This article was originally published by Deanna Isaacs via the Kirkland Reporter and was written for The Auto Reporter republication.
Downtown Kirkland opened it’s parking spots and shut out normal traffic last weekend to ensure that the Kirkland Classic Car Show was a triumph… no not a Triumph car, but a triumph of auto-shows.
The Kirkland Classic Car Show, organized by the Legends Car Club and the Kirkland Downtown Association, drew people from near and far, all for the chance to showcase their vehicles and meet and greet fellow enthusiasts.
“My Brother and I found it on Craigslist. It was in pieces and we put it together, did all the work on it, got it running, made everything work,” said Jeff McCracken, who was showcasing his labor of love, a Plymouth, at the show. “Then we took it all apart and did all the body work on it.
They also rented a paintbooth and did the paint job, only getting outside help for the upholstery. They even put an automatic transmission in the vehicle, by making the stock shifter the new automatic shifting knob, and put in power steering to make it easy to handle on the roads.
“The trunk was done up by Interior Renovations, which is a friend that I went to school with who has an interior shop right here in Kirkland,” McCracken said. “It’s all homebuilt.”
For them, car culture is about getting in there and doing the job right with the helping hands of friends and family, and returning to where they came from.
“I was born down here, right in Kikland, at the old hospital that was right down the street,” McCracken said. “It’s kind of neat; it’s not the same town anymore, it’s changed a lot but it’s a nice town.”
With such an amalgamation of vehicles, it was hard for some to not get whiplash; something from nearly every year and most makes or models.
“This is about the tenth year we’ve been out to this car show,” said Ray Catouli, owner of a ‘33 Ford Roadster streetrod, a ‘51 Chevy Pickup and a Model A – which stayed at home. “It’s kind of the right size for me. We’ve been to Greenwood and Cruising Colby… but this [car show] here, it’s the right size for me and I just enjoy it. It’s a well done car show.”
Of course, winning the Best in Show for his Roadster helps.
The show is all about mixing with fellow car enthusiasts and intrigued strangers.
“It’s fun to get out on a sunny day and put the top down,” Catouli said. “It’s fun to have people wave at you, flash their lights… Streetrodding is just a fun sport.”
Though, it’s also about family.
“The 51 Chevy has been in the family since it was new, so we’ll keep it in the family,” Catouli said. “It’s another fun car, and it’s what I started with, but you don’t want to go too far. You don’t want a truck geared for the farm out on the road.”
For Craig Sears and his grandson Kevin Westcot, the Kirkland Classic Car Show was less about the cars and more about sharing them with the next generation.
“For me, its all nostalgia. I was born and raised around here and, when I was in high school in the ‘60s, you lived and died by the car you drove,” Sears said. “[Kevin] loves the cars and can pick them out of a crowd.”
“My favorite thing is that they’re so old, very interesting. I’m too young [to drive], I’m only eight!” Westcot said.
Whether one was a participant, partaking in the view or even there for the food trucks and live music, there was a little something for everyone and a triumphant success.
(Photo gallery coming shortly.)
