The air around the Kaitangata Crescent Rugby club grounds throbbed to the sound of V8s on Saturday morning, as by the hundreds they came from far and wide.
From all over the South Island a record number of not-so-ordinary cars came motoring along at a gentle pace to join the ninth annual Kaitangata Car Show and Run.
Organising committee member Grant Robson said they were lucky with the weather, which turned out better than forecast.
“Events like this depend on the weather and luckily we have been really well supported by the approximately 500 who have come here today,” Mr Robson said.
Participants brought cars whose names have long since disappeared from common vernacular: Escorts, Wolseleys, Kingswoods, Fairlanes, Capris, Cortinas, Zephyrs, Anglias and a host of even rarer makes and models, such as Edsel, Fiat Bambina, Humber, Belair, and Continental.
Many were maintained by fastidious owners such as Brett Jenkinson, of Dunedin, who took 10 years to return his 1974 Holden HQ Kingwood to roadworthy condition and allow him to enter the show for the first time.
“I brought it 20 years ago for $1400, when I was 19, and I always planned to keep it and fix it up but it’s taken a bit of work over the last 10 years to get it here today,” he said.
“The Kai car show is great because it brings everyone together, to mix and mingle and talk about their cars.”
Garry Scott of Mosgiel was another first-timer at the Kai show.
A member of the Conrodders Rod and Custom Car Club of Dunedin, he brought along his 1927 Essex hot rod.
“The show is great because people can show what they have built or are working on and be proud of what they have created.
“I brought the body about four years ago and mounted it on a Daimler Mk 2 chassis and running gear, all hooked up to a Daimler 2.5 V8 hemi motor.
The event ended with its customary cruise around the foothills of Clutha, finishing up in Clydevale.
