糖心vlog官方入口

Most car collectors take their vehicles to shows.

Glenn Sledge鈥檚 collection is so impressive, that the car show came to him on Saturday, April 19.

As a bonus for entering their vehicles in the third annual Small Town, Big Show Car Show in Loris, participants were afforded a rare opportunity to visit what Sledge modestly calls his 鈥淐ar Barn,鈥� a pristine garage at his Willow Tree RV Resort in Longs. Tools and supplies to maintain a fleet of antique but pristine automobiles line the walls.

Outside the barn, the Loris Chamber of Commerce served red wine and hors d鈥檕euvres.

Inside, the guests could toast 19 stunningly restored vintage automobiles, including a large collection of 10 Model A Fords nearly a century old.

Sledge, 77, a Whiteville, North Carolina native, started collecting cars about 15-20 years ago, after he built the resort and campground.

The vehicles fill the interior of the expansive, climate-controlled garage, with about half of the collection elevated on lifts to form two vertical rows of autos in the single-story structure.

The Model A Fords aren鈥檛, or at least weren鈥檛, overly hard to find. Ford built nearly 5 million of them between 1927 and March 1932, after retiring the Model T after a 19-year run.

鈥淚t costs a lot to restore them, not to buy them,鈥� Sledge said.

You could buy a new Model A for anywhere from $500 to $1,200 off the lot back in the day. The chassis would hold a variety of bodies including everything from a coupe and a roadster to a town car, taxi, pickup truck, delivery vehicle or phaeton, a car that had no roof.

Replacement parts are also still readily available from aftermarket suppliers.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like going to a dealership鈥� back in the day, Sledge said of his Model A collection, with a wide variety of the Ford Model A on hand, including a roadster, a pickup, a town car and a convertible sedan.

In addition to the Ford Model A collection, Sledge has a 1931 Cadillac 370A with a V-12 engine and a rumble seat. The restoration was a four-year project.

The car was ornately appointed, with a hood ornament and lots of chrome, right down to the chrome oil filler cap on the engine.

鈥淭hey were proud of what they did,鈥� Sledge said of the manufacturers of the day. 鈥淚t was designed to compete with the Duesenberg."

There鈥檚 also a Jaguar, a Studebaker Commander, and a Volkswagen Beetle in the collection.

Three of the other Fords are 1957 models 鈥� a Thunderbird, a Continental and a rare Fairlane hardtop convertible.

Sledge said 鈥�1957 was a big year for cars; 1958 was terrible.鈥� Sledge is a self-proclaimed expert on all matters involving older automobiles. He read his first issue of Hot Rod magazine in 1957, the year he turned nine.

Restoring and maintaining cars was once a hands-on hobby.

鈥淲hen I was growing up you could work on cars,鈥� Sledge said. In fact, home repairs were encouraged. The Model A Fords came with tool kits and instruction manuals for the owners.

Times have changed, with expensive diagnostic tools now necessary to identify many problems.

Sledge鈥檚 fleet can be repaired the old-fashioned way. His mechanic is Jeff Balding, a semi-retired Massachusetts transplant who bought one of the RV Resort鈥檚 campers and lives on the grounds with his wife Patty. He works about three days a week maintaining the fleet.

鈥淣ever thought I鈥檇 be doing this,鈥� Balding said, who worked for John Deere repairing heavy equipment and noted he鈥檚 lucky to spend his spare time taking care of Sledge鈥檚 antique and classic cars.

The car show participants enjoyed a somewhat rare opportunity. It says 鈥渕useum鈥� on the side of the building, but access is limited. You can鈥檛 just walk in and see the cars.

If a resort guests knows about the cars and inquires, the doors can be opened on request, if granted. And, open houses are held on sporadic special occasions, Sledge said.

You also might see the vehicles being driven around the RV resort, or even see one of the more contemporary vehicles on a nearby highway.

The Model A Fords aren鈥檛 licensed, but can be driven on the roads in the privately owned resort, Sledge said. 鈥淭he other cars in the collection鈥� are licensed for the open road, he said.

鈥淲e take them out and drive them around,鈥� Sledge said, explaining it's necessary to run them to keep them in good operating condition.

Many of the visitors on Saturday drove souped-up hot rods, or more-modern classic cars or trucks. 鈥淧eople, when they get older, want the cars that they wanted in their youth,鈥� Sledge said, lamenting a declining interest in antique cars of the early 20th century.

But he鈥檚 as guilty as the rest. Sledge鈥檚 first ride was a 1963 Pontiac Tempest, followed by a 1966 Oldsmobile Cutlass owned by his father-in-law.

Born in 1948, and part of the 鈥淲oodstock generation,鈥� Sledge said the first car he paid for out of his own pocket was a 1963 VW Beetle convertible.

Now, his interests trend older, and are geared toward preservation instead of modification.

鈥淚鈥檓 more interested in the cars as they came out of the factory. I鈥檓 interested in the preservation,鈥� Sledge said.