Car enthusiasts get revved up for Vermont Antique and Classic Car Meet

WATERBURY, Vt. (WCAX) – A special event is rolling into Waterbury this weekend for car lovers of all ages. It’s the 66th Annual Vermont Antique and Classic Car Meet.

If you take a look around, you’d think you stepped out of a time machine.

“We’ve got a little of everything… You’ll have some sports cars with that old-school patina, looked like they rolled out of a barn. And sports cars that are nice and shiny and sleek,” Jeffrey Maclay said.

For Jeffrey Maclay and his sons, Jayden and Joseph, the 66th Annual Antique and Classic Car Meet is about showing off their 1933 International pickup truck, a project that the whole family has been a part of.

“It started off with them just being able to ride in it. I’d get it going and they’d go for rides and that was fun. Then I said, ‘Well, you’re big enough you can help me check tire pressure, you can help me check the oil levels.’ It really is a family affair for us,” Maclay said.

Lee Carpenter arrived at the car show in his 1957 Packard Clipper with all of its original parts.

“I’ve always loved this car, since I was young and impressionable, first time I went for a ride in it. I think it’s the first car that I went over a hundred miles an hour in. My goal is to keep it as original as possible for as long as possible,” Carpenter said.

The Antique and Classic Car Meet started in 1957 in Stowe but has since moved to Farr Field in Waterbury.

Vermont Auto Enthusiasts President Mike Felix says this year, the field has expanded.

“We do have cars so far in registration Friday that have never been here before and we seem to have a lot of people who are younger in age than previous years, which is exciting. We’ve added a new class to bring younger people here. So, we’re getting what we hoped for,” Felix said.

At the end of the day, Felix says the show is about bringing everyone together.

“You can walk around and just smile,” he said. “You see a car that was grandma’s, you saw a car that you learned how to drive in, etc. Or the car that you had in high school– that brings back fun memories. I think it’s just an exciting, fun weekend.”

The car meet runs until Sunday afternoon.

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