Pomona Swap Meet & Classic Car Show

From the Los Angeles Wave: Pomona Swap Meet & Classic Car Show
Sponsored by George Cross & Sons, Inc., each of the seven events per year you will find hundreds of vendors in over 2,500 vendor spaces selling tons of hard to find car parts and accessories at low swap meet prices. Thousands of original and restored vehicles (many for sale, some just for show) from all across the country are displayed by their owners in five distinct Cars for Show & Sale Areas: Pre 1975 Classics, Corvettes, Porsches, Pre 1959 Street Rods and Pre 1975 Volkswagens. The event attracts a diverse and international audience, with up to 20,000 spectators each show.

Since 1975, millions of classic car enthusiasts have come from around the globe to the West Coast’s Largest Classic Car, Corvette, Porsche, Street Rod & Volkswagen Swap Meet & Car Show – The Pomona Swap Meet & Classic Car Show. Car parts, accessories, customs and classics are all available to those who come to buy, come to sell and come to look. General admission is $8, children 12 and younger admitted FREE. Parking is at Gate 17 on Fairplex Drive For more information visit: pomonaswapmeet.com

Kansas: C.A.R.S. Club Show 2012 Includes National TV Host, Youth Judging, Classic Cars

From McPherson College, McPherson, KS: C.A.R.S. Club Show 2012 Includes National TV Host, Youth Judging, Classic Cars
The 13th annual C.A.R.S. Club show at McPherson College will including a national television host speaking and taping a show, an opportunity for youth to have a turn at judging cars and a special focus on Full CCCA Classics.

The weekend’s events will kick off on Friday, May 4 at 5:30 p.m. with the cruise-in down Main Street in McPherson. That will be followed on-campus by an open house reception in the automotive restoration facility and a special dinner and presentation by national television host Wayne Carini at “An Evening With Automotive Restoration” dinner.

Carini is host of “Chasing Classic Cars” on the new Velocity Channel by Discovery. On the show, Carini seeks out rare and exotic vehicles to buy, sell and restore and tours exclusive and private collections of automobiles. He has worked on rare vehicles owned by celebrities such as David Letterman, tennis star Ivan Lendl and the DuPont family; he’s been featured in the “New York Times” and a number of automotive magazines; and he owns and operates several businesses in Portland, Conn. F40 Motorsports buys and sells rare classic cars and Carini Carozzeria is a restoration shop, where Carini devotes most of his work.

While on campus, Carini will share stories about growing up in with people passionate about restoration and his commitment to develop the next generation of classic car enthusiasts. He’ll also be taping students in the restoration program and the C.A.R.S. Club Show on May 5 to appear in an upcoming episode of “Chasing Classic Cars.”

The show will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 5, and will include tours of the restoration building, a team of students assembling a fully functional Model T from a pile of parts in less than 15 minutes – twice – and a faculty demonstration by Ed Barr, assistant professor of technology, showing how students in the program work with sheet metal.

Shane Dresser, junior, McPherson, Kan., and president of the C.A.R.S. Club, said he was looking forward to all the show had available.

“I’m really excited for this year’s show,” he said. “The members of C.A.R.S. Club have really been gearing up their efforts to ensure it will be a success and I believe it will be evident on the day of the event.”

One of the most exciting offerings of the program is the youth judging program – Hagerty’s Operation Ignite – is returning for 2012. The program gives young people the opportunity to get up close with great classic cars and ask questions directly of their owners as they make their own judgments about cars in the show. The event is free for youth to participate in, but reservations are recommended to make sure there are enough materials for everyone.

This year is also being named “The Year of the CCCA Classic” in honor of the Classic Car Club of America. To mark this, the show is introducing a category this year for for Full CCCA Classics – defined as cars 1925-1948 recognized by the CCCA for their exceptional styling, engineering, performance, high price and limited production.

Richard Dove, assistant professor of technology, plans to bring his Full CCCA Classic, an award-winning 1936 Auburn convertible sedan.

“I’m thrilled that students have chosen to feature Full CCA Classics,” Dove said. “They are a great example of our mission to teach authentic restorations of historical automobiles.”

