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Thousands of people were crammed into Prairieland Park in Saskatoon on Friday to get a glimpse of some of the continent’s most rare and unique vehicles for the 59th annual Draggins Rod and Custom Car Show.
For car enthusiasts and collectors, the show has become a pilgrimage of sorts that provides an experience only the Draggins can produce.
“The best excitement we have is hearing this noise and having all these people coming here, wanting to be at our car show,” spokesperson Bruno Konecsni said.
Listed as the biggest attraction to ever come to the car show, is the custom 1957 Chevy 150 that won the 2018 Detroit Autorama Ridler award winner making its only stop in Canada.
“I’m not understating it, this the best classic car on the continent,” Konecsni said about welcoming the prized vehicle. “If you’re in car circles, that’s the epitome.”
“We’re still pinching ourselves to make sure — this can’t be real.”
Among the masses of people checking out the sights and sounds are more than 250 entries into the car show that separates vehicles by category for cash prizes.
Tucked away with the Saskatoon Antique Auto Club was Norm Mowles, a car collector from Dundurn, Sask. He bought a 1967 Chevrolet Corvair from the original owner in Kelowna, B.C. last year and did everything in his power to get it show ready for this weekend. According to him, getting a vehicle ready with a short timeline is easier than it ever has been.
“Well, 20 (and) 30 years ago, there was an awful problem getting parts, but now you can get parts for any car in the (United) States at any time,” he said, pointing to his favourite Corvair shop based in Massachusetts.
“Anything I need, I just phone them up and it’s in the mail.”
Al Krieger, showing off a 1974 Chevrolet Vega, said finding parts for your car meant getting crafty in the shop over many painful hours.
“In the days when I built this car, a lot of the parts you can find today weren’t available, so a lot of the things I had to make,” Krieger said.
But for Krieger, change in the car restoration business is taking the industry to new heights as new groups of people bring in new ideas and of course, new cars.
“The hobby is constantly evolving,” he said. “Some of this stuff is just so cool. There’s some amazingly talented people around here.”
Proceeds from the car show go to Camp Easter Seal, the only completely wheelchair-accessible camp facility in Saskatchewan.
Another favourite for attendees of the show is the Battle of the Automotive Technicians. It’s a competition that features teams of two technicians attempting to assemble a V8 engine from parts sitting on a bench to running in less than 10 minutes with more than $6,000 on the line.
No matter the fun, Ray Graves, another car collector showing off his 1963 Buick Riviera, aptly described his feelings on being back at the Draggins show.
“It’s every adjective you can think of.”
