clinton Auto Part's offered a
trophy for the best restored antique car at
the event last year, interest grew even
greater.
Gord Radford is handling the respon-
• sibilities for the event and expects more
than 20 cars to show up during the weekend,
He estimated that well over 20 vehicles at-
tended the reunion last year.
It's primarily a show and a chance to get
together and talk cars, for many of the par-
ticipants. Many pick up leads for parts that
take their cars just that much closer to the
original state.
Those attending bring vehicles running
thegamut from the early 1920s antique cars
to later i1de1 classics. "There always has
been a variation of models," said Gord.
'The Londesboro man had hoped to have
the ,John Labatt's antique delivery truck
brought in for part of the weekend but the
Western Fair runs concurrently and the old
vehicle has been committed to that festival.
But there will be several other cars for the
public to inspect, among them Gord's Model
A coupe. The Ford model with the famous
rumble or mother-in-law seat open to the
elements, has been carefully restored to its
original state. The black paint prompts
recall of Henry Ford's famous saying about
his revolutionary Model T: "It's available in
'every color of the rainbow, as long as it's
black."
The car has the original vacuum operated
windshield wipers, spark control arm and
the owner has found an old license plate with
' a suitable year. The wheel rims are painted
the yellow found on many of these vehicles.
Old cars show off their shiny chrome at the Blyth Thresher Reunion. Gord Radford,
organizer of the car display says that this section of the show is becoming more popular
each year. (Shelley McPhee photo)
Another antique car due at the reunion is a
1926 Chrysler owned by T.B. Allen, also of
Londesboro. This, too, has been lovingly
restored at a rough estimate of 'about
$20,000. Gord said the upholstery alone had
been estimated at about $4,000.
An unusualfeature of the '26 Chrysler is
the hardwood spoked rims found on the car,
all carefully polished.
A look inside both cars shows the cramped
conditions considered normal during the
1920s and '30s. The instrument panels were
limited to ,only the most imperative gauges.
At that time.. turn signals were not a usual
feature found on a car.
Both vehicles require a lot of chromed
metal and both men said the price of chrom-
ing borders on the prohibitive. It is cheaper
for Gord to buy a new instrument panel
from the manufacturer than have the
original rechromed. (According to Gord, the
reason the instrument panel is battered is
that the ridges on it provided a good way for
former owners to strike matches.) The
Allen vehicle has had extensive chrome
work done and is not yet completed.
The trophy for best restored vehicle is
awarded after being inspected by three
judges. Last year the judges came from Kit-
chener, Clifford and the last was a retired
local automotive businessman.
After reigning for a year, the winner
receives a small trophy as a permanent
tribute to the excellence of his vehicle.
The award will be presented on Sunday at
4:30 during the parade.
Fullerton farmer's Chevrolet Sedan takes a trophy
•
Harold Butler a Fullarton area farmer is
proud of his antique 1929 Chevrolet Interna-
tional Sedan. Painted in deep green and
black, trimmed in gold, it presents a pretty
impressive picture.
When Mr. Butler's prized Chevrolet Inter-
national Sedan was built, bumpers were an
option. Last summer, the Sedan was so im-
pressive that it won Harold a trophy for the
best antique car in the 22nd Huron Pioneer
Thresher and Hobby Association annual
reunion in Blyth. The vintage Chev. was
judged the best of the 100 cars on display at
the 22nd annual event and earned him a
trophy from Clinton Auto Parts.
"You'll never know how proud I was of
her," Harold said beaming.
The car won similar honors in its class at
London's Autorama in 1981.
Credit for the careful restoration job goes
to Roy Ionson, the Mitchell area mechanic
who sold the car to Mr. Butler in 1980.
Finding himself with lots of free time
after giving up farming, Mr. Butler turned
his energies toward his long time love, anti-
que cars and machinery.
"If you like attending the shows and enter-
ing the rallies, the more inclined you are to
join the different organizations, and then
you feel obligated to take part," he said.
Summer weekends will rarely find him at
home. A member of a number of car buff
associations, he attends some 20 antique.
shows and car rallies a year.
Our Best Wishes for
the continued success
of the Pioneer Thresher's
Reunion in Blyth
See us for your best price on our
LARGE SELECTION OF
POPULAR MAKES & MODELS
USED TRACTORS
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When Harold bought the antique Chev
from Mr. Ionson it had less than 87,750 miles
on it and it was worth $650 new.
"It was the year of the break in the stock
market, 1929," he says, "and cars. were
cheap then, down to rock bottom price.
There were 196,084 cars of this model built."
His prized possession is a 1951 Mercury
Sport Sedan boughtnew by his father from
Mel Johnston Motors in Stratford.
•The Mercury was in my father's estate,"
says Harold. "I put up half the money for
the car then, and we paid $2380 for it,
trading in a 1940 Chevrolet."
Thirty-two years and 87,750 mileslater,
the beige and tan Mercury was in good
enough shape to win a first place trophy in
this year's Georgian Bay Steam Club show.
It took first prize there in 1981 as well.
Today Mr. Butler estimates the car is
worth about $12,000. But he's not about to
sell it.
"An automobile must be 30 years old and
basically unchanged from its original state
to be classified as an antique," says Harold.
He takes the two cars out regularly, a
necessity to keep them running well. His
everyday car is a 1976 Lincoln Continental.
And who knows, maybe by the year 2006,
he'll be displaying a certain antique Lincoln
while everyone else is driving space ship
compacts to local antique car shows.
WEEKEND
SPECIAL
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ROAST BEEF BUFFET
Includes - Salad Bar, dessert
and Coffee
Friday, Saturday and Sunday
September 7th, 8th and 9th
5pm-bpm
Dining Room Hours
11 a.m. m 11 p.m.
DAILY LUNCHEON SPECIALS
Entertainment
"WILL HAWKS"
Friday and Saturday 9 p.m. -1 a.m.
SATURDAY MATINEE