Rob MacDougall, owner of this 1976 Corvette, checks out his 383 supercharged engine that puts out 670 hp. The vehicle was one of several muscle cars on display at the Servus Sports Centre on Saturday. Geoff Lee Meridian Source
Every car has a story.
That was the case at this year’s Just Kruzin’ Show and Shine, with each classic and modified vehicle on view for judging at the Servus Sports Centre on Saturday.
“It’s been somewhere, somebody’s dug it out of a bush, somebody’s got it from an uncle or grandpa or something, so there’s some really great stories that go with these cars,” said show chair, Gerry Duhaime.
Duhaime’s personal pride and joy is a ‘41 Ford street rod he acquired from a buddy who was downsizing and was free to choose the pick of the litter.
“I said the truck,” said Duhaime to cap off his story in a nutshell.
The show also turned into a car wash with a couple of morning showers.
“With the weather we’ve had all week, we didn’t know what to expect,” said Duhaime as the skies cleared for the rest of the day.
Duhaime estimates there were about 40 club vehicles and about 180 in total, with several vehicles standing out in his mind.
“There’s been a lot of trucks come in. There’s been a sweet little Corvette, there’s been so much to look at, a beautiful old Cadillac, there’s some beautiful lines on it. There’s been some really cool vehicles here,” he said.
Just Kruzin’ president, Patrick Gareau, said there were quite a few vehicles from Saskatchewan that they haven’t seen before and some rare cars like a 1970 Road Runner Superbird.
“There’s a couple of ‘40s cars, a few hotrods that we’ve never seen before with the flathead V-8 engine,” said Gareau.
He says the attraction of old cars with owners and spectators is a personal thing.
“For some people, it’s nostalgia from when they were younger. Some people just have a love of the look and the feel and the way people look when you drive by,” explained Gareau.
For Kayla Iverson, nothing beats her beloved 1969 Volkswagen Beetle.
She spoke about her VW from the driver’s seat with her dad, Chris Wandler, on board as it rained outside.
“I’ve owned other Volkswagens, but this is my only antique,” said Iverson with her window rolled down for this roving reporter.
“I’ve always really enjoyed them. I love them; they’re fun.”
Wandler noted he had an old International truck and when Iverson pointed out his brother had a VW, he quipped, “I rolled it” to wrap up their story with a laugh.
While it rained, Grant Nikiwski spoke about his ongoing restoration of a 1937 Plymouth P3 Touring Deluxe car he picked up 11 months ago to the day.
In fact, he was doing a memorial for its former owner, Boyd McConnell, who died before achieving his dream to restore it to its original condition.
“I put the whole thing together. When I brought it home it was in pails, buckets on the back of a trailer, parts of it were in my truck,” said Nikiwski.
“All Boyd had done was painted the frame and installed the motor. The body was hanging from the rafters in his shop, so I installed everything and made it run.”
Nikiwski says it was a labour of love working on it over the winter.
“Boyd’s goal was to leave it all original and that’s what I’m doing. It’s a 6-volt system,” he said, noting it runs beautifully on the highway.
A new Mack mobile repair truck on display from Canadian Forces Wainwright also attracted a lot of attention along with onboard tours.
“It’s for fixing vehicles out in the field,” said Private Oegema.
“It’s something we’ve wanted to do for a couple of months just for publicity to promote the Canadian Armed Forces and to show off our new Mack trucks.”
He says it’s an amazing show with a lot of awesome cars.
“I’m excited to be here,” he said.
The rain temporarily suspended sales of dozens of old vehicle catalogues and manuals by Sarah Hockridge, recreational programmer for the Lloydminster Museum + Archives.
“You’ve got your Pontiacs, Chevs, GMs, some Fords, you name it we’ve got it. They date back to the early ‘50s up to the ‘80s,” said Hockridge, noting most of them are museum duplicates.
They were priced from $5 to $50 depending on the size.
“We have 14 boxes of manuals and catalogues. This is the greatest venue to bring them to because we’ve got a lot of car enthusiasts and collectors,” said Hockridge.
“We have sold quite a few already. GMs are popular and some Pontiacs are popular.”
