The great weather we've had since leaving Whistler "went South" (or North, East, or West) on Sunday as clouds filled the Okanagan Valley. We had thought about taking an hour and hour ride on the Kettle Valley Railway excursion train, but the lack of sun dissuaded us for doing so. Instead, we stopped at Nixdorf Classic Cars in Summerland on our way from Kelowna to Naramata and checked out their collection of classic cars made by U.S. automakers and their Canadian counterparts. (A Ford made in Canadas was a "Meteor", a Mercury was a "Monarch").
Jim, who manages the places for his cousin Garney, owner of 100 restored 1930's-2000 cars, took us on a tour. They completely strip the vehicles, remove all of the paint, cut out rusted body parts and weld in new pieces, straighten frames, get engines rebuilt and upholstery re-done, and end up with "like off the showroom floor" vintage autos.
They display 50 of the cars at a time, rotating some out, and others in, to what's on view to the public at any time. Carney has never been able to part with a single one of the autos he's acquired over the last fifty-odd years, but now they are running out of space to store them so he may be compelled to sell of part of his fleet.
They also restore cars for private owners. But you need to put down "serious cash." When I asked Jim if I'd need to pony up $20,000-$50,000 (who cares if that's U.S. or Canadian dollars?), he said more like fifty grand or more. It takes them on average 3-4 months of work, sometimes 6 months or more, to do a complete "make over" on a car.
Don't have "the readies" to buy and restore a classic car? Not to worry. They'll rent you a jazzy convertible with driver to take you on an Okanagan wine tasting excursion (minimum $225 Canadian for a two-hour jaunt; more if you want to drink away the day).
Daddy took your T-bird away, little girl? No problem. They've got both the original and the newer versions of this popular Ford roadster for you to drool over.
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