Some of the most rare and desirable collector cars are coming to Vancouver later this month for auction, with four of them are hailing from Abbotsford.
The Vancouver Collector Car Show and Auction (VCCSA) runs June 21-22 at the PNE Fairgrounds, and there will be 700 vehicles on display from every notable era, with almost 175 vehicles on the auction block.
Peter and Cindy Ouimet own two of them: a 2005 Chevrolet SSR, and a 1946 Chrysler Town Car.
The Ouimets got into the hobby in 1993, when Peter sourced out a car that he could restore with his kids. They picked up a 1942 Cadillac that wound up being so much work that it was eventually sent out to be finished.
This initial purchase prompted others, to the point where the couple began a limousine service, Memory Lane Limousines, as a second job on evenings. They eventually acquired seven classics.
This included the Town Car – bought by the Ouimets in 1995 from an auction in Georgia – which is believed to have been owned by the iconic American businessman and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller.
Cindy said they're nearly 100 per cent certain it was Rockefeller's, but due to a fire at the Derham coachbuilding company, all the original records were lost.
The car features classic suicide doors around a spacious interior that includes both re-upholstered leather seating, as well as a handcrafted wood finish and a divider between the front and rear cabin. The powerplant is a 5.3-litre straight six which generates 135 horsepower, said Cindy.
"It's like sitting on a couch in the back," she said with a laugh. The car glides down the road and always gets plenty of attention whenever they drive it. "It's so unique with the front being convertible."
The family folded the company in 2005, and have been selling off the vehicles, which is how the Town Car and the SSR are becoming available for purchase.
The Ouimets are also parting with their custom-built SSR, called Dragn, as part of their aim to downsize.
It sports a unique dragon-inspired exterior design, which also features dynamic underbody lighting and a fog machine. The rear bed retracts to reveal a fully functional flat-screen TV and XBox console, and a hidden slide-out bar.
The four Abbotsford vehicles are part of a six-car exclusive group called the duPont Series. The duPont Registry has served as one of the world's premier luxury marketplaces for rare, high-end vehicles, and this year the Vancouver Collector Car Show and Auction has partnered with them for the June 21-22 event.
Also from Abbotsford are the following cars:
• 1958 Chevrolet Yeoman custom: Only produced in 1958, there were only 16,590 built. This SEMA award-winning two-door station wagon has undergone an extensive full-body renovation and customization including the installation of hand-formed rear glass, restyled tail lights, a redesigned chrome grille, narrowed bumpers, and a svelte refinished leather interior. The car is powered by a custom Cadillar Northstar engine, mated to a 700R transmission.
• 1967 Ford Mustang custom: Abbotsford's 360 Fabrication did all the work on this car, nicknamed "Night Mare." Completed over a period of nine months, Night Mare features more than 700 unique engine and body modifications, including a handmade hood, modified Art Morrison chassis, electronic air ride system, handcrafted wood and leather interior, as well as a 520-cubic inch motor which produces more than 700 horsepower. The car has been appraised at more than $700,000.
Show information
The VCCSA runs on June 21 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and June 22 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $15, and kids under 13 are admitted free with purchase of an adult ticket.
Last year's inaugural show drew 16,000 car enthusiasts to look over 500 vehicles. Of the 116 cars and trucks up for auction, more than 50 per cent sold, netting more than $1.26 million, which made the event one of B.C. most successful classic car auctions in decades.
For more information visit vancouvercollectorcars.com.