There’s a cool down, in north Texas, but it will probably be short lived! This weekend there was the Cops and Rodders Car Show in Farmersville, TX. I have to say it was really nice to drive the car to Farmersville in 75-degree weather. The high ended up being 85 but with the breeze it was one of the most pleasant shows I’ve been to this year.
The drive to Farmersville didn’t start well as I realized when I got five miles down the road, that I left my phone at home charging. Oh well, time to turn around and just enjoy the drive a second time!
I also ran into Gregg at the show. We met at the Wylie car show a few months back, click here to read that post. That was absolutely the most miserably hot car show I have ever been to in my life. What a nice change this was compared to that. So, Greg and I got to hang out for the day. He got an award for his beautiful black ’57 chevy. He has another one at home that is red, which he said, “Is a much nicer looking car”. That would be hard to believe.
Meanwhile anytime I was near the ’66 Blue Bug, I got a ton of stories from folks who once owned, or knew someone that once owned a beetle. The first two stories were from different people but with the same theme. They had both at one time floated in water with their bugs. One person talked about how their dad took the family on a trip by taking all the seats out of the bug, packing the floor with supplies and the family, and then driving south.
Another gentleman talked about how his much his wife enjoyed her ’69 beetle. They had it long enough that he had rebuilt the engine twice. Eventually they sold it, and she has wanted another ’69 beetle ever since.
A woman approached me later in the day and asked how much money it would take to restore a beetle to get it into the same condition as mine. This was a bit of a long story but apparently her husband, who is near retirement age now, received a ’66 beetle from his grandmother when he was 18. It hasn’t run in decades, but they keep hauling it with them whenever they have moved. She said she would like to sell it but that would result in a divorce. It also has some serious rust through issues on the driver’s side floor pan. It’s really a project car now.
When she had told me how long it had sat, I told her that restoring it just from a mechanical point of view would be a big job now. I told her that the tank, brake cylinders, and perhaps even the engine would need work. She seemed to think none of those things were true. Then another guy who had walked up to talk about the beetle turned to her and said, “The worst thing you can do is let a car sit for years like that”.
I don’t think she was happy with the information she got from me, but she does want her husband to get the bug running again, and she seems supportive of that. So, that’s a good thing!
The blue bug did get an award as the best beetle, but there wasn’t a lot of competition. I would just like to see the “Import” category changed for this show. I would like to see something like:
Import Category: 1950 and earlier, 51–75, 76 to 2000. Just a thought. Or maybe just an air-cooled Import category.
It’s very hard to compete in an import category where a 1966 beetle faces off against a 2021 Import. People really love modern imports. However, that being said, this show benefits the Farmersville Police force, and I can’t think of a better place for that money to go. In addition, my favorite autobody guy, Rusty, is the driving force behind this show, and a nicer guy you will never meet!
This may be the last car show of the year for us, due to our travel plans to Wisconsin. That trip will take a month out of any potential car shows. Last year there was a nice show in The Colony, but my guess is that will take place in October while we are gone.
Finally, here are some pictures from the show in downtown Farmersville.
