The car’s the star

Nature smiled Sunday on the 13th annual Jewel City Kiwanis Car Show at Verdugo Park.

The clouds and rain that plagued the Southland most of the week were banished by sunny skies as nearly 2,000 descended on the park to get a close look at more than 300 vintage cars and trucks, sports cars and hot rods participating in this year’s event, said Rich Jessup, chairman of the car show committee.

The show, which was originally scheduled for March 19 but was postponed two weeks because of rain, included entries from various countries and eras, from a 1922 Ford Model T to a 1963 Mercedes Benz 220SE, as well as classics from the American muscle car era including Dodge Chargers, Ford Mustangs and Pontiac GTOs. The event also featured an appearance by a Glendale Police Department squad car and the department’s armored SWAT vehicle, as well as vendors selling everything from die-cast metal collectibles to T-shirts and car care products.

Kiwanis, which manned a food booth and held a silent auction, uses the car show as its biggest fundraiser of the year, Jessup said. The money raised goes to the group’s various local charities, including the Boy and Girl Scouts, Glendale Assn. for the Retarded, Glendale Little League, and others.

First-, second- and third-prize trophies are also handed out to show entrants in more than 20 categories divided by era, including stock, modifieds, sports car, truck and muscle car.

“The participants love doing this,” Jessup said. “Their cars are their pride and joy, and they enjoy traveling these car show circuits. Our in-progress category is pretty popular, because they bring the cars they are working on and run into people who can tell them, ‘Hey, I know somebody who can get those hubcaps for you.’ So it is great for networking.”

Among the enthusiasts with entries in the show was Ron Johnston of Burbank, whose 1959 Austin Healy Bug-Eyed Sprite took second place in last year’s People’s Choice category.

“It took me two years to restore it, after I bought it in pieces,” said Johnston, a retired banker. “I learned myself, reading manuals and making mistakes. It is in the Foreign Sports Car category, which is ironic because it is competing with all the big boys like Porsches, Jaguars and Mercedes, and it is probably the smallest in the show.”

He agreed that meeting other car enthusiasts was probably the biggest reason people like him frequent car shows.

“There is a lot of information sharing that goes on, Johnston said. “Cars transcend culture and language, and it is fun sharing the challenge and fun of restoring them.”

Mike LeVantine, of Sherman Oaks, was a first-time entrant with his 1966 blue Corvette Sting Ray, which Johnston helped him restore.

“I’ve had it since 1967, and it had been sitting around for 15 years until my friend Ron offered to restore it, so this is its maiden voyage,” he said.

“I am having a wonderful time, meeting all kinds of other enthusiasts.”

The beautiful weather helped bring out Art Mirkhani, his brother-in-law, and their children to the car show.

“I think these shows are popular because it is a way to remember the old days,” said Mirkhani, as 1950s rock music blared from speakers among the classic cars behind him.

“We grew up with these cars, and to see them displayed in these conditions is fun.”

They really don’t make them like they used to, said Bob McGowan of Sherman Oaks, as he admired a 1950 Oldsmobile Club Sedan.

“Look at that hood ornament,” he exclaimed, pointing at a chrome protuberance on the Oldsmobile’s hood reminiscent of an art deco jet aircraft.

“There is not going to be anything like this in the next 100 years and beyond.”