Some old vehicles tell a story. For Nathan Whalen, his Chevrolet Silverado comes with one that is personal. “I inherited it from my grandfather at 14 years old,” Whalen said on Saturday. “He passed away (in 2021) with vascular dementia.” The 19-year-old old has spent the past few years keeping the truck up to the same specifications as his grandfather, Stephen Shewchuck, did. “It’s my pride and joy, this truck,” said Whalen with unmistakable pride. “I’ve got a sticker on the back that says his name. It means a lot to me, this truck.” It was not hard to find people who were proud of their vehicles at Saturday’s Fall Classic Show and Shine, put on by the Cape Breton Classic Cruisers. Lynn Mulvihill’s gold Mustang still shines as if it’s straight out of the showroom. “Chrome wheels, tonneau cover and original paint,” Mulvihill said when asked about the vehicle he affectionately refers to as Mustang Sally. “233,000 kilometers on it and it’s still going.” One of the antique cars that attracted the most attention was a 1928 Hudson – still intact nearly a century after it was built. “It’s loud, it’s rough, it’s noisy, and there are no more around,” said attendee Warren MacMullin. “I think it’s wicked cool,” said Kimberley Draga, while seated in the old vehicle’s driver seat. “It would be a lot of fun to ride around in it, I think.” The car show was held on Charlotte Street in Sydney, N.S., when it started about eight years ago. The past two years, it has taken place at the County Arena parking lot in Coxheath. The classic cruisers were on display for a good cause. “We use this as a fundraiser for Cape Breton Hospice Palliative Care and to date, we have raised $52,241 and we’re definitely going to be increasing that figure after this weekend,” said Brenda Alexander, president of the Cape Breton Classic Cruisers. With hundreds of people stopping by and sunny, warm weather cooperating nicely, that seemed like a safe bet. The weather was a far cry from the roughly 200 millimetres of rain that fell in some parts of Cape Breton the previous Saturday, breaking some local precipitation records. While some of the vehicles were their owners’ pride and joy, others could only dream. “I’d kill for any of them,” said MacMullin with a smile. “These aren’t the cars that make trouble, because you can’t replace them.” For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
