'Classic' to showcase restored cars
By DAVID LOWE Staff Writer
For some, a shiny paint job puts sparkle in their eyes. Others get revved up about a powerful engine they've installed. No matter what drew them to their hobby, though, entrants in the upcoming Classics at the Classic all share one passion: restoring old cars.

Saturday's Classics at the Classic is set to feature a variety of pre-1980 cars, from Sharon and Scott Carrigan's 1973 Dodge Challenger, above, to Lewis Hurt's 1979 Jaguar. Show proceeds will go toward a trade school stipend.

The car show, to be hosted Saturday at Lampasas Building Components on McLean Street, is open to sedans, trucks, coupes, muscle cars and motorcycles from 1980 and earlier.

Participants, some who will come from as far away as San Angelo, already have entered models varying from a 1922 Ford Model T to a 1977 Pontiac Trans- Am to a 1936 Plymouth.

"It's a variety of everything," said Scott Carrigan, an organizer of the car show.

Carrigan and his wife Sharon, who also is helping plan Classics at the Classic, hope to attract 100 or more cars to the event.

Participants can compete for one of 20 plaques and three memorial awards.

Registration fees include the cost of a T-shirt, and proceeds will fund a trade school scholarship. Extra shirts will be on sale for $10 apiece, and Storm's Drive-In will offer free drinks.

Lampasas County residents preparing for the upcoming car show have restored everything from Ford Fairlanes to Jaguars, Mrs. Carrigan said.

A recent gathering at Storm's -- a monthly event that, like Classics at the Classic, is open to all area auto enthusiasts -- attracted quite a few car owners and many vehicle models.

Several owners said they planned to enter their cars in Classics at the Classic.

Danny Britton displayed his lime green 1936 Plymouth, equipped with a "swamp cooler" air-conditioner outside the passenger-side window. Britton adds cold water to the unit, and a pump creates a flow of cool air.

"Mostly it just keeps the passenger about five degrees cooler," he said.

He has owned the car, which he will enter in Classics at the Classic, for 28 years.

"It's almost like (having) another kid," said Britton.

Butch Ball also enjoys babying his car, a 1940 Ford coupe he found in a ditch. When he pulled out the abandoned vehicle, it had only fenders and an empty frame.

Ball spent 15 years getting the car in driving condition, adding a Chevrolet small-block 350 engine, and power steering and brakes.

Scott Carrigan will enter a 1972 Plymouth Road Runner in the upcoming show, and his wife plans to display a 1973 Dodge Challenger.

Both developed a love for old cars at an early age. Carrigan worked with his father fixing up various models, and Mrs. Carrigan acquired an interest in muscle cars when she used to race on Old Austin Road with her father in his Ford Mustang.

The whole family shares a love for restoring vehicles, as the Carrigans' daughter, Crystal Bynum, and her husband Dustin organized the monthly Storm's gatherings and are helping with Classics at the Classic.

Carrigan has built a shop on his property near Kempner, where he keeps eight classic cars and works with 10-year-old daughter Jamie on a 1969 Road Runner he bought her.

"I think it's good that it's a family deal," Mrs. Carrigan said.

Families are welcome to Classics at the Classic, Mrs. Carrigan said, adding the event, like the monthly Storm's gatherings, allows car enthusiasts to build camaraderie.

"Everybody tells me this is one of the friendliest shows," she said.

To pre-register for Classics at the Classic, phone 734-5173.