“An Evening With Automotive Restoration”
* Featuring Wayne Carini, host of “Chasing Classic Cars”
* 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. May 4, following Cruise-in at 5:30 p.m. and tours from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
* Main Street McPherson (Cruise-In), Templeton Hall (Tours), Mingenback Theatre (Dinner)
* Reservations: Deb Wagoner, 620-242-0491, wagonerd@mcpherson.edu

C.A.R.S. Club Car Show
* 9 a.m.-4 p.m., May 5
* McPherson College Campus
* $10 for pre-registered vehicles; $15 to register day of show. Free to the public to attend.
* Reservations for Hagerty’s Operation Ignite youth judging: Tabetha Salsbury, 231-313-7475, tsalsbury@hagerty.com

Phila. neurosurgeon's classic car museum

From Philadelphia Daily Journal: Phila. neurosurgeon's classic car museum
Philadelphia museum of classic cars is doing more to make itself known.

The Simeone Automotive Museum, which features a collection of cars acquired over five decades by Philadelphia neurosurgeon Dr. Fred Simeone, is tucked away near the Philadelphia International Airport.

New ads, created by car photographer Michael Furman, aim to broaden the audience, including attracting more women.

The museum said it is changing its emphasis from a collection of race cars to a museum “housing cars of beauty and historic merit.”

It is also using the collection (see slideshow at right for a sampling) as a backdrop for fashion shoots. Other themes will include stories about cars that were owned by film stars, racing legends and royalty.

The repositioning will be announced through social media, blog posts and advertising.

Fred Simeone was affiliated with Pennsylvania Hospital for 30 years, but he spent countless hours (and dollars) traveling the world in search of classic cars. The museum opened in 2008.

His collection includes a Mercedes found after World War II that had been hidden from Nazis in a barn, then left behind after the owners fled.

Other cars include a 1916 Stutz Bearcat, a 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS, a 1950 Allard J2 raced at Watkins Glen, a 1954 Austin-Healey 100-4 used in speed trials at the Bonneville Salt Flats and two Ferraris raced at Le Mans.

A Hudson Hornet Motor car will be shown at the Franklin Institute’s April 21 science fair.

The museum is at 6825 Norwitch Drive in Philadelphia.

Concours showcases exotic, classic cars

From the Advocate: Concours showcases exotic, classic cars
The most amazing fact about the Live Oak Concours d’elegance is most of the cars are owned by Baton Rouge residents.

Yes, those exotic racers, those European jewels standing along City Park’s golf course green — most of them can be found in somebody’s garage somewhere in the Baton Rouge area.

“And people don’t know it,” Jeff Cobb said. “We’re having some cars brought in from other parts of the world, but people don’t realize that most of the cars we have are right here in Baton Rouge.”

And Cobb will make them aware beginning Friday, April 13, when the third Live Oak Concours is staged on the City Park Golf Course. He didn’t know the exact number of cars to the shown earlier in the week — he was still accepting submissions.

But he did make a prediction of at least 100.

That’s 100 exotic and classic cars that aren’t found at the usual car show fare.

“We’ll have a Talbot Lago GP racer,” Cobb said. “How many times do you get to see a car like that in Baton Rouge?”

Cars in past shows have included a 1928 Fraschini Tipo 8A, a 1930 Austin Seven Chummy and a daily driver 71 Lamborghini Espada. Vintage motorcycles also will be in the roundup.

Cobb is the owner of Jeff Cobb Auto Works. He began coordinating this show in 2009 to raise money for cancer charities in Baton Rouge. The show returned in 2010 and was on hiatus in 2011.

Cobb is bringing back the show this year, along with a lineup of guests and activities.

Scheduled to appear are Tom Tjaarda of Turin, Italy, who will make his third visit to the show. He is the designer of the De Tomaso Pantera, Fiat 124 Spider, Ferrari 330, GT 2+2, Ferrari 365 GT California Spider, Shelby Series 2 1963 Corvette Rondine and the Serenissima for Count Volpi, along with 74 other car designs.

Also appearing will be vintage racer Anatoly Arutunoff, who will share stories, books and adventures that span more than 50 years of Italian and American car racing and creating.

And Live Oak Concours posters by New Orleans artist Lory Lockwood will be on sale. Lockwood specializes in automobile and motorcycle fine art prints in the photorealism style. The style is detailed, focusing on chrome reflections, soft colors and abstract patterns.

A portion of the poster sales will benefit cancer charities.

