Tim Cavacini, of Egg Harbor Township, sits behind the wheel of his 1951 Ford Custom convertible.
By Donald Wittkowski
Flipping through the pages of a photo album, Walt Ellis pointed to a faded color picture of a rusty old pickup truck that was missing its fenders and parts of the body work.
“I bought it for $125. It wasn’t running,” Ellis recalled, laughing, about the 1955 Ford F-100 he acquired in 1989.
Some 28 years and $6,000 worth of restoration later, the same pickup truck is resplendent in a cream-and-brown paint scheme and glossy wood bed. A fake rifle carved of wood hangs in the back window to give it an authentic farm-truck look.
Ellis, 78, of Blackwood, Camden County, explained that it took three years to complete the makeover. Now fully restored, the former dumpy old pickup that changed hands for a mere $125 was one of the standouts Sunday among about 80 vintage cars and trucks lining the Promenade in Sea Isle City during an antique auto show.
Classic cars dating all the way back to the 1930s line the beachfront Promenade.
The auto show and a parade of vintage cars around town capped the annual Skimmer Festival, Sea Isle’s largest summer event. Tens of thousands of people packed the Promenade on Saturday and Sunday for a family-friendly weekend of food, shopping, amusement rides, live music and old cars.
Ellis and his wife of 57 years, Sue, have been bringing their truck to the Skimmer Festival’s antique auto show for about 20 years. Each year, they accumulated yet another T-shirt given to the show competitors. This year, they finally decided to donate all of those old T-shirts to the Sea Isle City Historical Society Museum.
If you listen to Walt and Sue Ellis, sharing the experience of restoring an old truck can be a way for a husband and wife to strengthen their marriage. She called him “Mr. Patience” for sticking with the project for so long, while he praised her for the eye-catching orange paint job she did on the truck’s wheels.
“We’re both easy going people. We like to make each other happy. If that’s what made him happy, then fine,” Sue Ellis said of all the time the couple spent together overhauling the truck.
Although it dates to the Eisenhower years, the 1955 truck was nowhere near being the oldest vehicle in the show. Some cars dated to the 1930s. Snazzy convertibles from the 1950s and muscle cars from the 1960s and ’70s also drew a good share of the oohs and aahs from the admiring crowd.
Car show buff Tom Lepera, of Conshohocken, Pa., peeks inside a vintage Buick.
Displaying a discerning eye, Lepera noted some of the finer points of antique car restoration. Running his fingers over the door seam of a classic Ford Mustang, he emphasized how straight it was aligned, indicating that the car’s body was in good shape.
He also stressed the importance of using authentic parts to match the car’s manufacturer. For instance, he said a car built by General Motors should have a GM battery, not one from another maker.
“That’s the kind of thing the judges are looking for,” Lepera said.
Hoping to catch the eye of judges – and potential buyers – was Tim Cavacini, the owner of a 1951 Ford Custom convertible painted in a fetching cobalt red color scheme.
Cavacini, 78, of Egg Harbor Township, said he paid $19,000 for the car five years ago and spent $42,000 restoring it. Acknowledging that he will never get his full investment back, he has it up for sale for $31,000. He is hopeful the color will attract buyers.
“They call it ‘resale red,’” he said. “A red car is what people want. You have a better shot at selling a car because it stands out a little bit.”
Maybe more than just a little bit. How often, after all, do you see a 1951 Ford Custom convertible cruising down the road?
Tim Cavacini, of Egg Harbor Township, sits behind the wheel of his 1951 Ford Custom convertible.
