Get your
motors running

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

The only things hotter than the temperature on Saturday evening were the 1959 Cadillac, the 1960 Corvette, the 1968 Nova and the 1977 Trans Am.
With the sun beating down on a Bristol Township, Bucks County, shopping center parking lot and the mugginess hanging in the air like a sauna, dozens of antique, classic and hot rod automobile aficionados dutifully did their part to make the Northeast Muscle Car Club’s second Cruise Night of the year yet another success.
Despite the name, the event had absolutely nothing to do with "cruising" and everything to do with leisure and nostalgia.
Folks parked their shiny, rolling works of 20th-century American art up and down the asphalt aisles outside the Durham Road pizza shop that sponsored the night’s activities. There were Fords, Chevys and Dodges, Caddies, Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs.
Some had been restored to original specs, while others were true one-of-a-kind custom jobs, reflecting the colorful, outrageous and occasionally eccentric imaginations of their creators.
Nonetheless, most of the car owners didn’t seem to bat an eye at the obvious spectacle. Rather, the cool customers generally parked themselves on lawn chairs, cracked open their soft drinks and chit-chatted the night away.
"They sit, listen to the music, socialize and check out everybody else," said Carole Niemiec, a Winchester Park resident and the club’s promotions director. "It’s a day out."
They’ve been doing essentially the same thing for the last 18 years, ever since Mayfair native Ray Patrick and some buddies got the group going in July 1990.
As such, the Northeast Muscle Car Club is one of the oldest classic-car clubs around. And with 75 members, it’s one of the biggest.
But the distinction that Patrick, the club’s president, and the rest of his colleagues perhaps are most proud of — aside from their cars, naturally — is their charitable record. Each year, their events raise about $10,000 for local non-profit organizations.
On June 1, the club held a benefit for the Father Judge Alumni Association scholarship fund at the local high school.
This Sunday, June 15, they’ll be at General Grant’s Saloon, on Grant Avenue just east of Roosevelt Boulevard, to raise money for the Bustleton Bengals youth sports organization. It’ll be their 13th annual Father’s Day Show.
The hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Future beneficiaries this year will include the Armed Forces Foundation, the Sunshine Foundation, the Maternity BVM Catholic Youth Organization, the Passyunk Square Civic Association and the Frankford Boys Club.
"It was our idea from the beginning to give all of our proceeds to charity because our love is the cars," Patrick said.
Though the club has decided to cap its membership at the current level for the time being, its events are open to all comers. Cruise Night is from 6 to 10 p.m. on the first Saturday of every month, May through October, and at the same location, Friends & Family Pizza at 2669 Durham Road. That’s at the intersection of Route 413, just north of the Bristol exit on Interstate 95.
"We have some members in Bucks, but the majority of members are from the Northeast," Patrick said.
There is no admission charge to Cruise Night and no fee to register a classic car in the event. But there are no trophies, either.
On the other hand, the club’s fund-raising shows, like the one at Judge and the Father’s Day event, include an element of competition. Admission is free, but car owners must pay a fee to register, generally under $20. A series of awards are always up for grabs in various categories.
The competition is fierce.
"It’s in your blood. People who aren’t into it don’t get it," said Mayfair’s Mark Anthony, a seven-year club member. "I’ll spend money on my car without a thought. It’s about the sound, the smell, the sight. It’s the whole thing."
In an age when modern design and the high cost of fuel threaten to drive their kind of machines to extinction, club members also view themselves as upholding a national tradition. Though last Saturday’s Cruise Night was designed as more of a low-key event, it attracted at least one car more than 80 years old as well as some as young as a few years.
"Hopefully, we’ll keep it alive. That’s the purpose," said Bridesburg’s Frank Figaniak, who joined the club three years ago. ••
For the full Northeast Muscle Car Club schedule, visit www.NEMCCOFPHILLY.org or call 215-331-2324. Sponsors and vendors are sought for upcoming shows.