If you want to engage a classic vehicle owner in conversation, just ask them about their ride.
A large group of classic vehicle owners from the Cowichan Valley, named the Cowichan Cruisers, rolled into Lake Cowichan, Thursday, August 18.
Over 60 members strong, the group meets every Thursday at Java World in Duncan, and then set out to a different A&W Restaurant in the Cowichan Valley.
“It’s just meeting other people, and they all have the same interests. It’s to see what everyone else has done,” classic car owner Rick James said.
“It’s something you don’t see every day,” local car enthusiast Dave Whiskin said. “It’s nostalgia. All new cars are pretty well the same. These are distinctive.”
A large selection of Cowichan Valley vehicles will again roll into Lake Cowichan’s A&W Restaurant parking lot area, Sunday, August 28, for the Second Annual Classic Car Show, to take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Prizes will be awarded for the event’s best car, best truck, and people’s choice.
Last year’s event had 36 vehicles turn up for the show.
“We just don’t know how many people will show up until the day of,” organizer John Wolters said.
All proceeds from the event will go toward Cowichan Lake Community Services.
Although no-one’s officially registered yet, the following are profiles on some of the cars expected to turn up.
1964 Pontiac GTO
Muscle cars were birthed in 1964, with the Pontiac GTO.
Lake Cowichan resident Dave Whiskin has one of the prized vehicles, which he plans on bringing out to this weekend’s Classic Car Show.
“One of my boys bought this a while ago,” he said, of the car. “He got married, and I received a car.”
The vehicle is pretty well entirely original, including a 389 engine and a four-speed transmission.
“It’s pretty close,” he said, of his attempts at making it original. “An air cleaner is what I need.”
“It’s a challenge to get the parts,” he said, in that the vehicle changed drastically in the subsequent year’s model. Things like hubcaps are hard to come by, as people tend to throw them away over time.
Whiskin also plans on bringing his 1957 Chevrolet Belair to this weekend’s car show.
1964 Pontiac LeMans
Former Honeymoon Bay resident Rick James was in town last week to show off his 1964 gem of a vehicle; a Pontiac LeMans.
He purchased it from his brother in the early 1980s.
“He wasn’t going to do anything with it, so I bought it,” he said.
After 12 years of work, the vehicle is in fine shape.
“It was expensive,” he said, of the work. “The car was $3,000 originally. It’s probably 15 times that, now.”
The majority of the labour was done by himself. Since completing the vehicle, James has traveled around with it quite a bit, taking as many opportunities as he can to show it off.
Much of the vehicle is original, minus a new carpet he’d installed. Even the seats are original.
1939 Fargo
One of the most unique vehicles expected to turn up at this Sunday’s Classic Car Show will be Lake Cowichan resident Tom Muchie’s 1939 Fargo.
The vehicle took 18 years of building, and has been on the road for about 10.
“It’s the first vehicle I built from scratch,” he said, of his pride and joy. “There aren’t too many Fargos out there.”
Extremely dedicated to keeping the vehicle in tip-top shape, even the most minor of nicks in the Fargo’s paint draws his attention. The paint needs to be re-done some time soon, he said.
“I drive it all the time. It has a heater and a windshield washer.”