Car buffs were revved up at this weekend’s Rock’n Red Deer car show.
Billed as a celebration of cars, music and culture of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, the event drew thousands of enthusiastic fans of vintage Detroit steel to Westerner Park.
Woody Quaal made the six-hour drive from Prince Albert, Sask. to take in the show, which takes place every three years. It was his third visit.
“It’s always worth coming out here to watch it,” said Quaal, who is a drag racer and the proud owner of a 1970 Chevy Nova powered by a 600-horsepower 434 cubic inch small block engine.
The big draw? “Just cars. I love cars,” he said.
Of the three big shows in Red Deer, Brandon and Saskatoon, he ranks Red Deer number one.
Also coming away impressed was Dennis Gage, mustachioed host of My Classic Car, a weekly TV show on the SPEED Channel that is now in its 17th season.
“I’ve heard about this for years. I wanted to be here three years ago but I was in Hawaii.
“It’s a fantastic show. There’s such interesting cars. The quality of the cars in Canada, in general, is always so good.
“I think it’s because of the long winters. You have a lot of time to work on them,” he said with a grin.
“And they’re always proud to bring them out when they can.”
Gage said the car hobby is stronger then ever, supported by a $36 billion automotive after-market industry. Twenty years go the car parts weren’t available that talented home garage mechanics are now using to turn rusting relics into rolling works of art.
Proudly showing off his 1963 Studebaker Lark Regal was Tofield’s Mike Prytula. The only one of its kind in a show that featured close to 1,000 vehicles, Prytula said he’s always been drawn to lesser known vehicles (although he admits to owning a ’79 Corvette.)
His ’63 Studebaker took him four years to restore. “I did everything myself, except the seats.
“I won’t even take it to a tire shop.”
It’s the seventh Studebaker he has owned, beginning with the first he bought when he was only 13 years old.
“I like the nostalgic part of it,” he said of his hobby. “And I just love cars, old cars, different (cars).”
Event organizing committee president Dick Wallace was thrilled with how well the event put on by the Alberta Superrun Association went.
“It’s been absolutely huge,” said Wallace. “This is our sixth event and this is the cream of the crop so far.
“People are buying into it. It’s not just a car show.”
Besides row after row of gleaming cars, there was vintage rock music, food stalls and numerous kiosks offering everything from hard-to-find hubcaps to custom painting.
On Friday evening, a downtown cruise drew hundreds of vehicles through the city’s core.
Wallace estimates the event will generate $3.2 million for the local economy.
For many, the event offers a nostalgic trip, he said.
“That’s always been a boy’s journey to manhood is when they got their first car.”
The week-long event wrapped up on Sunday.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com