Blog | Car Show Life

4 days ago
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Ride Of The Week 04/12/2021: James Cogdill's 1970 Chevy Suburban Ambulance

Someone call for an ambulance? James Cogdill of Smyrna, DE sends us his 1970 Chevy Suburban Ambulance for the #Rideoftheweek. It’s always cool to see former professional vehicles live on in the car show scene after their retirement from duty. James picked this up 2 years ago from a retired funeral director. It has only 36,000 original miles and despite looking like it just drove away from “Rampart Medical Center” after transferring patients cared for by Paramedics Gage & DeSo

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Ride Of The Week 04/05/2021: Jon Geise's 1987 Corvette

Drake Donovan

Apr 4
1 min

Ride Of The Week 04/05/2021: Jon Geise's 1987 Corvette

“Coveting thy brother-in-law’s brother’s Corvette” Jon Geise is a Corvette guy, having owned two in the early 90s. He started out with a red-on-red ’84 and sold it after a short time to upgrade to a similarly appearing 1992 model with only 6,000 miles & equipped with a 6-speed. But as we all know…life happens, forces changes. Thus, the two-seat sportscar had to go. Little did Jon know he’d have to wait nearly 30 years to get back behind the wheel of a Corvette. Jon writes, “I

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Ride Of The Week 03/29/2021: Garry Greer's 1955 Bel Air

Drake Donovan

Mar 29
1 min

Ride Of The Week 03/29/2021: Garry Greer's 1955 Bel Air

"Better than a gold watch" Once upon a time, when an employee reached retirement or a specific milestone in their employment, the company would honor that service with an award of some significance. Thus the “Gold Watch” came to symbolize longevity, appreciation and a job well done. In the case of Garry Greer, who worked for a family-owned business for over 40 years, that “gold watch” for decades of service came in the form of a ’55 Bel Air. Garry writes, “I have dreamed of o

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Ride Of The Week 03/22/2021: Dave Owsley's 2013 Camaro SS/RS

Drake Donovan

Mar 25
1 min

Ride Of The Week 03/22/2021: Dave Owsley's 2013 Camaro SS/RS

"A Labor Of Love" Dave Owsley of Louisville, KY has been a car guy all his life. He’s had Buicks, Corvettes, Monte Carlos, Dually Trucks and Camaros, but one car has eluded him all this life, a real 1969 Z11 Pace Car Edition. There were about 3,600 made in 1969 and they can be had, but at a price. In 2013, Dave had another idea, take a 5th Gen Camaro and create his own pace car edition convertible with classic touches on the modern platform. He started out with a Summit Whit

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Ride Of The Week 03/15/2021: Drew Hopay's 1936 Ford Woody

Drake Donovan

Mar 15
1 min

Ride Of The Week 03/15/2021: Drew Hopay's 1936 Ford Woody

"Pieces" Drew Hopay always wanted a Woody. So, when he found this 1936 Ford, he saw the potential in becoming its 3rd owner. When I say, ‘saw the potential’, I mean that this car was just a collection of parts and a partial rolling chassis. Drew took the car to Mark Gissendander of GIS Automotive in Glenshaw, PA. GIS mated the maple, ash and steel body to a TCI chassis and equipped it with Air Ride Suspension. The Woody is powered by a small-block Chevy that breathes thru a c

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Ride Of The Week 03/08/2021: 1985 Camaro Sport Coupe

Drake Donovan

Mar 8
2 min

Ride Of The Week 03/08/2021: 1985 Camaro Sport Coupe

"Another date that lives in infamy…. for me." March 8, 1993. I can remember bringing this 1985 Camaro home after signing paperwork at the Notary Public. It was a cool car. Heck, even the license plate was cool: AHH-8125. "Ahhhhh" says it all! I was 17…a mere 10 days away from my birthday. On March 18th I would become an adult, but it was on March 8th that I became a man, a car-owning man. Throughout my teens, I saved every penny I earned mowing lawns and working at the l

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Ride Of The Week 03/01/2021: 1967 Datsun 1600

Drake Donovan

Mar 1
1 min

Ride Of The Week 03/01/2021: 1967 Datsun 1600

“What the hell is that dang deal?” Northcentral PA is definitely muscle car country. Shows here are well populated with Chevelles, Chargers, Mustangs, Camaros and hot rods of all shapes, sizes and makes. But this little roadster caught my attention, for well, being a roadster among muscle machines it was parked with. As I got closer, I was expecting it to be a Triumph or an MG, but then I could make out “Datsun” on the front fender. That made me quote Steve Martin & Bill Murr

