The largest car show in Utah is underway in Cache Valley. This weekend at the Cache Valley Fair Grounds, owners of vintage, rare and unique vehicles are taking part in the Cache Valley Cruise-In.
Carl Delgado brought two cars from Roy to park at the show which also includes evening parades down Logan's Main Street.
“We usually have at least one car show every weekend and then sometimes we do some during the weekdays," Delgado said. "It’s pretty serious. It takes a lot of time to get these cars ready. Before each car show, to wash them, it takes like four hours a car.”
Alongside Delgado's one-of-a-kind car are rows of roadsters with hoods popped and doors opened to reveal pristine interiors and a close-up view of the engine.
“This is a 1967 Chevelle Malibu four-door hard top," he said. "In the five or six years that we’ve been doing this, I haven’t seen another one, I’ve only seen another guys that says he has one.”
The Malibu is rare because the model is often dismantled and sold for parts. Delgado says everything on his car is original. While many people like to “souped up” the classic cars with new engines, Delgado says there are a lot of people that would rather see the car in an original form.
“It’s not necessarily a dollar value but it adds a lot more nostalgic value," he said. "We get a lot of older couples who say, ‘Man, I had this car'. But these ones remind you of the old days, of the good cars.”
Delgado owns a second car. It is a 1956 Bel Air.
“This has a root beer and cream color scheme. The cool thing about this car is if you look around you can’t find the gas tank anywhere. It’s behind that left tail light. They did that so the car was more symmetrical and they didn’t have an ugly gas tank sticking out one side.” Delgado said.
Logan resident Colby Ross is new to the vintage car scene. He spends most of his time at car shows like the Cache Valley Cruise-In perusing the crowds, listening to the music and picking out a show favorite.
“I’m bigger into the older cars," Ross said. "I like seeing them. They make me wish that I had the money to afford them. I like the stingrays, the classic cars. I liked all the old Camaros they had, the SS Camaros".
For the past five years Rusty Eagle has been showing his cars at the show.
“This is a 1965 Plymouth road runner," Eagle said. "I bought it in 2008 and started restoring it shortly thereafter. It took me about four years to restore. I got it back on the road in 2012.“
Eagle share his passion for collecting and showing the Plymouth with his wife and two children. They can be seen driving the treasure to and from shows and even to run daily errands.
“It’s almost like part of our family now," he said. "I’ve got a six year old and a three month old and I hope that one of them will pick it up and keep going with it.
Eagle says not everybody appreciates the time and effort it takes to restore a car like his. For him, the process is part of a passion he has and also serves as an artist outlet.
“I just love when people ask me the question, ‘Did you do it yourself?’" Eagle said. "And I get to tell them yes. It’s not something I found on classifieds. It was something I found in a dirt field and I started from scratch.”