You can't paint all car collectors with the same airbrush.
What type of collector you are depends on what you like to do with your cars, or trucks, as the case may be, says Rob Jackson of the All Ford Outlaws Car Club.
The club held a car show at the Northland Power Curling Centre Saturday, with all makes and models welcome to show.
Jackson says members of the All Ford Outlaws Car Club collect vehicles that might be brand new, restored or modified, but their main interest is in driving them. In fact, a number of them recently returned from a trip to Montana.
While they are not likely to use their collector cars for a trip to the store for milk, they enjoy outings whenever possible. Even a trip for ice cream on a warm evening, says Jackson.
But not all collectors are the same. A collector of vintage cars would be more interested in restoring or maintaining a vehicle as close to its factory condition as possible, including original paint in some cases, says Jackson. Many of these vehicles aren't really up to road trips.
For example, the Battlefords Vintage Auto Club is in the process of restoring a 1953 Chevrolet tow truck used by the late Fred Light at his service station, not to mention building a replica of a vintage service station to house it in.
Another area of interest car collectors focus on is customizing and modifying vehicles to create something unique, and probably fast. This is the world of rod and custom clubs, and there is one of those in the Battlefords as well, says Jackson. In fact, he and other Ford Outlaws support that club as well.
"We know everybody in all the different car clubs," says Jackson. "It's not like a rivalry."
The All Ford Outlaws Car Club was formed by a number of collectors who had been members of the Saskatoon Mustang Club.
"We would go to international Mustang meets every year," he said.
With six or eight of them usually attending, they decided they should have their own Ford club locally. Currently, they have about a dozen members with close to 30 cars.
At Saturday's meet, there were 17 non-club cars and nine club cars. The club members excluded themselves from the door prizes, said Jackson.
Attendance by both exhibitors and patrons was down from last year's meet, the first event to be held in the Northland Power Curling Centre.
"I think maybe the weather's too good," he said. "Some people are still doing the lake thing."
Attendance was "not overwhelming," he said, but whatever proceeds there are from the $5 admission fee and any sales from the food service will go to the Twin Rivers Curling Club.
Next year, he said, they may change things up. Maybe they will have the meet for a few hours, then go for a cruise, said Jackson.
They may also be looking at reviving a summer poker rally that used to bring in 50 or 60 cars.
"Everybody had a blast," at that event, he said.
While Saturday's event was hosted by Ford fans, there were many other makes and models there, including a 1958 Pontiac Parisienne, one of only 1,226 built, belonging to Ron Sack of the Battlefords Vintage Auto Club.
"I had one when I was 21 years old," said Sack. "The only difference is it was two-tone green, this one is two-tone blue."
Sack has replaced the old two-speed transmission with a four speed, but otherwise he is restoring it to original. He plans to have the paint, previously restored, redone, and he's ordered $600 worth of recreated chrome trim, including the Parisienne nameplate, out of the United States.
The interior has been restored with all new foam and its original upholstery. That was a $6,000 job.
"I should have never got rid of the original one, but I did," said Sack. "It would have been 'cheaper to keep her.'"
Sack also displayed a restored white 1956 Ford Fargo truck, which will become his granddaughter's on her 16th birthday.
He said his granddaughter wanted a drop fender truck. She found it on Kijiji, he looked it up, phoned the seller and made a deal. Then he and his wife flew to Kamloops, B.C, hopped in the truck and drove it back.
He's been driving the truck quite a bit, he said, but he doesn't drive the Pontiac much. Still, he enjoys having them
"They're fun, they really are," he said. "They're not only fun to drive, but nice to have."
