McALLEN — Taking a walk through the parking lot of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce on Saturday, Christie Cantu reminisced on her time in high school as she stared at a blue 1979 Chevy Camaro.
She recalled walking through the parking lot of her high school in 1981 and seeing rows of Camaros in various colors filling the empty spaces.
Cantu was not the only one taking a trip down memory lane Saturday.
People from various parts of the Rio Grande Valley attended the chamber’s second annual McAllen Classic Car Cruise Night on Saturday where enthusiasts gathered together to show off some of their vintage cars.
Cantu, the community engagement liaison for the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement, or VIDA, attended the event as a judge.
“We are looking at how original the car is, the paint job, the lights, if everything works, and how much was invested in restoring the car or maintaining it,” Cantu said.
Ronald Winchell, 89, who attended the previous event, was excited to attend this year’s cruise and present his 1956 Ford Victoria. It’s pink and white, or perhaps more cream-colored. In fact it looked not unlike ice cream.
“It’s all original, it has white sidewall tires and all the original interior. It’s just like it came out of the factory,” Winchell said, clearly proud of his Ford Vic.
The car is one of four classics owned by Winchell. Up until last week, he had nine cars in his collection but decided it was time to start selling a few of them.
Winchell has been a classic car collector since he was 14-years-old. He recalled family road trips in Ohio where they would drive to a car show “sometimes five times a week” and then go eat at Dairy Queen after the show.
During Saturday’s event, he wore a Dairy Queen shirt as a tribute to his family trips.
Families with children running about, taking in the sights and sounds of these classic and vintage vehicles, enjoyed themselves as pictures were taken in front of some of the cars, including one girl who had her photo snapped next to Winchell’s pride and joy.
Then, engines began to roar as the owners turned the ignition and began to cruise down Main street.
People recorded and stared in awe as one by one the cars paraded down the street. Children waved and pointed at their favorite cars as they drove by.
Jerald Lewis, a native of Harlingen, attended the event with his 1966 Chevrolet Nova that he restored with his cousin.
They had bought the car in 2010, since then they have restored various parts of the car such as the engine.
“It’s been done from the front end all the way to the back end. The only thing original is the body and the interior.”
Lewis estimated the repairs to have cost around $100,000.
David Montague, a native of Minnesota, is a winter visitor to the Valley who was also in attendance at Saturday’s cruise. He boasted a 1928 Ford Pickup Model A
Montague has always wanted a car like that, and when he came down this winter he was able to buy it from Winchell, who’s actually his neighbor and clearly a fellow classic car enthusiast.
“They are just neat. It is a part of history,” Montague said.
To see more, view Monitor photojournalist Joel Martinez’s full photo gallery here:
Photo Gallery: Vintage cars roar onto McAllen streets for chamber event