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Ride Of The Week 02/22/2021: Michael Shipman's 1967 Camaro RS/SS

Drake Donovan

Feb 22
1 min

Ride Of The Week 02/22/2021: Michael Shipman's 1967 Camaro RS/SS

“COLLECT THEM ALL” Toy marketers always inserted this phrase in their commercials. As a child of the '80s I can recall hearing that line in ads for G.I. Joe, Transformers, & Star Wars figures and vehicles. And “Collect Them All” was the attitude of the owner for this week’s Ride Of The Week. Michael Shipman claims he’s had all kinds of muscle cars over the years from intermediate Chevelles, to 2+2 Mustangs, to a Big Block Vette, but there’s one ride that eluded him in his you

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Ride Of The Week 02/15/2021: Jack Sechler, Jr's 1979 Corvette

Drake Donovan

Feb 15
1 min

Ride Of The Week 02/15/2021: Jack Sechler, Jr's 1979 Corvette

“TRUE BLUE” I love seeing rare cars or rare options on cars. This 1979 Corvette has two rare additions from the waning years of the C3 Vette. According two owner, Jack Sechler, Jr of Winfield, PA, this Corvette, which he’s owned for 2 years, is one of 125 with the silver interior made famous the previous year by the 25th Anniversary pace car edition. It also has the mounting for the optional T-Top rack, though the rack itself is long gone. Jack states that the car is all orig

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Ride Of The Week 02/08/2021: Dan Laubach’s 2009 HHR SS

Drake Donovan

Feb 8
1 min

Ride Of The Week 02/08/2021: Dan Laubach’s 2009 HHR SS

“Putting the ‘Sport’ in Sport Utility” In the late 90s and early 00s, the automotive world began a retro design phase with callbacks to the 1940s, 50s & 60s with models like the PT Cruiser and Prowler from Plymouth/Chrysler, VW’s New Beetle, the rebirth of the 2-seat Thunderbird and this entry from Chevrolet, the HHR or (Heritage High Roof). It came to market shortly after the SSR pickup and was styled after a 1940s Suburban but riding on the Cobalt platform. This direct comp

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Ride Of The Week 02/01/2021: Allan Smiths 1934 Ford Pickup

Drake Donovan

Feb 1
2 min

Ride Of The Week 02/01/2021: Allan Smiths 1934 Ford Pickup

"A Barn Find In A Carport" This week’s Ride of the Week comes to us from Williamsport, PA. Allan Smith writes, “2018 started out kind of rough for me and I needed something to keep me busy. My friend Harvey told me about a guy north of town that had his own private yard and stash of various cars. Harvey, Jeremy, and I rode up to the guy’s place looking for Camaro parts for Harvey's car. Walking around up there I spotted this chopped 1934 Ford Pickup sitting in a dirt floor

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Ride Of The Week 01/25/2021: Hunter Lund's 2020 Camaro ZL1 1LE "Envy"

Drake Donovan

Jan 27
1 min

Ride Of The Week 01/25/2021: Hunter Lund's 2020 Camaro ZL1 1LE "Envy"

"ENVY" I have a soft spot for Camaros and family connections. My mom’s 1971 Camaro started my life-long love of cars. For Hunter Lund of Carnegie, PA, it was his dad’s 1968 Lotus Elan. Hunter’s dad had the British Racing Green Lotus in the late 60s/early 70s and that car left its mark on young Hunter. In 2020, when he spotted this Rally Green Metallic ZL1 1LE, it reminded him so much of that little British roadster, that he had to jump on it. As it turns out, there’s more to

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Ride Of The Week 01/18/2021: Richard Kinnison's 1975 Dodge Dart

Drake Donovan

Jan 18
2 min

Ride Of The Week 01/18/2021: Richard Kinnison's 1975 Dodge Dart

"An Abomination" Our #Rideoftheweek comes to us via Richard Kinnison from Virginia. Here is his 1975 Dodge Dart, “Abomination”. Why is it an abomination? Well, Richard says, “It's named that because every Mopar Purist that comes across it see the LSX MPR license plate and says ‘That's an abomination’!” Kinnison goes on to say, “This started as a fun build for me and my family, but turned into more of an example of what hot rodding truly is, taking what you have and making you

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Ride Of The Week 01/11/2020: Mark Bennardi's 1968 GTO

