REINCARNATION: CAR ENTHUSIASTS `RECYCLE' OLD VEHICLES

Rescued from junkyards and scrap heaps, hundreds of abandoned vehicles are revived, restored and reintroduced as classics by car buffs.

"I like to think of this hobby as recycling," said one enthusiast, Judy Watson. "Instead of buying a new car, we recycle an old one.

"These cars are really a work of art when they're done," she said. They are not just cars any more; they are personalized."

Last week, Mark and Judy Watson's yellow 1951 pickup truck won best in show at a car show. It will be on display today at the River City Rodders 14th annual car show at Capaha Park. The show, which will feature 23 classes, will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Danny Essner, show coordinator, said between 150 and 200 cars are expected for the show. In addition, several local club members will have their cars on display.

No admission will be charged for spectators, but donations will be solicited for the Capaha Park Foundation.

Cars will compete in 23 classes. "That covers any type of car that's made, from antiques to late-model cars to custom cars," Essner said. "If it's an automobile, it can compete."

Last year was the first year the show was held at Capaha Park. "The park is a traditional cruising area for Cape car enthusiasts," said Essner. "They have congregated there for years. Last year it was just packed with spectators, and the nice thing is that most were families."

River City Rodders is one of a number of local car clubs. "Each group fills a little different niche," Essner said. "One group is for younger people; another is for people who want to be active on a weekly basis. We meet each month."

Essner said the car hobby has grown rapidly in the past few years. "There is probably a car show within 75 miles of Cape almost every weekend from May 1 to Oct. 1," Essner said.

Essner is restoring a 1955 Chevy. "My car is presently disassembled," he said. "It will take about a year before it's back on the road.

"My dad was a car enthusiast. He passed that interest along to me. I started when I was in grade school building model cars with dreams of someday having the real thing.

"You don't necessarily need to be a mechanic to be interested in old cars," said Essner. "I'm a banker. I learned to do a lot of the things myself the mechanics and body work."

He said the club provides an opportunity for people with similar interests to share information and skills. But the relationship goes even further. "My best friends are guys in the car club," Essner said.

He said that when he finishes a car he tires of it quickly. "Pretty quickly I'm ready to sell it and get a new car.

"Right now I'm working on a '55 Chevy that is close to original. It does have a late-model engine and drivetrain."

Even though this car will take at least a year to finish, he is already looking ahead to his next project. "I'd like to get another street rod. Those are what I'm really interested in. That's a car that has to be a '48 or earlier model and typically has been totally modernized."

Fred Vincel's turquoise 1955 Chevy convertible draws a crowd wherever he takes it. It will be on display at Capaha Park today.

"We've put about 2,000 miles on it this summer," Vincel said. "It does get a crowd wherever it goes.

"One of the hardest decisions I had to make was what color to paint it," Vincel said. "To me a convertible needs to be flashy. There are a lot of red cars, and red is a good color; but I wanted something a little bit different, but something to catch everyone's eye."

So he chose turquoise.

Vincel, a Cape Girardeau firefighter, tried to describe what the car looked like before he began working on it.

"I don't know how to best describe it," he said. "I started with a convertible that had been rolled in an accident and had sat in a salvage yard for about 20 years. It took parts of several different cars to put one car together."

Vincel said the car was in such bad shape that had it been almost any other vehicle it wouldn't have been worth the effort. "But a '55 Chevy

convertible is a very desirable car," he said.

The convertible is Vincel's first complete restoration.

"I've been interested in old cars since I was 5 years old," Vincel said. "There were some older gentlemen around Cape who had old cars and they got me interested."

He also learned from those people the skills of engine mechanics and body work. "I learned by doing, by making mistakes and starting over," Vincel said.

He collected parts for a year and then worked on the car for 18 months. "I was working on it every spare minute I had," he recalled.

The work paid off. In June it won a gold certificate at a Classic Chevy Club of America national meet. A gold certificate is awarded to any car earning more than 950 of a possible 1,000 points in judging.

Vincel said: "The '55 Chevy was really a breakthrough year for Chevrolet. It has always been known as a dependable, mundane, old-man's car. The '55 was a styling and engineering revolution, and that holds true for '55, '56 and '57 Chevys. These are probably the most popular Chevys ever built.

"None of this would be possible without my wife and financial director, Debbie," Vincel said. "She puts up with the expense and with me spending all my spare time working on the cars."

Expense is a consideration for car enthusiasts. Costs rack up quickly.

"If I didn't do the work myself, I couldn't afford to do it," Vincel said. "And you still have to keep a check on what you spend, even when you do the work yourself."

Watson and her husband, Mark, owners of Pagliai's Pizza, have been restoring old cars for almost three decades. In addition to the '51 Chevy pickup, the Watsons also own a 1957 Chevy.

Over the years Judy Watson has become nearly as involved in the hobby as her husband.

"As long as I've known my husband, 28 to 30 years, he's been interested in cars," she said. "My family, my relatives and brothers all had cars, so it wasn't strange to me," Watson said.

Work on the car started 15 years ago. They began work on the truck about four years ago.

"They were each purchased for $200," Watson said. "And we proceeded to fix them up little by little."

"The '57 was used as a pizza delivery car for a year and a half, but we decided after we fixed it up that we wouldn't do that any more," she said.

Watson said people love cars.

"I think cars to any young person mean freedom. People become interested in cars when they are real young and some people stick with it."

Watson said she cleans the car parts rather than doing mechanical work.

"I've been watching and learning an awful lot, but I don't feel secure enough to do the vital mechanical work. In other words, I wouldn't want to drive a car I built."

"But I really appreciate the aesthetics of the cars. Everyone is really opinionated about what they like, but there is something for everybody."