Classic Car Show at Beausejour!

The gentleman’s game was replaced with classic cars along with an eclectic collection of show vehicles at the Beasejour Cricket Stadium on National day, the 13th of December.

Russell Lake, of “Drive By” fame, the popular car oriented show that airs on Helen FM, finally put his money where his mouth is by promoting this unique event which promised some of the oldest cars still existent in St. Lucia today.

For those of us older than 40, it seemed like just yesterday when many of these older cars traveled the roads of St. Lucia; but now they are mainly an extinct breed. Either being consumed by rust in some forgotten field or having gone to the various land fills around the island. Fortunately a few have survived the ravages of time and proud owners are now into restoring these old classics and were anxious to showcase them for all to see.

The rules were simple, the car must be 20 years or older or in the case of kit cars of which there were three fine examples, must be representative of a vehicle over 20 years old. That was about it! No rules for working engines or period parts were being enforced; a number of cars were brought in on trailers but as this was a stationary show, it did not matter.

The oldest car was a Morris Minor 1000 circa 1965, this car was resplendent in dark blue and has been very nicely restored.

Other notable cars were a Morris Mini, two Volkswagen Bugs, two Porsche 924’s and a Land Rover Defender. This last vehicle is practically ageless as the basic design has gone unchanged for decades and not long ago before the Japanese invasion, these fine vehicles graced every large farm throughout the length and breadth of St. Lucia.

In addition to these iconic vehicles, there were a spattering of manufacturers like Mercedes, Chrysler, Suzuki, Nissan and Mazda which had a single representative car on show. Then came the Kit cars!

The three that were present were works of art and their owners watched over them like proud parents. George Bevan, the young owner of a beautiful Mercedes 1929 model, built his from scratch and has melded old and new to create a stunningly beautiful car. This amalgamation of steel and fiberglass brilliantly painted in white, can run as good as it looks due to the powerful Toyota 1JZ 2.5 liter twin turbo charged engine!! This is certainly no grand fathers car being that it is sporting over 250 HP! The lack of a roll bar and seat belts makes this a car for the young and brave!!

There was also a very similar style kit car that was built around a Volkswagen bug chassis and engine. Certainly a far more laid back form of conveyance.

But probably the most exotic and beautiful car in the show was a Shelby Cobra which had recently undergone a total repaint and was sporting a gorgeous metallic blue with red and white racing stripes. To match the body, under the hood sat a small block V8 engine with the requisite Edelbrock rocker covers. The huge side slung exhausts that dominated the sides of the car was just icing on an already incredible cake. To say that this car caused vehicle envy amongst the various contestants was an understatement! The drool factor was extremely high and like bees to honey, the crowd was immediately drawn to it.

Keeping the crowd occupied were the fine tunes of yesteryear, all songs older than 20 years that was professionally DJ’d by Rusty Ranks. The master of ceremonies was none other than Russell himself and with boundless energy he ran from one section of the show to another keeping the crowd entertained.

Further entertainment was provided by the Radio Control Car club that had a number of cars on display in addition to having a track setup on the fringes of the grounds opposite the Gros Islet stands where the cars were run at high speed.

The show was very well attended and will hopefully become a feature event that all gearheads can look forward to. Thanks must go to Russell for promoting the preservation of old cars in St. Lucia and creating a show in which to bring them to the attention of the general public.

The winners of the various categories will be announced on the “Drive By” show.

Click here for an album of pictures taken during the event.