Wet weather can't keep car lovers from Oran show

Rainy weather didn’t stop dozens of car collectors from showing off their rides Saturday at the 21st annual Oran Car Show.

The parking lot at Oran High School was filled with everything from antiques to classics to themed cars.

One of the more popular automobiles was Larry Webb’s restored 1951 Ford.

“I bought it out of a barn in Arkansas,” he said. “And, well, what would you call it? It was a work in progress, to be sure.”

He said it was in rough shape, but he saw potential.

Ken Spies closes the door on his 1938 Chevrolet Master during the Oran Car Show on Saturday in Oran, Missouri.Glenn Landberg

“It was a good driver and it wasn’t rusted out,” he said. “But it wasn’t nowhere near finished.”

But a certain measure of sentimentality also drew him toward the fixer-upper.

“I had a car just like that one when I was 17 years old,” he said. “First car I ever owned.”

The restoration process, he said, took about a year. The motor is still original, but he replaced all the chrome, installed blue-and-cream roll-and-tuck vinyl upholstery, did a little body work and repainted it all alpine blue.

“I’ve won more than 25 first-place trophies in a row when I started doing car shows,” he said. “I’ve had best-in-show trophies, mayor’s choice, best Ford. All sorts.”

And Webb’s classic Ford had been drawing all sorts of viewers to talk shop with Webb, too.

“I got a black one of these,” spectator Jerry James told Webb. “But it didn’t have a backseat.”

“You got a business coupe,” Webb told him.

“I don’t even know why I bought it; I’m a Chevy man,” James said.

“They had a black one of those up [for auction] at Cape,” Webb told him.

“I bought that car!” James said.

He said he usually shows automobiles of his own, but was worried the weather would be poor. He said the Oran show can include as many as 100 cars when the weather cooperates, but even in the parking lot, there were impressive vehicles.

“’61 bubble-top, that and the green Chevy Nova,” he said, listing his favorites. “That’s a fine car there. They’ve done a good detail job on that car.”

Also on display were motorcycles and imports.

One couple, Fruitland residents Randy Cattron and his wife, Janet, showed their burgundy 1992 Lexus SC 400.

“I’ve had it a couple of years,” he said. “We take it around sometimes, but a lot of car shows don’t like imports. But we were here last year as well.”

But, he said, while his car might not be as flashy as some of the others, he said it’s an impressive machine.

“Some of these cars don’t even have 10,000 miles on them yet,” he said, gesturing at a late-model red Chevrolet across the lot that only had about 8,000. “But we like to drive ours. It’s got about 170,000 miles on it now.”

He said he likes imports for the craftsmanship. To demonstrate how the engine has held up over the years, he showed some show-goers what he called “the nickel test.”

“You stand a nickel on its edge on the engine and redline it and [the nickel] won’t move,” he said.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627

Pertinent address:

Oran High School, Oran, Mo.