Vintage Cars in Downtown

Far too often it's been said that they don't build things like they used to and, while that applies to so many things today, it certainly applies to vintage automobiles like these.

This past Sunday, a local church sponsored a car show to honor one of its long-time members, Harvey Shaw, an avid "car guy" who died in 2018.

Shaw was the owner and principal mechanic for over 20 years of an automotive center in Lowell, MA. He collected and restored antique cars, showed them and won numerous national competitions with a 1967 Shelby Cobra and 1956 Mercury Monterey. He was well known in area car groups according to show organizers. 

Two blocks of downtown Main St. in Nashua, NH, were closed off to traffic for over 2 hours on Sunday allowing visitors to check out a variety of vintage and not-so-vintage cars. The show wasn't restricted to a specific type of car and the only "requirement" was that owners bring "interesting cars." Show cars included 70s muscle cars, European and American sports cars, Ford Model A's, and cars dating from the 1930s through the 1950s

The weather cooperated with no rain, lots of sunshine, and temps in the mid-60s as Grenville and I and others looked at nearly over 50 cars. For some owners, it was their first time showing a  restored car. No pre-registration was required and owners were permitted to bring their cars the day of the show and pay the entry fee.

We are not avid vintage car enthusiasts, but always enjoy going to these shows, which most times are free to spectators. Grenville usually always talks to some many of the owners who are always more than willing to chat about their vehicles. A restoration is definitely a labor of love and these owners welcome talking about their "baby."

All the shows at the show had already been fully restored with this lone exception, a vintage DeSoto. The owner told us that he had recently purchased it "as is" and expected to spend quite awhile working on it. Maybe we'll see the finished results at a future show?

This show was a free event for spectators. Participating car owners were charged a $10 early entry fee and $15 day of show fee. Show proceeds will fund activities of local agencies serving Nashua and surrounding communities.