Sarah Pruys
For Kevin Hughes, the proud owner of a 1970 Chevelle and a ’32 Ford, restoring cars runs in the family.
“My dad was always into cars, and all of my brothers are into old cars,” he noted.
They take their cars to different shows, such as the annual “Scott Street Show ’n Shine” coming up this Saturday in Fort Frances.
“We also do local shows down in the States,” Hughes said.
“You meet new people or see new projects,” he explained. “It’s kind of neat to see what people come out with.”
But Hughes said he really looks forward to Thursday night at A&W here.
“It’s not a car club,” he stressed. “It’s just a cruise night for everyone to get their cars out of their garages and go for coffee.”
Hughes said talking to others with the same hobby also helps him find parts for his projects.
“I’ve restored a ’55 Chevy and also a ’27 Ford Coupe,” he noted.
“I’ve sold both of them.”
Hughes finds the older cars in the surrounding area, usually by watching the Internet.
“The Chevelle came from St. Cloud,” he said, while his “newest” Ford “came from north of La Vallee.”
“I spent a lot of time on the Chevelle,” laughed Hughes, who said he wanted the car because it was similar to one he had as a teenager.
Hughes said restoring the car took him about a year-and-a-half.
“It was in better condition,” he recalled. “It just had dents.”
Hughes said he does all of the mechanical work, but takes it to a bodyman to do the bodywork and the paint.
“I do everything else.”
The Chevelle, a fathom blue car with white stripes, is what Hughes will be taking to show off on Scott Street this Saturday.
The Ford, meanwhile, will stay at home as he still has work to do on it.
“I put the motor and transmission in,” Hughes noted. “I’ve had to do pretty much everything, there was no rear end, no front axle, no anything.
“Just the bare frame, the cab, is what I got.”
The car, which he is fixing up for his wife, will be painted in flat black primer.
Hughes is hoping the car will be finished by this fall.
While he doesn’t have a lot of time to spend on the car in the summer, with fishing and camping taking up his time, Hughes estimated he averaged eight-10 hours a week on the Ford during the winter.
“You’ve got to have a hobby,” he stressed. “It’s just something that I enjoy.”
As for the “Scott Street Show ’n Shine,” which will run from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Hughes said everybody is welcome to bring out an older car or come and see the ones on display.
Some of the Scott Street merchants also will be offering specials, so people are invited to come out, check out the cars and shops, and enjoy some lunch.
