by Kathleen Pulek, Middletown Chronicle, July, 2014
There was something for everyone on Wednesday, June 11, at the 17th Annual Cruise Night on Main, co-sponsored by the city of Middletown and the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce. The vast array of trucks, muscle cars, antiques, domestics, imports and rat rods numbered more than 550 and vehicle owners gladly answered questions and discussed the loving restorations made to their prized possessions.
by Kathleen Pulek, Middletown Chronicle, July, 2014
There was something for everyone on Wednesday, June 11, at the 17th Annual Cruise Night on Main, co-sponsored by the city of Middletown and the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce. The vast array of trucks, muscle cars, antiques, domestics, imports and rat rods numbered more than 550 and vehicle owners gladly answered questions and discussed the loving restorations made to their prized possessions.
by Kathleen Pulek, Middletown Chronicle, July, 2014
There was something for everyone on Wednesday, June 11, at the 17th Annual Cruise Night on Main, co-sponsored by the city of Middletown and the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce. The vast array of trucks, muscle cars, antiques, domestics, imports and rat rods numbered more than 550 and vehicle owners gladly answered questions and discussed the loving restorations made to their prized possessions.
with the sites and sounds of four-wheel fever as throngs of car acionados packed Main Street from Washing- ton down to the South Green to ogle and appreciate the many hot rods and custom cars that packed the center of town. There was something for everyone Wednesday, June 11, at the 17th annual Cruise Night on Main, co- sponsored by the City of Middletown and the Mid- dlesex County Chamber of Commerce. The vast array of trucks, muscle cars, an- tiques, domestics, imports and rat rods numbered more than 550 and vehicle owners gladly answered questions and discussed the loving restorations made to their prized possessions. Oldies tunes played by members of the Over the Hill Gang as well as Flash- back, which performed live 50s and 60s music from the main stage, provided the evenings backdrop, as more than 5,000 people came out to celebrate the start of sum- mer. We lucked out im- mensely with the weather, said Cathy Duncan, event organizer for the Chamber. We watched the weather closely and saw that there would be a passing show- er in the afternoon and it looked clear after that and it was. The rain shower was over by 3:30 p.m. The Chamber phones rang off their hooks with people call- ing to see if it was raining here. Yes, the weather did affect the attendance. We were down about 200 cars from last year. If the weath- er had been clear, we esti- mate this would have been a record-breaking event for attendance. The people who did attend were glad they did. Chamber President Larry McHugh echoed Dun- cans sentiments. The 17th annual Cruise Night on Main was a major success. This was once again a terric event that attracted thousands of people to downtown Mid- dletown, he said. I would like to thank the City of Middletown, our sponsors and everyone who worked to make the 17th annual Cruise Night on Main a suc- cess. We are already looking forward to next year. The evening raised over $2,000 to benet Middle- towns Mentor Program and other city youth programs including recreation and summer youth programs. Among the cars that drew their share of atten- tion were a classic 1972 Jensen Interceptor III from Middletowns Community Newspaper Volume 13, Number 7 July 2014 Its Grilling Season *****************ECRWSS**** Local Postal Customer PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID HARTFORD, CT PERMIT NO. 5126 Feature READ INSIDE MORE Face the Music On Stage The Tony Awards Didnt watch? Dont worry, Jeffrey LaGrange has the recap for you. Page 27 King Lear ARTFARM will perform this Shakespeare tragedy this month. Dortha Cool Willetts has a look behind the curtain. Page 14 Page 24 Continued on page 15 Main Street Catches Four-Wheel Fever Francis Saunders poses with his 1938 Chevy truck. Photo: Dave Burnham. 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Reduced to $141,900 Beautifully upgraded 2 BR, 2.5 b a t h t o wn h o u s e a t Skyview. Granite counters, wood oors & much more. $174,900 the UK; a candy apple red 1964 Ford Mustang, an iconic American muscle car; a 1929 Mercedes; and a 1947 Crosley sedan owned by Seb Fontana from Rocky Hill. A pair of Middletown vehicles--Tom and Mar- sha Judsons 1964 yellow Minivan and Sal Vernales rare 1967 Chevy Camaro SS--also proved to be crowd pleasers. The Minivans 10 wheels and walnut dash- board caused more than a few double takes. The Camaro, one of just 1,138 two-door sport coupes built, sporting an original win- dow sticker with a price of $4,544.30. The very busy Wayne Carini, who hosts Chas- ing Classic Cars on Ve- locity TV and owns F40 Motorsports, a vintage and classic car dealership, and Carini Carozzeria, a restora- tion shop, both in Portland, showcased a couple of his favorites. His 1933 Beezy- mobile (also known as The Louis Special) was