By Margie Wuebker
mwuebker@dailystandard.com Visitors to the Celina Lake Festival will have an opportunity to stroll along memory lane at the 34th annual Collector Car Show. Entries ranging from legendary Model T and A Fords to sleek custom vehicles are expected for the 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. show Saturday.
Chairman Bill Kessen of Celina, who has been involved with the event one way or another for three decades, claims there is a story behind each entry.
He purchased his baby -- a 1968 Plymouth Satellite -- shortly after completing a hitch in the U.S. Army.
"I had a big block Plymouth in mind," he says. "Rudy Buschor didn't have what I wanted at his dealership so he began checking around. There was none to be found. He ended up calling the factory and ordering one over the phone."
Kessen took delivery of the mint green metallic beauty in July, less than two months before the company rolled out the 1969 line. It holds the distinction of being among the last of the old models to be produced. Fellow committee member Tom Hendricks of Celina plans to enter his white 1969 Camaro in the show. A stroke of good luck led to its purchase.
"I stumbled across it purely by accident while driving to Lima," he says with a chuckle. "A guy around Elida had the car parked along the road with a for sale sign. I spotted it and my first thought was 'I gotta have this Camaro.' I wound up driving it home that very day."
Other vehicles in his collection include the 1996 Impala SS he purchased new, a 1965 Corvette Stingray built the year he was born, a 1969 Chevelle SS 396 equipped with a mighty 375-horsepower engine, a 1973 Corvette Stingray Coupe that came with just 15,000 miles on the odometer and a 1978 Corvette Silver Anniversary Edition with a four-speed transmission, a rare feature at the time. The piece de resistance is a 1972 Chevelle Malibu 400, once owned by Zora Arkus-Duntov, known far and wide as father of the Corvette. Hendricks bought the completely restored vehicle bearing the signatures of Zora and Elsie Duntov in 1998 at an auction in Auburn, Ind.
"My friends pushed me over the edge and I gave into their pressure to buy," says Hendricks, a Corvette specialist at Bud's Chevrolet-Olds-Buick Inc. "I really didn't need much encouragement; I was already smitten."
Ken Bigham of Celina is the proud owner of a 1929 Model A Tudor (two door), as well as a 1985 Porsche 928S and a 1989 Porsche Carrera 4.
The Model A has been in the family more than 45 years. His father, Warren, purchased the vehicle with just 13,000 miles on the odometer. It had been used in parades to promote Mutual of Omaha Insurance and still bore a bright red bust of an Indian, the company's distinctive logo.
The son launched an ambitious frame-off restoration that took nearly three years to complete. He chuckles, recalling fenders placed here and there while 18 to 20 heavy storage boxes in the basement held assorted parts. Reassembly took six months alone, and he thankfully completed the task without any leftover pieces. He received an invitation to show the vehicle at the Henry Ford Museum in 2001 and came away with overall champion honors denoting its "very correct restoration."
"The Model A has been washed exactly twice to prevent rust," he says. "I have no idea how many bottles of fingernail polish I used to clear coat all the fasteners following restoration. The old finish didn't hold up too well."
The 3.8-liter motor generates 40 horsepower with an average cruising speed of 43 to 48 miles per hour. He found an authentic 1929 Model A license plate and had it painted apple green with black letters -- the chosen color scheme of that era.
Bigham acquired the Porsche Carrera from a doctor in Charlotte, N.C. The vehicle, one of less than 120 produced in 1989, cost $72,000 brand new.
"I heard about it and promised my wife Cathy I would not be impulsive," he says. "I negotiated for a week and then drove back to Charlotte with a truck and trailer."
Ira Belcher was serving as Lake Festival general chairman when the car show debuted in 1970 with 30 to 35 entries.
"Each car owner got five gallons of gas from the Standard Oil station on Main and one free chicken dinner at Casey Jones," Belcher of Celina says. "Now people pay to be part of the show."
He is pleased at the tremendous growth over the years. The display now encompasses the equivalent of nearly 15 city blocks.
Belcher's 1955 Plymouth Belvedere will be part of the show as soon as he returns from an Annie Oakley Days Parade in Greenville earlier in the day.
"Displaying cars is like sharing fine art," he says. "I'm like a ham on stage when it comes to taking the Belvedere to parades and shows."
The two-tone green car originally was sold by Baker Auto Company in St. Marys. Belcher purchased it from a woman who inherited the vehicle from her parents.
"She had it stored in the garage for five years and wanted the space back," he says. "Within 20 minutes of seeing the car, she had the space back. It had 24,000 miles and was in excellent condition except for some fly specks and a little dust."
Weather forecasts remain the most important factor in terms of turnout for Saturday's show. A threat of rain can hold the number of exhibitors to as few as 175, while predictions for warm, sunny conditions swell the ranks to nearly 500.
Collector car show:
WHAT: hundreds of vehicles including Model T and Model A Fords, factory production models, pro-streets, street machines, Mopar models, foreign models, custom trucks and vans, sports compacts, original owner entries, custom sport compacts and motorcycles.
WHEN: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Awards will be presented at 3 p.m. and a car parade follows at 6 just prior to the Lake Festival Parade.
WHERE: around the Mercer County Courthouse and the Celina Insurance Group building. Displays also will be located in the parking lot west of the insurance building. The show headquarters is located on the grounds of the Mercer County Sheriff's Office.
FEATURES: food/beverage vendors, T-shirt sales and 50-50 drawing. An antique tractor display will be located nearby in the parking lot west of the Central Services Building.
SPONSOR: Rino's Auto Sales of Celina. |
