Behind every entry at Saturday’s Langley Good Times Cruise-In, one of the largest outdoor charity car shows in Canada, there’s an owner.
And behind every owner, there’s a story.
Here are two of them.
Langley’s Jacques Gauthier parked his 1951 Business Coupe Shoebox on the north side of the one-way section of Fraser Highway.
“That’s my last car,” the 76-year-old predicted.
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While Gauthier has owned the car for 10 years, he said it took about eight years to build it. The car is a tribute to Gauthier’s father, Marcel. Gauthier said his dad was a “bootlegger,” and used a ’51 Business Coupe to transport the spirits to customers.
“He used to make some whiskey,” Gauthier said. “Behind the driver’s seat, the back seat, he filled that with whiskey, and hit the road.”
Gauthier said the work he did on the car was a labour of love. When he found the car, it was in pieces and he put it together.
“We put a Camaro clip in the front to drop a 502 motor Cadillac Eldorado [into it],” he said. “We modified mostly everything, but we kept the body the way it is right now, from the company. But everything else has been modified.”
On dry days, the car is driven by Gauthier, who stresses he’s the “only one who drives it.”
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Further south at Douglas Park, Langley’s Mark Fettback had his 1915 Ford Model T Speedster on display.
After he bought the car from its previous owner on Vancouver Island five years ago, Fettback took it apart and put it back together again.
“It was time, it needed it, and my wife [Suzanne] and I love it, pouring rain, everything,” he said, about the logic behind the rebuild.
The car, which tops out at 60 km/h, is out on the road about once a week during the summer months.
“We don’t trailer,” he said. “Cars are meant to be enjoyed.”
Driving the car can be tricky.
“It’s a standard, but not like today’s cars,” Fettback said. “Our pedals are high/low gear, reverse, and brake, and your gas and your timing are done on the steering wheel. A little confusing.”
Fettback said his and his wife’s “greatest passion is going to a coffee shop, letting the kids jump in, get their picture, and talking.”
Ford started in 1908 and revolutionized the whole assembly line, Fettback said.
Comparing his car to today’s era, Fettback said it’s “kind of like a cheap sports car.”
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As for the Cruise-In itself, once again, a ceiling of blue sky and warm temperatures brought out huge crowds to enjoy the day.
Click here to view a photo gallery from the 2015 Langley Good Times Cruise-In.