Edward Michalek grew up in an era when teenagers across the
country were preoccupied with the hot rods and muscle cars that
were destined to become classics.
San Juan Bautista – Edward Michalek grew up in an era when teenagers across the country were preoccupied with the hot rods and muscle cars that were destined to become classics.
The Hollister resident’s first car was a 1964 Pontiac GTO. But about that time, a British-made product was turning heads of teenagers like Michalek.
“The rich kids,” Michalek said, “a couple of them had these cars.”
Almost 50 years later, Michalek is the proud owner of a car that was simply out of reach growing up – as British sports cars, some now worth more than $150,000, were unaffordable even then.
Michalek bought a 1967 Jaguar XKE a decade ago from a mechanic in Arizona. The car’s paint had oxidized and faded to pink. Its engine had barely started.
On Sunday, the 63-year-old Michalek will enter the California Autumn Classic, a British sports car show held in San Juan Bautista, for his fourth time. In its 15th year, the show benefits international children’s charities and has donated more than $15,000 in past years, said Bill Meade, the event organizer.
At last year’s show, Michalek took first place, his restored bright red and chrome Jaguar XKE winning a blue ribbon in its category.
Michalek said he was fortunate to win, as competition is stiff.
“It’s just kind of a labor of love,” he said.
British sports cars from the 1940s to early 1970s will be in display – including makes from Jaguar, Triumph, Aston-Martin, Austin-Healey, Mini-Cooper, Morgan and Lotus. More than 160 cars are expected to enter, and a panel of judges will award prizes for each model and make.
Meade said the cars to be displayed first captured the attention of Americans when military personnel stationed in the United Kingdom began bringing them across the pond in the 1940s and 1950s.
Meade said there are two reasons owners are enthralled by the machines decades later.
“A lot of it is nostalgia, but it is also the fact that they were so highly regarded,” Meade said.
