HANCOCK COUNTY — Rick Weaver can typically be found in the garage that sits a hundred yards away from his Fortville home.
The vintage garage, with an old-fashioned gas pump out front, is home to a revolving collection of antique cars that Weaver painstakingly restores throughout the year.
On a recent afternoon, the collection included a 1947 Chevy coupe covered in gray primer, a 1940 Ford coupe and a 1961 teal Thunderbird. Then there’s his favorite — a 1952 two-door Buick he acquired from an auto museum.
“I’ve always liked cars. I’ve owned hot rods all my life,” said Weaver, 60, who fondly remembers the first car he ever restored — a shimmering green 1971 Dodge Charger.
The car buff loves to tinker around with them and fix them up, then sell them and move on to the next one.
“It’s a passion. I just love messing with them,” he said.
This Saturday, Weaver will be found swapping stories and car parts with countless other auto aficionados at the Old Mill Classic Car Show & Vintage Motorcycle Show at Memorial Park in Fortville, as part of the town’s 4th at Fortville celebration.
Weaver is a member of the Push Rods, a quarter-century-old car club that hosts a handful of different shows each year, each of which raises money for charity.
The club typically hosts cruise-ins on Monday nights in downtown Fortville, where anyone is invited to pull into a parking lot along Main Street and display their ride. The weekly events have been postponed, however, due to road construction.
The car club has also been hosting cruise-ins at Pearl Street Pizzeria this summer, off 104th Street and Olio Road in Fishers.
Weaver said men, women and children of all ages enjoy strolling among the vintage rides, checking out the high-powered pieces of history.
Hot rod owners can be found sitting by their vehicles, happy to answer questions and swap stories with one another. They also swap vintage car parts, or at least connections for where parts can be found.
Making modifications is one of the best parts of buying and restoring vintage rides, said Weaver, who enjoys the connections he makes with fellow car buffs throughout Hancock County.
In May, auto enthusiasts gathered in Knightstown for the inaugural Hickory Classic Car Show, celebrating 100 years of The Hoosier Gym and the 35th anniversary of the movie “Hoosiers,” which was partially filmed there.
The event was hosted by Lindsey and Darlene Steinwachs to celebrate Knightstown’s heritage and to raise funds for Justin’s Helping Hands, the charity they formed to honor their son, Justin, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in 2009.
The couple are no strangers to hosting a good car show.
On Sept. 18 they will host the 12th annual Justin Steinwachs Memorial Car Show to honor their son, who loved going to such events.
They hope the Hickory Classic event will also become a recurring event.
Darlene Steinwachs knows how much fellow Hoosiers enjoy a good car show, especially those that raise money for a good cause, as many of them do.
“Car shows are a big culture in Indiana. So many people take pride in their nice rides and love showing them off,” said Steinwachs.
Many of them can be found at the monthly cruise-ins hosted by the Brandywine Cruisers car club, in the parking lot just west of Jim Dandy’s restaurant in Greenfield.
The name “cruise in” comes from the laid-back nature of the event. Car owners are welcome to cruise in and leave whenever they want. The cruise-ins typically have dozens of cars on display.
The shows take place the second Friday of each month, from April through October.
The first Sunday in October, the car club hosts a mammoth show in the parking lot of Inskeep Ford, in conjunction with the annual Riley Festival.
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The Brandywine Cruisers Car Club will hold its regular monthly “cruise-in” starting at 5 p.m. Friday, July 9, in the parking lot west of the Jim Dandy restaurant at McKenzie and State streets. The club has cruise-ins on the second Friday of the month.
On Saturday, July 10, the Old Mill Classic Car Show & Vintage Motorcycle Show will be held at Memorial Park in Fortville from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. as part of the town’s 4th at Fortville celebration.
The rest of the celebration will take place at Landmark Park and will culminate with a fireworks show.
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