Car enthusiasts flex their muscles on Main Street

By Bob Stuart

Published: May 17, 2008

Slideshow: Hot-rod photos.

Main Street in downtown Waynesboro became a car lover’s delight for a few hours Saturday afternoon.
Brightly painted red, blue and black Chevrolets, Fords and other classic cars from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s lined downtown as the street was closed off for the third annual Main Street Muscle car show.
The enduring classic Ford Mustang was visible, but so were cars no longer made, such as the Chevrolet Nova. The sleek majesty of a Thunderbird convertible was also part of the show.
Rick Moyer, event coordinator for Waynesboro Downtown Development Inc., the sponsor of Saturday’s event, said a crowd of more than 3,000 had turned out on the perfect spring day.
The 122 cars participating in the show came from diverse areas such as Louisa County and Roanoke.
“A lot of people like to look at cars,” said Moyer, who said car enthusiasts from organizations like the Valley Mustang Club had also spread the word about Saturday’s show.
Stuarts Draft attorney Frankie Coyner, who contributed a 1962 Chevrolet Biscayne to Saturday’s show, said he admired the diversity of the cars on display.
“Everyone gets to show off their restoration,” said Coyner, who said many of the cars represented 5 to 7 years of effort from their owners. “There’s a lot of custom stuff and mechanical work here.”
Others said they loved the atmosphere in downtown Waynesboro on Saturday.
“There’s a small-town feel and this event seems to have taken the whole town over,” said Robert Marks, who recently moved to Waynesboro from Cleveland.
Marks said he also liked not having to spend a lot of money to enjoy the car show.
Moyer said transforming Main Street into a showroom of classic cars was hard work.
The effort started with a couple of hours’ labor Friday night. The street was blocked off early Saturday morning and Moyer said the first car arrived at 9 a.m.