The Empty Pockets Cruisers made an excellent decision to reschedule the Hilliard Historical Village Car Show from Saturday to Sunday. Not only did the show not have to contend with scattered showers, but the move made it the only major show on the schedule in Central Ohio for Sunday.
With the good weather and date change, the show managed to register 148 vehicles. This compares to 111 vehicles registered last year when the show was held on a Saturday and had some other competition. I overheard one of the Empty Pockets Cruisers say this was the second best turn out they've had for the Hilliard Historical Village show.
Jim McGruder once again provided the music for the show. There were door prizes plus a 50/50 raffle. Food was available from members of the Hilliard Historical Village. Haggerty Insurance was there with a vendor booth.
One advantage to being the only show in town is it tends to attract some of the best cars in the area.
Pete Lieb brought his 1962 Chevy Impala with 409 engine. This was Pete's first show of the season.
Nathan Manson's 1958 Chevy Apache pickup truck was a real attention grabber.
Dan Varner came in another one of his "unrestored" cars. This one is a 1969 Pontiac GTO with 23,000 original miles. If you haven't guessed, Dan has a real knack for finding these kind of cars.
Another stunner was Ron Nali's 1933 Ford Roadster.
This 1940 Mercury convertible belonging to Mark Jaynes is always a show favorite. Last year his car received the Ladies Choice award at the 38th Annual Poor Man's Nationals.
The Empty Pockets shows also attracts some of the most unique and unusual vehicles from around the area.
A good example is Kevin Jahna's 2015 Camaro. Kevin drove all the way from Portage, Ohio to attend the show. Kevin's car runs on a massive amount of bald eagles. All the art work on the car was airbrushed -- no decals. It's a real tribute to our veterans and troops.
This Honda with metallic paint and purple wheels stood out from the crowd.
Not too often you run across a "low rider" Chevy Apache and Buick Regal in the same show.
AWARDS
The Empty Pocket Cruisers and Hilliard Ohio Historical Society presented 45 "Favorite" plaques and six "Special" awards.
Here are the "Special" award winners.
Sponsor's Choice (Haggerty Insurance)
1937 Ford Convertible - Owner: Dave Bratton
Oldest Vehicle (two winners)
1929 Ford Roadster - Owner: Shannon Russell
1929 Ford Roadster - Owner: Mark and Bonnie Hartnell
DJ's Choice
1969 Land Rover IIA - Owner: Ted Ransdell
Hilliard Historical Village Society Choice
1940 Cadillac Fleetwood - Owner: Dave Fisher
Best of Show
1963 Corvette Split Window Coupe - Owner: Tony Rucci
Tony took Best of Show at last year's Hilliard Historical Village show with his 1953 Jaguar XK 120.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Great weather and great cars combined for another successful Empty Pocket Cruisers show. The club really knows how to put on a good show.
Their next event will be their annual Trunk or Treat Halloween show in late October. If you haven't been to one, you need to check it out. It's always a lot of fun.
OTHER SHOWS
Rain really hampered quite a few shows during the early part of the week. I had plans to attend the show at The Inn at Olentangy Trails on Wednesday but rain washed out those plans. Obviously, heavy rains Thursday afternoon and evening cancelled the Der Dutchman and Wholly Joe's cruise-ins.
I did have friends make the trek to downtown London, Ohio on Friday evening for the Strawberry Festival Car Show. The threat of showers throughout the evening kept a lot of cars away. The show only registered 35 cars. Here are some of the cars that braved the forecast to participate in the show.
Best Motorcycle when to this '78 Harley
This red Chevy Chevelle received the Best of Show award