By Khalida Sarwari
Dean Hickman-Smith, Tim Evjenth and Greg Leonard may live cities apart, but they have one thing in common: all three drive cars that remind them of their youth. On July 19, they’ll be steering those cars straight to downtown Saratoga for the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce’s Classic Car Show.
The event, now in its sixth year, tends to draw car enthusiasts who want to talk shop as well as those who just want to spend an afternoon strolling through the Village and gawking at an antique Cadillac on one side of the road and a brand-new Bugatti on the other.
This year they will be treated to plenty of shiny American and foreign cars of all years, makes and models, ranging from the 1920s to the classics of the ’50s and ’60s. Among them will be Hickman-Smith’s midnight blue 1969 MG MGB, Evjenth’s green and white 1955 Buick Special and Leonard’s red 1966 Chevelle.
Hickman-Smith bought his convertible MG five years ago. The British sports car has a special place in his memory because it was released in the same year that he was born in his native U.K. It was also his first car when he turned 18, although the original was destroyed by rust, having suffered British winters.
“I’ve always been fascinated with vintage cars because they’re kind of a labor of love to keep going,” he said. “I bought the MG because it was the first car that I loved.”
He found the MG he has now off of Craigslist. It was sitting in a barn in Northern California for 15 years until he rescued it and slowly began bringing it back to life. He said he met a few guys who helped him make improvements on the car at last year’s car show, and while it’s not completely restored, it’s about 80 percent of the way there.
These days, he uses the MG often to drive from his home in Saratoga to his security company in Mountain View, vArmour. Occasionally, he’ll use it for fun outings.
“Two weeks ago I drove out to Big Basin up the mountain with my wife on a fantastic Friday evening and it was very special,” he said. “Just seeing the transformation [of the car] to being a reliable and attractive British sports car is quite amazing.”
Evjenth’s Buick originally belonged to his grandfather, who bought the car new in 1954. When his grandfather died a few years later, the car fell under his grandmother’s possession, who promised it to everybody in the family. It was the car Evjenth, now a real estate broker with the Sereno Group, remembers riding in with his grandparents to Easter service in Palo Alto and the first car he ever drove in his life.
The Los Gatos resident said he had his eyes on it from the time he was 11 years old and never wavered from his goal of making the car his. The car was eventually passed on to his uncle, and for a while was driven back and forth to the family’s lumber company. In 1994, Evjenth bought the Buick from his uncle and took the entire car apart to completely restore it to its original condition. He hand-polished the side moldings, which are stainless steel, had all the upholstery replaced with original upholstery and had the body repainted. In 1998, Evjenth’s Buick won first place in the “American cars from 1955-1960” category at the Palo Alto Concours D’Elegance.
And maybe more importantly, his children, who at first declared they’d never get into the car, now fight each other for the driver’s seat, he said.
“We have four kids and they all want it,” he said.
For Leonard, a retired software engineer from Campbell, his Chevelle is also a family affair. He bought the car 14 years ago from his older brother, who then helped him completely rebuild it. In fact, it is more than likely his brother, who once bought and sold cars after restoring them, inspired Leonard’s love of hot rod and muscle cars. So when his brother found the Chevelle in the East Bay and showed it to Leonard, he said it only took one glance for him to utter, “I’ve got to have it.”
“I just liked the way it looked; everything about it. I just fell in love with it,” he said.
A year-long restoration commenced, and even involved help from Leonard’s young daughter, Michelle. Now 18, Michelle is a car connoisseur in her own right, often accompanying her father to car shows and possessing the talent to look at any car and know what year it is with an impressive degree of accuracy.
Even after all these years, “every time I fire it up,” Leonard said, “it still puts a smile on my face.”
And it appears he’s not the only one. The Chevelle has caused two minor accidents involving admirers who weren’t watching the road in front of them.
Over the years, it has won several trophies and best of shows. Leonard said he tries to take it out on the weekends, especially if it’s nice out, because keeping cars in a garage is “a waste.”
The Classic Car Show takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Big Basin Way will be closed to traffic for the event and lined with black and white race car flags. In addition to the classic cars, this year’s event will feature craft vendors, live radio broadcasts, live music and beer and wine tasting.
Additional activities are planned on July 18, the day prior to the event. For the second year in a row, organizers are offering a car cruise between Saratoga, Campbell and Los Gatos.
The event is once again being produced by the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Cool Car Club of Saratoga, Los Gatos and Campbell. The purpose of the event, according to organizers, is to boost business for Saratoga merchants and to provide a fun event for car enthusiasts.
Admission is free. Anyone interested in displaying a car is encouraged to register for the car cruise on July 18 and/or the car show the following day by visiting coolcarclub.com orsaratogachamber.org.
For more information, contact Tiger Teerlink at 408.828.9614, or the Chamber of Commerce at 408.867.0753 or info@saratogachamber.org.
