Classic cars cruise Carson

Bob Webb of Bishop, Calif., shows off pictures of his '39 Chevy two-door sedan like others show off pictures of their children.

"I'm a mechanic at heart," he said. "It's just in my blood."

Webb will join about 250 others this weekend showing off their cars during Carson City's sixth annual Silver Dollar Car Classic at the Pony Express Pavilion.

Webb bought his car in 1980 as a rusty old piece of metal and has been working on it ever since to turn it into the bright yellow classic it is now.

"You're never done," he said. "As soon as you think you're done, you find two or three more things you can fix."

During registration on Friday, Webb ran into Howard Codde of Colfax, Calif.

The two met at a show last year and compared improvements made on their cars since then.

Codde produced a photograph of his car from the previous year that he carries in his key chain.

"It's easy to find my keys that way," he said. "When I'm looking for the keys, I know exactly which ones they are."

The car show is put on by Carson City and the Convention and Visitor's Bureau to benefit the Advocates for Cancer Care.

"When people enter, it's a donation so we get a lot of community support," said Judie Fisher, a personnel manager for the city. "It's kind of like a warmup for Hot August Nights in Reno."

Local participant Dwane Schow is excited for this year's event.

"I love showing off my car because I built the whole car up from a pile basically," he said. "The only thing I paid for was the exhaust pipes. If I could have bent them myself, I would have."

Schow's wife, Lynne also helped.

"I got to sand the flat spots," she said. She also stitched the interior.

Working together was not always fun, however.

"We wanted to kill each other at first," she joked. "Then we worked it out."

Showing off the cars is only part of the attraction to the show.

"We like to get together with other car buffs," said Dale Kight of Carson City who entered his 1972 Chevy stepside pickup. "It's the fellowship."

Each year, the participants vote to select the Best of Show winner. This year, spectators will be given ballots to choose the People's Choice winner.

Both winners will be honored at the award's ceremony on Sunday. They will also be featured on next year's T-shirt.

The motto for this year's T-shirt is "Cruisin' forward into the past."

Schedule of today's events at the Pony Express Pavilion and Mills Park:

--8 to 10 a.m. Registration

--8-10 a.m. Pancake breakfast

--10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Show & Shine

--All day vendors, music and food

--7:30 p.m. Parade laps and final burnouts at the Silver Sage Raceway

--9 p.m. Drive-in movie featuring "Thunder Road" with concessions and cartoons.