As for events, the Concours will kick off on Friday, April 13, with dinner and drinks for Tjaarda and Aruntunoff in the Baton Rouge Gallery.

Activities continue with a Country Side Cruise on Saturday, April 14. Participants will meet at 6:30 a.m. at the golf course, and the event begins at 8:30 a.m. Only show participants are eligible to drive in the Country Side Cruise.

Finally, at 8 a.m. Sunday, April 15, cars will sit along the green for visitors to see.

Tjaarda and veteran LeMans racer Jacques Grelley will be on site, and automotive art, books, ceramics, posters and jewelry will be available for purchase.

Food by Don Bergeron to be served at 11 a.m., and a Brazilian Bossa Nova band will perform from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Also, an electric helicopter will hover 400-plus feet overhead taking photos of the day’s events.

“This show was created by my love of cars, great friends, helping cancer victims and the need of giving my hometown a grand show that it so deserves,” Cobb said in a statement on his website, http://www.liveoakconcours.org. “We will most definitely have a fine show and enjoy our times while having fun ... We will have a superb automotive day with varied events so funds may be raised for cancer patient support and needed research. So time has come for us to help stop this dreaded reality.”

Texas: Pate Swap Meet to celebrate 40 years of swapping classic auto parts

From Examiner.com: Pate Swap Meet to celebrate 40 years of swapping classic auto parts
The Pate Swap Meet will hold its 40th annual event for auto enthusiasts of all types and generations at the Texas Motor Speedway Thursday, April 26 through Saturday April 29th at the speedway complex located near Fort Worth, Texas.

Attracting thousands of enthusiasts of all types from backyard mechanics to full gearheads, the Pate Swap Meet has been held at the Texas Motor Speedway since 1998 and is now the third largest automotive swap meet in America.

Focused on what many consider to be the golden eras of automobiles from antiques to hot rods, over 7,000 vendor spaces display automotive parts, memorabilia and treasures of all kinds available for sale or barter. Parts for trucks, motorcycles, custom cars along with the classics can be found around every corner at Pate.

Already restored, customized and cars, trucks and motorcycles that can be restored are also available for sale at the Pate Swap Meet.

Classic cars line K Street for annual event

From Visalia Times-Delta: Classic cars line K Street for annual event
When Frank Furtaw retired from his job as a police officer in Campbell, he knew what he wanted to do with his spare time.

"I said 'I'm going to find myself a car to restore like the one that I drove [as a rookie police officer] and restore it,'" he said.

And he has been entering the car he restored with his son, a 1962 Dodge Dart Seneca, in shows for the past decade — including the big "Cars on K" event this Saturday in Tulare.

Alongside Furtaw's automobile were classic cars of all makes and models. People by the hundreds from all over Tulare County perused the collection of vintage and restored cars that lined downtown K Street, from San Joaquin to Inyo avenues.

"It's really going strong, even for Easter weekend," said Sherry Carson, office manager at Tulare Chamber of Commerce.

More than 150 cars registered for the event.

While Furtaw's Dodge didn't win any of the blue ribbon categories, he still proudly showed off his restoration effort. His son, who works for the Tulare Police Department, helped him restore the car.

He was also offered a door seal to place on the car from the Tulare Police Department by then-police chief Roger Hill.

"It was one of those deals where I would buy a set of tires, then wait and save up to buy something else," he said, adding that he was able to collect equipment and parts from the police department he started at in 1961.

"It was a lot of fun," Furtaw said. He said that people think that its a police car that is currently in service

"People will see me driving and I look in the [rearview] mirror and I'll see people putting seat belts on and I'll see the cellphones go on the floor," he said. "It's 50-years old and they still think it's active."

Cars on K also included food vendors and music. Businesses benefited from the increased traffic, many of which offered discounts or displayed iitems outside store fronts.

Janice Cuto and her sister-in-law decided to attend the event after enjoying lunch downtown. Cuto said she planned to stop inside several stores while she checked out the cars.

"We just thought we would do something fun," said Cuto, who recently moved from Hanford. "We're trying to check out Tulare."

She said her husband owns an older car that he plans to eventually restore.

"This is his retirement dream to one day be out here," she said

Easter Pause

So sorry to have missed so many days of posting - unexpected family matters cropped up.

And now it's Easter, so more family matters.

Will get back on track Monday.

Thanks for your patience.