Church Car Show Attracts Enthusiasts

held its second annual car show and spring festival over the weekend to benefit outreach and family ministries.

More than 80 classic and restored cars and trucks registered for the event, according to Wayne Lowery, an event organizer. More people turned out to this year's event than the last one, he added.

The event was held May 5, at the , in Loganville.

"It's one of of those things, if more people hear about it, they're more prone to come," he said. "A lot of these people are serious about their cars and like being judged."

One of those attending the car show was Joel Rutledge, of Loganville, who restored a red 1968 Plymouth GTX, the same exact car and color that he had when he was 19 living in Snellville. The only thing that is different: His new car has air conditioning.

Rutledge, now 62, purchased the car in June 2009 off the popular selling site eBay from family in north Texas. The car had transferred between several owners in the family, and the engine block had been sitting out in the middle of the woods for years.

"This was a basket case," he said. "It was in pretty bad shape, as far as rust wise."

For the first six months after Rutledge bought the car, it sat in his basement while he tinkered away at the parts. He finally put it on the road in March 2011.

It used to be that old cars were considered mostly junk by the general public, but with the advent of cabel shows geared at all-things-cars, but no so much anymore, Rutledge said.

"Now, that they can turn on the tv on the speed channel and see Barrett-Jackson, everybody thinks they have a Barrett-Jackson $100,000 car," he said.

Bobby Lanuza, 60, of Conyers, also brought his prized possession to the St. Matthew's car show. He bought it from his best friend Bobby Ward, who purchased it from a man who spent ten years working on it.

"It's not something that somebody slapped together," Ward said. "You can definitely see the pride in it, in just the way the hood operates and all the accessories on this truck"

For example, the dash flips down invertedly, both front and rear tags rotate, a hydraulic hood, a tilted front-end, push-button door handles and more. The previous owner put about $100,000 into the car.

Lanuza only drives it on the weekend and for special occassions, and said "it just caught my eye" and he asked to buy it from his friend.

"I loved the truck," he said. "It's almost like an investment in everything."

Gary Moon, 58, also brought his 1922 Moon to the car show. He has no relation to the car company that he knows of, but Moon did buy the classic ride, in part, because it bears his last name. He's owned for four years now.

He found it in the Niagara Falls area and bought it off of eBay for $16,000. Since then he's added a new paint job, new tires, new carpet, and a new top, among other upgrades up to about $8,000.

First, "I had to get it running, it hadn't been cranked in 12 years," he said. 

He later found a 1922 advertisment from the St. Louis Saturday Evening Post about the very same vehicle that he framed, as well. He's always like cars, so finding this gem with his name was kismet.

"I like coming to car shows and meeting people," he added. "It's just fun."