Pay no attention to the fact that it’s a station wagon.
This 1966 Plymouth Valiant station wagon isn’t for family getaways.
Jason Seigfried has big plans for his car. Plans to go fast.
With the hood up, exposing a big engine, Seigfried quickly gives some quick highlights of the car.
“It’s a 440 engine, 727 transmission, 490 rear end.”
For non-motorheads, it sounds like a lot of blah, blah, blah, but Seigfried has dedicated lots of time to building the car.
Seigfried joined a number of other car enthusiasts at the Eastgate Shopping Center parking lot on Saturday. It’s an impromptu gathering of people who love cars, all kinds of cars.
There are similar gatherings at other North Avenue area parking lots.
The gatherings are just about showing off cars, talking cars, engines, and everything about the love for the automobile.
“Honestly it’s just the camaraderie of it. Just look around. You’ve got some newer Corvettes and Mustangs, my ’66, a ’70-something Camaro, trucks, motorcycles, just a little bit of everything,” Seigfried said.
There’s even an area where diesel truck owners have gathered.
Part of Seigfried’s big plans for his ’66 include getting it ready for the dragstrip.
“Through some serendipitous circumstances, I ended up with my uncle’s ’65 Plymouth Valiant station wagon, so I’ve been using parts from that for my ’66,” he said.
Talking cars and looking at cars is what these gatherings are all about.
“Every Saturday night, about eight, everybody starts showing up,” said Troy Merritt, who had the hood up on his sharp-looking 1995 Nissan 240SX. “It’s really cool because all different types of cars show up, plus you have all different age groups too.”
At 52, Merritt, who’s from Delta, grins when he talks about his obsession with the 240SX model.
“I think this is my ninth 240 I’ve had,” he said. “You don’t see a lot of them around.”
His current model that he’s had since 2004 has a carbon fiber hood and trunk, and he’s dropped the suspension close to an inch to give it a more pavement-hugging look.
Then there’s the paint job — candy apple red.
“It took a long time for me to pick this color, several years, so yeah, it’s my favorite color,” he said.
Sitting next to Seigfried’s ’66 station wagon is Russ Jordan’s ultra-cool looking 1970 Camaro that he’s had for 42 years.
For a number of these car lovers, they are excited about Western Colorado Dragway opening back up on Saturday.
“I’m new to the city, so I want to meet people who are going racing and try and get ready for the track next weekend,” Jordan said.
Besides racing, Jordan said he just loves having a great looking cool car.
“When you look at the car, you’re just amazed by it,” he said smiling. ”It’s a fantastically beautiful car.”
“Really, it’s just fun to park this car and talk about it. It’s fun to look at.”
The blue car even has a “Terminator”-style mural painted on the hood scoop.
For most people here, every car has a story.
Some are still writing the story.
“It’s not done by any means,” the 30-year-old Seigfried said about the work.
Then he revealed the ultimate goal for the station wagon.
“I hope to eventually get this car to sub-12 seconds in the quarter mile.”
That’s a fast station wagon.
For Jordan, his racing obsession has lessened over the years but he has lots of memories.
“I’ve blown up seven motors before,” he said grinning. “I race it, break it, fix it. That’s the nature of racing.”
With a “built-up 377” under the hood, Jordan said he’s looking forward to getting back to racing the Camero.
“I haven’t run it in the quarter mile since 1984 but it ran mid-11s back then,” he said.
This gathering isn’t just for the race crowd, though.
A line of sleek black Corvettes and a Mustang are part of this impromptu car show.
Christian Lozano fulfilled a childhood dream about 15 months ago when he bought his 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Z06.
And what was it like to finally drive a Corvette off the lot?
“Better than sex,” he said with a chuckle.
He enjoys stopping by the Eastgate parking lot to just hangout with fellow car lovers.
“We all love cars, we just like to show off our cars and have a good time,” he said.
Like everyone who owns a nice car, a fast car, a cool car, this gathering is just a mini show-and-tell time.
For Lozano, he’s satisfied just checking out his own ride.
“It’s amazing. From driving it, to just starring at it, it’s a blessing to have one, that’s for sure,’ he said
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Car lovers gather along North Avenue - The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
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