Many decades ago, DAN CLARK parted ways with the automotive love of his life. Then a year ago, he found it again: a 1968 Camaro 396 Super Sport, royal blue with white stripes down the sides. “My first brand-new car was just like this. Then I went into that institutional thing — marriage — and when I got out, I said, ‘I’m gonna buy that car.’ Only it was 10 times more than what it cost then, which was about $3,200.” Come, come, come, come, come into my heart. Tell me, darlin’, we will never part. I need you, darlin’, so come go with me. (Wah, wah, wah, wah ah.) DICK NOVAK bought his 1952 Cadillac convertible 25 years ago, when he was still a firefighter back in Minnesota. It needed work, but between runs he had time to pull it apart and make it like new again. Today it is a gleaming, voluptuous beauty, Highland green with a seafoam interior. There are power windows and power seats and chrome hubcaps with the gold and red Cadillac crest. Even among the millions of dollars worth of vintage vehicles here, it is a showstopper of the first order. “In ’52, Cadillac was top of the hill, better than any car in the world,” Novak says. “It set the standard.” 1953 Cadillac Photograph by Susan Taylor Martin
I think with the guys it’s as much about the camaraderie. They love the cars, but it gives everybody a place to get together and talk. It’s a fun hobby. It can be very expensive, but the best part is that it’s a place to gather with friends. It’s a big family.” LARRY CLEM, car show operator
Before everyone heads home, gift certificates and trophies are handed out. But for those like Jim Filcheck, here in his ’69 Cadillac Seville, the real reward is the chance to relive a time, if only briefly, when life didn’t seem quite so complicated. “I feel like I’m back in the ’60s. It makes me think of going to McDonald’s, cruising, going to drive-in movies, drag racing.” So if you, too, yearn for a bit of nostalgia, come on out. And maybe get a burger, fries and a shake along the way. With a cherry on top.
Quaker Steak & Lube 10400 49th St. N Pinellas Park 727-572-9464