Get Fired Up for the Old Timer's Festival Car Show on July 16th

There are plenty of the fun things to do during the Fairview Old Timer's Reunion and Summer Festival, July 15th, 16th, and 17th, and the car show is one of the many events festival goers won't want to miss. On Saturday from 10:00am – 2:00pm the car show will be held across the street from Sharbono Part (to the west) and you will find a myriad of trucks, cars, motorcycles, and classics of all eras.

Gene Trudell, owner of Hot Wheels Maintenance Shop and Fairview native, has been in charge of organizing the car show for the last few years. He'd been showing his cars there for ten years before he was approached about organizing the event.

"Men, women, and kids... people just like cars," Trudell commented. "It's interesting because the cars that people favor are usually the cars they grew up with. It's a great opportunity for people to come and see what's out there, and if you've got it you can bet someone is going to want to see it."

Trudell himself has a Ford Collection of four '55 Fairlanes and a '56 F100 Pickup. In fact, he is the proud owner of one of two 1954 Thunderbird prototypes that were designed by a Billings, MT man and were equipped with engines built in Canada, as Canada offered some of the newest engine technology of the time. The second of these prototypes is in a museum in Deerborne, MI. Trudell also has a '65 Pontiac Bonneville convertible and a '74 VW Super Beetle convertible.

"I always had an interest in the '55 Fords because they had round instrumentation in the dash that was unique to the car and the year. I've always thought that they were just very unusual and beautiful," he added.

Trudell estimates that there are hundreds of classic cars in the area and is hoping that people are just waiting for a good excuse to bring them out and show them off. He also takes part in the Wednesday night car shows in the SE corner of the Reynolds parking lot in Sidney, which is also free to show and open to the public from 6:00pm – 9:00pm.

Just as interesting as the vehicles themselves, are the way they're restored, whether that be to original condition, or with modern equipment and safety features. Car shows are a good place to get information about personal restoration projects because the chances are good that someone has "been there, done that" and can offer helpful advice.

The crew at Hot Wheels has had plenty of experience working on Trudell's collection, and so have the needed experience to work on all vehicles, even the classics. Additionally, they have the necessary equipment, including a mechanic's pit, for those low-clearance vehicles that can't be put on a hoist.

"We've gotten a lot of positive feedback with the collectibles that we've worked on," said Hot Wheels mechanic Wayne Wick.

For more information about the car shows or the services offered at Hot Wheels, call Wayne Wick at 406-489-3219. There is no registration necessary to participate and no age limit, so if you've got it, show it!