Drake Donovan

Jan 11
1 min

Ride Of The Week 01/11/2020: Mark Bennardi's 1968 GTO

"Looks can be deceiving" While this 1968 Pontiac A-Body may look like a Meridian Turquoise GTO now, it was born a 1968 LeMans in Mayfair Maize. According to its current owner, Mark Bennardi of South Williamsport, a previous owner had a GTO that had been totaled in an accident. He loved the car, but replacing it was hard to do, as the values of original “242” cars (meaning the first 3 digits of the VIN indicating that it was a true GTO from the factory) were skyrocketing at th

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Ride Of The Week 01/04/2021: Ron Smith's 1966 Chevelle SS 396

Drake Donovan

Jan 4
1 min

Ride Of The Week 01/04/2021: Ron Smith's 1966 Chevelle SS 396

"A Man And His Vices" Pick your poison, they say. Gambling, Drinking, Smoking…these are the typical vices of an adult American male. For Ron Smith, you can take your smoke, booze and bets and shove ‘em. Ron’s poison is cars! I met Ron and his wife Sue at the last Williamsport Cars and Coffee of the shortened 2020 car show season, telling tales at the back of their 1966 Chevelle SS 396. What caught my attention was Sue stating, “Well he doesn’t drink or smoke! He’s gotta have

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Ride Of The Week 12/28/2020: Steve Wilson's 1993 Ford F-150 Lightning

Drake Donovan

Dec 28, 2020
1 min

Ride Of The Week 12/28/2020: Steve Wilson's 1993 Ford F-150 Lightning

"Lightning in a Bottle Garage" Steve Wilson caught lightning in a bottle. Well, really, it was an F-150 Lightning. And it was in a garage, stored for 26 years! Part of the factory sport truck craze of the 1990s, the Ford F-150 Lightning, created by Ford’s Special Vehicle Team or SVT, joined the likes of the GMC Syclone, Dodge RAM SRT-10 and the Chevy 454 SS, to bring muscle car performance and style to pickup trucks. This example is from 1993, the second year of the first gen

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Ride Of The Week 12/21/2020: Tom Henry's 1972 Chevy C10

Drake Donovan

Dec 21, 2020
3 min

Ride Of The Week 12/21/2020: Tom Henry's 1972 Chevy C10

“The End of An Era” This news came as a sudden surprise today, forcing me to punt my scheduled Ride of the Week post ahead into 2021. My apologies to Mark Bennardi and his ’68 GTO, but I had to write something about this ride, “Clyde”, and, more importantly, his owner Tom Henry. I awoke this morning to a Facebook message from my Camaro Club’s President who forwarded the Facebook Live video announcement that Tom had sold his Suburban Pittsburgh Chevrolet dealership and was ret

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Ride Of The Week 12/14/2020: Jason Keeler's 1965 Corvette Stingray

Drake Donovan

Dec 16, 2020
1 min

Ride Of The Week 12/14/2020: Jason Keeler's 1965 Corvette Stingray

“Corvette’s Greatest Hits!” Same as my custom show board winner a few weeks back, Dale Merrill and his ’72 Ventura II Sprint, this week’s Ride of the week eluded me for at least three shows this year. I finally caught up to Jason Keeler of Jersey Shore, PA at the October 4th cruise-in hosted by Central PA Street Machines in Mill Hall, PA to ask him about his 1965 Corvette. This car first caught my eye back in July at Iconic Rod & Custom’s event. This car has all the Corvette’

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Ride Of The Week 12/07/2020: Leonard Hoffman's 1964 Studebaker Avanti

Drake Donovan

Dec 7, 2020
2 min

Ride Of The Week 12/07/2020: Leonard Hoffman's 1964 Studebaker Avanti

"A DATE WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY" There are those dates that are emblazoned in our collective consciousness, like today’s date, December 7th. Franklin D. Roosevelt described it in his speech to Congress and the nation after the bombing of Pearl Harbor as a “date which will live in infamy”. As with national and world events, we all have personal dates of infamy, a graduation day, a wedding day, the day we bring a child into the world or see a parent leave it. For Leonard Hoff

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Ride Of The Week 11/30/2020: Allen Kile's 1964 Dodge Custom 880

Drake Donovan

Dec 1, 2020
1 min

Ride Of The Week 11/30/2020: Allen Kile's 1964 Dodge Custom 880

"THE FAMILY WAGON" Station wagons are a rare sight these days at the local small-town car show. So, when this pristine Dodge Custom 880 was backing into the cruise-in at the Hughesville Dollar General, I helped guide it into a space, then immediately pounced on the owner. Allen Kile has owned this wagon since 1968. He bought it for his growing family from the original owner. While the car is mostly original, it does have a replacement 383 Magnum Hemi from a similar car, in li

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