Honda mechanic, Jeff Vossos, showcases his personally rebuilt Honda Civic at the 'Cruisin' Downtown' car rally on Main Street, Saturday May 14. Photo and Gallery by Devin Size
For some people cars are to get from point A to B, for others, it’s a way of life.
North Bay local, Jeff Vossos started working as a mechanic a little under a decade ago. Following up on a faint interest in cars, he spent many years working for Toyota, and now works for Honda. Three years ago he came across his dream car.
“I’ve pretty much rebuilt this car’s inside,” says Vossos. “I got it in Guelph, painted this way, but it wasn’t drivable. For $10,000, I got the car plus delivery on a flatbed to North Bay. I picked it up because they had done a lot of the body work, which I didn’t want to do. Working at Honda, I knew the workings of a Civic and the parts.” “I’m just enjoying being out here with all these automobile enthusiasts, doesn’t matter what you drive.”
Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm was the third annual ‘Cruisin’ Downtown’ car rally on Main Street E. This year’s event brought out more than 50 cars and participants, ranging anywhere from 1930's Ford trucks to a 21st century Maserati.
The first year saw 42 cars, and last year almost tripled with 122. The weather got the best of them unfortunately with a dark overcast, so a few parties dropped out last minute from Sudbury and Barrie. The original plan was to lock off four blocks but it was reduced to one.
Jeff Serran is the Executive Director for the Downtown Improvement program, and describes it as a car show for any type.
“When you think of a car rally, you think of them all driving around, but we rally them up,” explains Serran. “This is a special interest car show. We have historical vehicles to some from 2011. They don’t have to be classic, they just have to have a special interest about them. We just had a monster truck show up, he was a spectator but we were all impressed with his truck and made him register.”
This year’s show had a few firsts. The addition of contests and prizes made for an interesting twist this time around. There were eight trophies to be awarded for categories such as best historical vehicle, viewer and participants’ favourites, and even the Mayor’s choice.
Also present was the Toronto Star’s automotive journalist, Jim Kenzie (Kenzie’s Korner), with his white Maserati and was signing autographs and discussing cars with the crowd. Relatives of his who own the local business Cheapskates, invited him up for the car show.
The two oldest vehicles there were a 1931 Ford Model A ¼ Ton truck, and a 1933 Ford truck made up of scrap parts, rebuilt from the ground up by its owner, Reg Smith.
“The original frame was the 1933 Ford, but I rebuilt it with parts I found,” said Smith. “I came from about 300 clicks away to see the show when I heard North Bay was having this today. I had to hand-make the parts for this truck because you can’t buy them. I’ve had it for over two years now and have put 21,000 km on it.”
A few participants were using this as an opportunity to show case their gems they were trying to sell, as for some, building and flipping the cars is their hobby, or it might just be time to say goodbye to her.
