Back in early May I was able to attend two very different shows in one day to kick off the summer driving season. One featured old school classics while the other had a much more modern vibe. This post will feature several Canadian market cars like the above tri-tone 1957 Meteor Rideau 500 as well as some more recently imported Japanese Domestic Market cars.
The first show is the annual Spring Thaw hosted by the Nifty Fifty’s Ford Club so it is not surprising to see a lot of cars from the Fifties as well as the music of that time playing. This a lovely 1958 Dodge Custom Royal with a custom horse mascot on the hood. The front end features an extra helping of chrome.
A 1956 Continental Mark II displays a more subtle front end. It is an uncommon sight with only 1,325 produced.
Speaking of rarely seen how about a very neat 1940 Chevrolet COE with a few updates.
Next up is a 1949 Lincoln two door mildly customized.
Another Canadian classic in this 1949 Mercury pickup truck sporting loads of patina.
An oddball British import in a 1950 Thames Model E83W truck. These were sold new in Canada but there cannot be too many roadworthy examples left.
Convertibles were always more rare in Canada than the United States so this 1957 Meteor Rideau 500 convertible is quite rare.
Canada also got another Ford brand called Monarch as illustrated by this very nice 1956 Monarch Richelieu sedan.
It was far from just Ford products with this chalk paint 1954 Chevrolet 210 that the owner encouraged spectators to help decorate. The interior featured a comic book motif.
A classic Mustang vs Corvair battle. This 1965 Chevrolet Corvair is wearing Jaguar wheels for a slightly different look.
Both my boys and I both loved this 1966 Jeep CJ5 firetruck.
It still sports the original equipment.
Another Canadian classic in this 1966 Acadian which is obviously Nova based.
In the AMC section this odd panel 1970 AMC Rebel SST caught my eye.
It has been a while since I have seen a Gremlin. This 1978 AMC Gremlin X was sports a surprise …
… with a manual gearbox! It was parked next to a AMC Sprint also featuring a manual transmission.
Buick Wildcat!
A top of the line 1978 Ford Mustang King Cobra with a manual transmission.
It would not be a car show without a rad rod or two. This one wears a tractor grill.
This Chevrolet Fleetline rounds out my selection from the first show which was held at Heritage Park and generally was attended by a little older of a crowd.
Our second show was quite different with younger crowd, rap music and the occasional whiff of pot smoke. This Mustang stood out as the odd car out.
This Honda Del Sol was a more typical car on display featuring aftermarket parts and often custom paint or graphics.
There were a few modern exotics like this McLaren 720S sprinkled in. It was likely one of the few cars sporting stock rims that day.
A Nissan with a 180SX look.
Many right hand drive imports like this Nissan Skyline R34.
Hood-less Datsun 620 mini truck.
One of many engine swapped vehicles. That looks like a Volkswagen four cylinder to me.
This pink Honda Civic was reported to be making a huge horsepower boost over stock.
It also featured a clear hood.
There were a few older classics as well including this second generation Honda CRX.
A right hand drive Honda RSX with custom graphics.
An interesting V to inline engine swap in this Nissan 350Z with a huge turbo attached.
Canada got an Acura EL sedan based on the Civic but never in hatchback form. This was one of two custom creations present.
Not everything was shiny and perfect.
There were several German cars around but this Porsche 914 was my favorite.
That concludes the second of two very different shows to start the 2022 season.
Several visual cues on the engine in the Datsun truck tell me that it’s not just a VW engine, but a VW Diesel.
Great cultural range, here! The image that sticks in my head from each show is (1) the factory look to the De Soto grille in the black Lincoln’s maw, and (2) the terrific, devilish cherry blossom graphics on the white RSX. I don’t imagine the music from either show would resonate, because I’m (1) too young and (2) too old.
That white ’56 Continental is curious, too. I remember most of those I’ve seen in the States as black, but there’s at least one more white one in Canada, over in Alberta. Jim from Strong’s Garage and Cold War Motors is restoring one with Scott Newstead of the latter.
I am between those two generations age wise so those are not my music.
Interesting on the additional white Continental. Cold War Motors certainly comes across some interesting things.
Quite the eclectic collection.
That COE Chevy step van is now a two-step van.
