The American automobile will be celebrated as a mechanical marvel, a work of art and a status symbol in the 32nd annual Dixie Car Club Open Car Show in Benton on Saturday.
More than 100 vehicles, many of them classic models, preserved or restored to showroom condition, will be on display at the Saline County Fairgrounds, said Bill Newsam, vice president of the car club and master of ceremonies of the event.
“In our best year, we had 172 cars on display,” he said. “We hope to have as many this year, but there are more shows now, and several pick this weekend.”
Newsam will have several cars in the show including a 1958 Lincoln.
“I bought it in 1985 in Alabama and have spent 20 years restoring it,” he said. “I farmed out most of the work to Dale Mashburn in Bryant. He’s the best Ford man in the region.”
The vehicle is unlike any auto made today. The body, painted rose metallic, is more than 19 feet long, and the car weighs 3 tons. It also includes a rare feature. The ragtop’s back window is glass. When the top is raised, a lip comes up from the body of the car, and the window flips down as the roof folds on top of it.
“I have been told there are only about 35 of this model still around,” Newsam said. “About 60 percent of it is restoration, but the engine and drive train are original.”
Newsam said the color was a special order from the factory, and the car sold for $6,200.
“That was a big price in 1958,” he said.
At the other end of the price spectrum is the $375 that Tifford Cloud paid for his 1932 Chevrolet Coach when he bought it in Benton in 1933.
“It was $400 new, but my grandfather bought it used,” said Earl Cloud, who now drives the car.
The vehicle has been in the family ever since and has become a family heirloom.
“We have always taken great care of the car,” said Earl, a retired teacher from Benton. “It has never spent a night outside; we have always put it in the garage.”
Under Earl’s care, the old Chevy has been repainted its original black, and the interior has been restored, but the engine, chrome and headlights are all original. That’s unusual for a 78-year-old vehicle.
Ron Wood’s restored 1928 Ford Roadster has had a lot more work done on it than the Cloud car.
The retired mechanic from Benton was led to the vehicle by a farmer. The body of the car had been pushed into a ditch some time before to slow down the flow of water and keep the sides of the ditch from washing away.
“There were no fenders, seats, hood or top,” Wood said.
Wood worked on the car for 10 years. He found replacement parts and said he used stainless steel for every nut and bolt on the vehicle. He installed a 327 Chevrolet engine. That much power and custom work places the car in the Hot Rod division in the car show.
The three car owners said their treasured vehicles are all ready to take on the road, but Cloud says he never takes the ’32 Chevy more than 45 mph.
Newsam said the Dixie Car Club has 120 members and is looking for more.
“You don’t have to have a car (to be a member); you just have to like cars,” he said. “Many don’t want to join until they have a car restored, but if they join us, they can probably find some help and make it easier.”
Last year’s show was the first to include antique motorcycles, Newsam said. Several motorcycles, all more than 25 years old, will be part of the show. Many will be displayed by members of the Antique Motorcycle Club in Hot Springs.
Admission to the show is free. The show field will open at 7 a.m. At 3 p.m., awards will be presented in 14 classes for original cars and trucks, six classes of Hot Rod and Custom cars and one class for the motorcycle division.
The main event for the car owners is the reactions of the spectators when they examine the vehicles.
“We are just a bunch of guys and gals who like classic cars, hot rods and motorcycles,” Newsam said. “This is just showing off.”