Ryan Carter
VERDUGO PARK -- Robert Magzanian, 16, eyed the little red Corvette in
all its 400 horses and mechanically fuel-injected splendor.
The new and sleek, off-white Lexus nearby was cool, but the
fully-restored 1965 Rally Red Corvette he strolled by was equally
impressive, he said.
Robert and others had their pick of whatever era, make and model of
four-wheeled classics they wanted to feast their eyes on Sunday at the
Jewel City Kiwanis Club's Ninth Annual Classic Car and Street Rod Show on
Sunday in Verdugo Park.
More than 400 custom and classic cars were displayed during the
annual show, which raises money for Kiwanis programs, which ultimately
benefit the community, said Tom Brittan, charter member of the the Jewel
City Kiwanis and retired Glendale Fire Department battalion chief.
Classic car clubs from Burbank and Glendale showed up with their
street rods, roadsters and racers as music from The Beach Boys played in
the background.
In one area parked a 1915 Ford. A few yards across the grass was a
1981 DeLorean. In between were classic Chevy and Ford trucks, fire
engines and Volkswagens, among other multicolored species of car.
"I kind of like the electric bike," said Ryan Selve, 11, referring to a yellow Honda eBike, sitting among the classic big cars. "The three
wheels, you don't see something like that every day."
For others, the show was nostalgic.
"My father had one of those when I was growing up," said H.K. Wilder,
referring to a 1936 Ford he spotted.
Wilder remembered the day when anyone could have bought these cars for
a fraction of what they were worth Sunday.
As Ryan and Wilder weaved their way through aisles of classics, Ken
Adrianse quietly basked in the glow of his Rally Red 1965 Corvette.
"For me, it's therapy," he said of the 4,000 hours and the seven years
he spent restoring the car inside his Burbank garage.
Brittan said, for Adrianse and others, it's a love for cars that
brings them together to raise money.
"It's a community service," Brittan said. "Everything we do we direct
back to Glendale.
"This is a great family. The car buffs are from 16 to 66, and a lot of
these guys have been at it since high school. It's a real passion."
