The 26th edition of the Atlantic Nationals car show continued Saturday with its signature event. Antique vehicle owners drove their prized possessions to Moncton’s Centennial Park for a massive show and shine. Atlantic Nationals chair Bill Doherty said the five-day event is the biggest car show in Canada with people bringing their vehicles from all 10 provinces. “We’re getting a great turnout. I think we’re over the 1,500 number which is a heck of a big show, so we’re pleased,” said Doherty. Doherty believes the show brings somewhere between $8 to $10 million into the local economy. People who come don’t stay for a day or two, but plan their vacation around the car show, he said. “We see those folks around our region for a good length of time and spending a lot of money while they’re here,” said Doherty. ‘This is my passion’ It’s an expensive hobby, or passion, with owners spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours to purchase, restore and maintain the classic cars. Winston Hurlburt came from the Halifax area with his 1931 Ford Model A Victoria. “A lot of people like going golfing. A lot of people like having a cottage and boats and this and that. This is my hobby, this is my passion, cars and building cars. Taking my hands and taking metal, shaping it. People always ask me what do I do? I take square pegs and fit them in round holes,” said Hurlburt. Hurlburt said he’s put more than 2,000 hours of time to build the car and if you estimate $50 an hour minimum for labour, that adds up to an enormous amount. “So there’s $100,000 and I’ve taken $100,000 out of my back pocket into the rest of the car. So, it’s a $200,000 car. But if you went to sell it you probably won’t get close to that, because the market and the age of people that are into the hot rods, classic cars, we’re getting up there in our age and we’re the ones kind of dying off,” said Hurlburt. Katie Lindsay drove her 1972 Plymouth Valiant from Fredericton. “It’s a piece of history that you don’t get to see very often. You see all these new cars, all this new technology coming out, but nothing beats a good classic,” said Lindsay. The car has been in her family for four generations and she co-owns it with her mother. She and her boyfriend have put a lot of time and money into the car. “Just the engine bay rebuild alone, I would say probably $5,000 to $6,000 in just man-hours. Not including materials and everything else to do it,” said Lindsay. ‘We love the people’ Kentz Kustomz Cycles owner Kent Writtenberry comes from Gasburg, Virginia every year to sell merchandise and work on cars. “We love the people, we like New Brunswick, we like Canada,” said Writtenberry. He said people put so much time and effort into their cars because of their passion for it. “You know, you can call it a hobby, but most of the guys that do this, hobby is golf. Go play golf two hours a week and it’s over with. Most of the guys that are in this, and the girls, this is a love, it’s 24/7. It runs with you 24/7. You go to bed at night and you think, ‘What can I do to make my car different from this car?’ It’s more of a passion than a hobby,” said Writtenberry. ‘It’s like a family’ On Friday, Moncton went back in time with hundreds of vehicles parked downtown for a giant cruise-in and street party. Gerry Roberts drove his 1948 Mercury from Georgetown, Ont., to Moncton. “Some people like to golf, some people like baseball, we like to play with cars. It’s tinkering, coming to the shows, meeting people,” said Roberts. “It’s like a family.” Tina McCooey brought her 1948 International from Grand Falls, N.B., to Moncton’s Main Street. “We do it because we love the history. We love the people. We love the environment that it brings. We just love everything about old vehicles,” she said. The car show comes to a close Sunday with another show and shine at Centennial Park. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
