LEHMAN TWP. — Standing behind his red 1956 Austin Healey M100, Jon Valentine rummaged through pictures he had stored in the car’s trunk, showing onlookers a photo of a classic MG he used to race.
Valentine was one of many classic car collectors who showed off their wheels Saturday at the 33rd annual Lake-Lehman Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show at the Luzerne County Fairgrounds — a fundraiser for the Lake-Lehman High School Marching Band.
It was the perfect venue for Valentine, now a full-time car restoration expert, to tell the story behind his beloved Austin Healey, which features a Cobra engine.
He bought the car in 1975 and drove it until he sold it in the 1980s. The car changed hands twice, and then sat untouched for 21 years. One day in 2001, a man walked through the doors of Valentine’s Suzuki dealership in the Back Mountain and, realizing Valentine was the original owner, offered to sell it back to him at the same price he sold it for in the 1980s — a mere $2,000.
Valentine said he had to completely tear it apart and restore it, adding that, when he finally got the classic back, it had a few extra “parts.”
“It had 14 millions nuts in it,” he joked. “Every squirrel in Luzerne County put their night supply of squirrel nuts in it.”
Valentine seldom enters car shows, but enjoys participating in the Back Mountain fundraiser because it’s close to home. Many have admired and inquired about the car throughout the event, he added, as Austin Healeys were only produced for a short amount of time and aren’t seen very often.
Band sponsor president Barbara Spencer explained why the event is so important to the marching band.
“We have a big goal. We’re trying to get new chairs for our band room. We have a lot more kids joining band, which is a great thing,” Spencer said.
The band also needs to buy instruments as well as formal wear for concerts. Nearly 30 students assisted with the fundraiser from selling candy and food to tallying votes and handing out raffle tickets.
Spencer said many local car club vendors enjoy participating in the event, and have remained loyal to the band throughout the years. Still, she hopes more classic car enthusiasts will hear about and paricipate in the annual event in the future and help the fundraiser grow.
On the opposite end of the lot from Valentine, Dave Williams stood beside his truck. With one half of the hood lifted, he looked down at the engine of his red and black 1941 Chevy pickup while he spoke about an issue he’s been having with its spark plugs.
Williams said he bought the truck about nine months ago. While he admitted he’s no mechanic, he’s hoping to learn how to fix the truck’s mechanical problems as they arise, and was hopeful someone at the show could tell him how to resolve the spark-plug situation. Luckily for Williams, Dave Reinders took a liking to the classic truck, having a similar model of his own.
“I had its panel truck equivalent, ” Reinders said as they discussed the problem, adding he was drawn to Williams’ truck. “It’s nice-looking.”
Williams explained that the pickup is, in fact, his first classic purchase. He also admitted he actually wanted a Corvette instead.
“I saw it and I thought ‘this is fantastic’ and I bought it,” he said. “I wasn’t looking for a truck, though. I was looking for a ‘62 Chevy Convertible, but I saw this and (I thought) it was really cool.”
Williams is fairly new to car shows, but wanted to attend the event and view other classics, so he decided to take the truck along with him.
After completing a lap around the cars — and telling Williams he should have bought the Corvette — Ed and Barbara Kalish prepared to head home. The Tunkhannock couple has attended the fundraiser for more than 15 years, bringing their nephew, Nathan, along with them. They family admitted that, while they aren’t collectors themselves, they enjoying seeing the vehicles of yester-years, occasionally wishing they would have kept some of their own cars.
“The funny thing is, we’ve had some of the cars we see here,” Barbara said. “So it’s a real kick in the pants when you think ‘Oh, I was a stupid 24-year-old who got rid of that car’. It’s kind of funny to see them here, but it’s really nice to know that some people knew what they had and have restored them and hung onto them.”
