Tuesday, April 19, 2016

2016 Jamie Guess Benefit Car Show at the Snow White Drive-In

Classic car owners love to get together anyway, but sometimes they can actually help someone while they’re doing it. Saturday, the Good Wheels Car Club organized a fundraiser car show for Jamie Guess, a car guy who suffers from advanced diabetes and other health problems. Hundreds of cars turned out for this event at the Snow White Drive-In in Lebanon to enjoy the weather, hang out with friends, and raise some money. A good old-fashioned greasy burger and milkshake from Snow White’s authentic diner didn’t hurt either.

One of the nicest cars was this Twilight Blue ’62 Chevy Impala two-door hardtop. Powered by a 327 small block with a four-speed manual, this was a desirable and unusual setup. This one was set for show, complete with fancy informational sign board. The whitewalls looked a little too wide to me, and air conditioning would be nice, but the overall presentation of this car was hard-to-beat. The factory bucket seats were a great feature too. Chevrolet was definitely on their game in 1962.

Pontiac had their act together in the ‘60s as well. Check out the lines on this ’65 Bonneville. And this car was nice, nice. The Mission Beige paint looked mostly original, and it was equipped with factory air conditioning and Pontiac eight-lug wheels. These cars had so many great little details, like the merger of wood grain and chrome across the expansive flat dashboard. The steering wheel was translucent for crying out loud. Even the emblems were cool.

This ’51 Ford two-door sedan has “the look.” The bright, sapphire blue paint contrasts nicely with the red painted wheels and spider caps. I wouldn’t call this car a full-fledged hot rod, but it had sort of a mild custom appearance that really catches your eye. Interior was stock and very nice. Shifting was performed by Ford’s first automatic transmission. Known as the Ford-O-Matic, the basic design of this Borg-Warner-sourced piece is still at least partially used in automatic transmissions today.

Another good-looking blue custom was this ’52 Chevy two-door hardtop. There was a lot of work done to this thing that you might not immediately notice, like the extra grille teeth and the Frenched-in headlights. The interior was especially beautiful, with stylish horizontal pleats broken up by blue piping, and early-‘60s style salt and pepper carpeting. Don’t look for the original Stovebolt under this hood. This beauteous Bel Air is sporting V8 power all the way. Red line tires and Cragar mag wheels were a departure from the theme, but they still looked pretty decent on there.

If I could choose one to take home, I’d have a hard time passing up this ’67 Corvette coupe. These are just such perfectly proportioned, impeccably designed cars. There’s not one single line on one of these that does not belong. No need to customize one of these Corvettes; they were born as good as they’ll ever get. This one didn’t have a lot of options or anything. The Silver Pearl paint wasn’t too flashy. The low-profile hood indicates a 327 small block. The lack of dash vents rules out air conditioning. But just imagine how lovely it would be to take this car out on a nice spring afternoon. How could you ever wish for more?

Finally, check out this ’47 Buick Super four-door sedan. This was a very nice car when new, and time has done nothing to change that. Beneath that long, side-opening hood is the Buick “Fireball Eight,” which is a smooth, overhead-valve inline eight that oozes out 144-hp. This car was really nice inside and out. I can almost feel the mohair upholstery, smell the gasoline, and strain to stay awake as this big Buick floats down a country road with the breeze flowing through the cabin. Everything about this car is substantial and relaxed. I especially appreciated the collection of manuals and brochures on display in the trunk.

I snapped 255 pictures on this beautiful Saturday, which you can see in the slideshow below. Or, click this link for a nicer version.

3 comments:

  1. Nice show with great pics! Tom

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  2. This is a great eclectic selection of vehicles. The Sno White Drive In seems like a perfect place to have this benefit car show. Being a Chevy guy, I especially liked the beautiful 62 SS and the blue 51 Bel Air. Once again you and your son have done a great job.....Roger Grotewold, Grotewold Motor Co, Larchwood, Iowa.

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  3. Ford’s first automatic transmission. Known as the Ford-O-Matic, the basic design of this Borg-Warner-sourced piece

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