The stock wheels on that Jeep are the only steel wheels that would fit on my Chevy Tracker. That’s why I’m leaving the alloys on it; good luck finding some of these. Restoring old CJs with the original narrow wheels and tires is becoming more popular now; after decades of slapping ever huger wheels and tires on them.
Interestingly when I had a Lada Niva the Tracker wheels were desirable to them as they were one of the few wheels that remotely fit the Niva. The skinny 16″ Lada stock ones had an oddball tire size that was impossible to find in Canada.
Curious. It’s a common lug nut pattern, same as gobs of Fords and Dodges, but the hub hole is bigger. One could ream out the hub hole, on the right equipment.
It has been a while but from what I recall it was the offset which was the biggest issue. The Lada had a more like fwd offset and the Suzuki was not ideal but the closest to that of the available (but mostly/all rwd) options.
Wow, that blue 57 Meteor convert caught my eye!
That Jeep dressed out in fire department livery… did it start out as a working fire vehicle or was it built as a novelty? Either way, it’s pretty cool!
According to the sign on it the Jeep was always a firetruck and built that way. It must have performed assistance roles I would imagine.
It reminds me of the tiny Kei truck based firetrucks out of Japan.
Love those Meteors and Monarchs.
The Jeep firetrucklet would be called kei in a different context.
I’m not sure I approve of the extra chrome on the Dodge.
The Thames truck has a top speed of 35-40 mph, according to the sign. Model T territory!
I love seeing things at car shows that I didn’t know existed.
Considering these had the engine offset for more driver space in RHD, I’m thinking it would be a very tight fit with LHD!
I never heard of the Thames before – looks like they were sold (briefly) in Canada and the US by Ford dealers alongside Anglias. Seems as if the panel vans far outsold the pickups, so I doubt there’s many of these left.
Is it just me, or were Canadians treated to the Ford designs that were worked out in clay, but deemed unsuitable for the American cars? It seems like every front end on a Canadian Ford product was overdone and of questionable attractiveness.
Could be making them different for the sake of being different with a very limited set of options that would not increase the total cost too much.
It does seem like in the mid-late ’50s, they just took the Ford and added more trim, but I like ’50s chrome, so not complaining.
I do think the early ’50s where they just made the Mercury grill fit a shoebox Ford is pretty good looking.
For ’59 I think you can make a case that the Meteor rectangles are more tasteful than the Ford stars.
All beautiful images David, thank you! You are one of those rare individuals who is very gifted technically, and creatively. And it shows in your projects.
Very unique and interesting selection. Love the Canadian content.
I visited Heritage Park, and loved it. Gorgeously presented. And a great backdrop for a car show. Very reminiscent of Upper Canada Village here in Eastern Ontario. Loved this collection, thanks!
The Village remains mostly the same as this 50 year old clip:
Thank you. I certainly am attracted to the oddball stuff as well as the Canadian models so that is generally what gets shared. There were plenty of Mustangs and Chevy Impalas as well.
I too have enjoyed Heritage Park. Like the Upper Canada Village it does not change very much over the years although they have added a car museum to it somewhat recently featuring rarely seen classics and a few heavy trucks. There is a small selection here from 2012 (so much for recently I guess) – https://www.flickr.com/photos/daveseven/albums/72157630753462258
Hope to see the Heritage Park auto collection in the next couple years. I already bookmarked your ‘dave_7’ albums at Flickr a number of years ago. 🙂
No question, some of the best collections in the country are located in Alberta.
Love that CJ-5!!! And it was born the same year as me!
It must be instinctive that after buying a used car, a man has to make changes to it, often for the worse. I suppose that’s better than peeing on it.
I reckon the ’57 Rideau 500 has the best two/three tone treatment ever! Fairlane 500s just look unfinished after seeing this.
Great lot of cars. The older show is more my scene. That Civic with the clear hood puzzles me. The engine doesn’t look that special, why bother?
Nice collection of photos and I noticed a 62 Mercury Meteor in the background of one pic.
With COVID no longer an issue in Canada, the public is getting out and there are a lot of car shows happening this spring and summer. I don’t know which to attend. Facebook has a page devoted to car shows in Alberta and it seems almost every community has a Show N Shine or a meet at the local drive-in.
The trucks were the standouts to me…the Chevrolet COE & the Thames at the first show are very cool! And the ‘tasteless’-tired creation at the second show has its charms as well.