FREE motoring August, 2013
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INSIDEFeatures n Cover Story Babe’s Hot Dogs Cruise Nights > pages 1 & 2
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nthony Traina of Joliet sits proudly next to his green and white 1961 Nash Metropolitan at Babe’s Hot Dogs parking lot in Joliet What makes Traina’s car different from the rest of the 200 or so cars at this weekly cruise night is not the fact that only 80,000 of them were made, or that Lois Lane drove a pink and white model in the 1950s television version of “Superman.” It’s the fact that Traina’s car is not a show car. It’s his everyday vehicle. “I saw it at a car show last September and paid $3,000 for it,” Traina said. “Except for some touch-up with paint, it’s all original. I used to live in Germany, so when I saw the car for sale, I said, ‘OK, I’ll buy it.’ In the winter, I put it away and drive my dad’s truck.” For 10 years, the 1972 green Chevelle Malibu Lana Vineyard Sexton of Channahon bought new from Bill Jacobs Chevrolet in Joliet was also once her everyday car, until Sexton bought another and parked the Malibu
in her garage. “My daughter Michelle was born in 1975, and she used to ride in it as a baby,” Sexton said.
“I fixed and restored every single piece, special to its original year and model. It has the original hold downs. You won’t find them in any auto store.” Matt Jurewicz Car Enthusiast
About a dozen years ago, when Sexton could insure the Malibu as a classic car, she began attending local cruise nights. Except from
switching from 14-inch to 15-inch tires and adding 1984 Monte Carlo rims 26 years ago, Sexton’s changed nothing on the Malibu. “I only drive it about 2,000 miles a year so,” Sexton said. “I don’t wear out the rubber. I replace the tires, because they dry rot.” Sexton actually had wanted to buy a Chevrolet Nova, but her father said that model would “fold up like an accordion” in an accident. “My dad made me leave the sticker in the window so everyone could see that his daughter had a brand new car,” Sexton said. “I had $2,100, so I had to borrow $1,700 from my parents. I paid it off a year to the date, the day before I got married, because my dad didn’t want me to have a car payment.” Tim Reilly, owner of Babe’s Hot Dogs, transplanted the cruise night from another venue about 10 years ago, said Reilly’s daughter, Casey Reilly. Several car enthusiasts had apContinued on page 2