built in Santa Monica in 1947 and has raced at Bonnev- ille (1947-48) and Pebble Beach (1950-56). Carinis green 1970 Plymouth Barra- cuda received the Libertys Choice Award, presented by Liberty Bank. Josh Wilcox and Sarah Massicott of Higganum en- joyed some people watching and local fare while sitting in the back of Wilcoxs 1979 Chevy El Camino. I found the car on Craigslist when I was 15 and jumped right on it. I replaced the whole interior, changed the engine to a 350ci instead of a 305ci and put on new tires and rims. The car had about 60,000 miles. Ive put on about 9,000. My friends and I were at lunch one day and we were tossing around names for the car. We came up with Loretta. Ive brought Lo- retta to this show every year since I could drive, which is four years. Im having fun with the car and I plan on keeping her forever. Middletowns Sal and Lucy Branciforte took home the AAA Diamond Award for their 1956 sunset orange Chevy Bel Air. Weve owned the car for two weeks, Sal said. This is the third car show weve entered and the third trophy weve won. I saw a photo of the car and then asked two friends out in Phoenix, AZ, to look at it for me. I had it shipped out and delivered to Jackson Chev- rolet. People were drawn to Francis Saunders and his 1938 Chevrolet truck. My dad bought this truck back in the 1970s. It was listed as a V6 truck in Hemmings Mo- tor News. Dad knew Chevy didnt make a V6 then so he had to go take a look. A fellow had passed away and the widow was selling it dirt cheap in Deep River. Dad bought it, brought it home, got it running and used it for many years as a dump truck. After Dad passed away, the truck sat out in the backyard for about 18 years. Then the rat rod craze came around and I said, That truck would make a neat rat rod, so thats what I did. I cleaned it up and started building it. It took about nine months, con- tinued Saunders, who lives in Old Lyme and belongs to the Beachcombers of Nian- tic Car Club. Its still on its original chassis but its got a 1977 El Camino drive train. I put the casket on the back just because I like being dif- ferent. The casket also holds the trucks gas tank. This is the fth year its been on the road and Ive put on almost 11,000 miles. I drive it all the time and have a lot of fun with it. So many people drive down the highway, look over at me and give me thumbs up. I dont have to worry about it getting scratched or some- one putting their hands on it. Kids can get up on the run- ning board and look inside. Mitchell Wynn, who came to Connecticut on vacation to visit his older brother in 1992 and decid- ed to stay in Middletown, brought his beautifully pre- pared MBS Racing 1977 Ford Mustang II, which he built with help from his sons, Mitch and Marquay. Wynn has been a pastor at Mount Olive Church of Christ on South Main Street for 16 years. After God, his other passion is drag racing. I was born and raised in drag racing. My grandfa- ther, my dad, my aunts and my uncles all had muscle cars in North Carolina, he said. He recently took the car to New Yorks Lebanon Val- ley Dragway to run it for the rst time. The Mustang laid down a 10.5-second pass with the promise of dipping into the nines after a little tweaking of the set up. It felt real good. It reminds me of riding a horse when the horse is loping. A horse is a bumpy ride, but when you get that horse into a full sprint, it smoothes out and rides good. The Mustang is pro- pelled down the quarter mile strip by a 302ci Ford motor that has been stroked out to 347ci. The engine produces 730hp and runs on 110 oc- tane race fuel. One of my brothers told me today, Youre sup- posed to be a man of God and youre into racing. You need God to ride in this car, said Wynn. Sponsor Awards -Veterans Choice Award presented by Jackson Chevrolet - Shiela Siena, Middletown, 1978 Chevy El Camino. -Libertys Choice Award presented by Liberty Bank - Wayne Carini/F40 Motor Sport, Portland, 1970 Plymouth Barracuda. -Main Drag Award pre- sented by Downtown Busi- ness District - Herb Caso, Cromwell, 1936 852 Au- burn -Apple Rehab Choice Award presented by Apple Rehab - Peter Tytila, East Lyme, 1934 Ford 3-Window Coupe. -Street Legal Award presented by Haymond Law - Russ Bosse, Berlin, 1969 Chevy Chevelle. -AAA Diamond Award presented by AAA Al- lied Group/Cromwell - Sal Branciforte, Middletown, 1956 Chevy Bel Air. -Sparkling Clean Award presented by Servpro of Middletown and New Britain - Ted Chowaniec, Wallingford, 1961 Chevy C-10 truck. -MHCC Choice Award presented by Middletown Health Care Center - Ray Piotrowski, Middletown, 1937 Chevy Sedan. -Mayors Choice Award presented by Mayor Dan Drew - Vin LaBella, Berlin, 1933 Ford Coupe. The Chronicle - July 2014 15 Chronicled Middletown Annual Cruise Night on Main (Cont.) Sarah Massicott and Josh Wilcox enjoy some local fare while sitting in the back of Joshs 1979 Chevy El Camino. Photo: Dave Burnham. The 1956 Chevy Bel Air, owned by Sal and Lucy Branciforte, notched its third trophy in three outings, winning the AAA Diamond Award. Photo: Dave Burnham. Car talk and good food were on tap at the 17th annual Cruising on Main. Photo: Dave Burnham. 0 7 1 4 c m