Wicked Local Dedham
Wearing a straw hat and T-shirt adorned with a picture of his 1931 Chevy Deluxe, Vincent Disessa, 86, walked proudly around the Bay State Antique Auto Club’s annual car show.
But, Disessa admits he wasn’t always proud of his three-gear Chevy. When he bought the car in 1968, it didn’t run.
“If I knew then what I know now, I would have never bought (the car). It was a piece of junk car,” Disessa said at the show held at the Endicott Estate on Sunday, July 10.
With the help of friends, he took the two-tone — yellow and brown — Chevy home in a trailer.
Disessa got the car running in 1970 and began to restore it in 1976. He finished restoring the most expensive 1931 Chevy model in 1983, he said.
Now, Disessa drives his antique car everywhere year-round and wouldn’t trade his 40,000-mile Chevy Deluxe for a modern car, he said.
“I love the car. It’s the only one I have,” he said. “I’m having a great time with it.”
He has won over 400 first- and second-place awards in various car shows, he said.
The 40th annual antique car show was held on Sunday, July 10, at the Dedham Endicott Estate. The East Street estate was filled with thousands of spectators and about 1,200 cars, from 1898 to 1984, said Steve Karlgren, event coordinator.
“We seem to be having more different people come and different age groups come. Years ago we had the Model T’s, the ’30s and ’40s cars that were very popular,” Karlgren said. “Now, we seem to be in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s for popularity.”
The Bay State Antique Auto Club was founded in 1968 and it hosts one of the largest car shows in the Northeast, according to its website.
Cars are judged based on different categories. There are about 33 classes, each with first, second and third place awards, Karlgren said.
There are also President’s Choice, Best of Show, Best Pre-War and Best Post-War awards, he said.
“We had a car here, several years ago that came from Ohio,” Karlgren said. “(The owner) won the award for driving the furthest distance. We try to pick out cars like that.”
Winners receive a plaque that indicates the type of award.
“I got first place the last two years,” said Phil Simonetti, who spent six years restoring his 1949 Handle Delivery Chevrolet. “It’s a lot of fun.”
All proceeds from the show are donated to different organizations after all expenses are paid, according to Karlgren and Robert Hamm, head of concessions.
In past years, the club has made donations to the Children’s Hospital Boston, Smile Train, Endicott Estate and other organizations.
As people walked around looking at the various cars or enjoying a meal from the food court, “old school” music was playing in the background.
“I like it. I try to get here if not every year, every couple of years,” said Walter Loth, who has been coming to the show since the 1980s.
Friends of the Endicott Estate provided tours of the house.
There were tents where spectators could purchase automotive parts as well as T-shirts and other collectibles. Antique cars were sold at the car corral in the Southeast corner of the estate.
Karlgren said the strangest car he has seen at the show was a 1931 Model A.
“It’s got writing all over. It’s a very famous car,” he said. “It’s an original, but the guy kept painting these little one-word or two-word sayings all over the car. That car is very unique.”
No comments:
Post a Comment