The heat was on at the Operation Stand Down Car Show at Cornerstone Church

If you wanted to see a bunch of cars, Cornerstone Church was the place to be last Saturday. This one was a fundraiser for Operation Stand Down, which is an organization that helps homeless veterans get back on their feet. I’d say the majority of the entries here were late model Mustangs and Camaros, thanks to some pretty strong club participation. But there were plenty of other nice things to look at if Pony Cars aren’t your thing. It was very hot over the weekend, but that didn’t stop people from getting their cars out. The drive-through judging looked like it was running a little slow based on the long, stagnant line, but I guess that’s why they call these “car shows” and not “car races.”

I’m always in when it comes to 1967 Impala Super Sports. Here’s a very acceptable Ermine White convertible. This one featured a 396-c.i. big block and factory air conditioning. It’s almost antiseptic nice, with perfect black vinyl bucket seats, perfect trunk mat, and a Chevy orange engine that I’d be much more likely to eat a French fry off of than I would if it hit the tabletop at McDonalds. I’m not a huge fan of the Cragar wheels on here, but some people swear by them, and they are period-correct. Overall, this was probably my favorite car at the show. You just can’t go wrong with one of these late-‘60s Impalas.

This ’64 Park Lane convertible definitely stood out among the crowd. This one was really striking with its Pacific Blue paint and two-tone blue interior, complete with chrome-drenched dashboard. The horn button had “XXV” featured in it, commemorating the 25th-anniversary of the Mercury brand. The gold-painted 390-c.i. “Super Marauder” engine meant that this big Merc wouldn’t clog-up the hammer lane. There were a lot of details on this car that you could spend hours studying if you wanted to. The Park Lane was a pretty high-end car in its day, and would have competed with something like an Olds Starfire.

Long before Chevrolet used the Citation name on their front-wheel-drive hatchback, it was used to designate the top-of-the-line Edsel. This ’58 Edsel Citation four-door hardtop would have been a pretty expensive car when it was new, but it provided a lot of space-aged fun for the money. The Citation was based off of the Mercury platform, so it was bigger than a Ford. A spinning drum speedometer and push-button transmission gear selectors in the middle of the steering wheel (Ford called it Teletouch) entertained the driver. The front bench seat had a 60/40 split so the driver could establish his turf over his two front seat passengers. This was a large car, so it had a large engine—410-cubes and 345-hp. This car had been painted along the way, but I wouldn’t call it restored. It’s more like something that’s been used and maintained for 60 years.

If you saw a bunch of these coming at you, you might think it’s time to brace yourself for a Nazi invasion. But as it turns out, it’s not meant to be intimidating at all. It’s called a Volkswagen “Country Buggy,” which has to be the most docile name ever given to a vehicle. This one is a 1968 model, and was originally sold in Australia. This one looks like it has lived a pretty decent life, because even though it appears to have been built with the same techniques as a Butler building, everything is put together very straight and nice. The color is appropriately named Savannah Beige. Don’t expect to see many of these around—only 887 of them were made, and only nine of them are in the United States.

Here is one nice ’69 Camaro Z/28. Chevy had a lot of great-looking bright colors and hounds tooth upholstery and stuff in 1969, but every once in a while it’s nice to see one a little more subdued. This one walks softly with its Olympic Gold paint and standard black vinyl interior. But it carries a big stick with its 302-c.i. V8. Four-speed transmission, and beefy suspension upgrades that made the Z/28 a legend on the track. I love the way this one was presented, right down to the Goodyear glass-belted tires. There are a lot of ’69 Camaros around, but you’d have a hard time finding a better one than this.

Well, you made it to the photo album. This time, there are 254 pictures from the Operation Stand Down Car Show at Cornerstone Church. You can see them all by clicking this link.