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<p>LEHMAN TWP. &#8212; Standing behind his red 1956 Austin Healey M100, Jon Valentine rummaged through pictures he had stored in the car&#8217;s trunk, showing onlookers a photo of a classic MG that he used to race.</p><p>Valentine was one of many classic car collectors that showed off their wheels Saturday at the 33rd annual Lake-Lehman Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show at the Luzerne County Fairgrounds &#8212; a fundraiser for the Lake-Lehman High School marching band.</p><p>It was the pefrect venue for Valentine, now a full-time car restoration expert, to tell the story behind his beloved Austin Healey, which features a Cobra engine.</p><p>Valentine purchased the car in 1975 and drove it until he sold it sometime in the 1980s. From there, he said, the car was passed through two more owners, and then sat untouched for 21 years. One day in 2001, a man walked through the doors of his Valentine&#8217;s Suzuki dealership in the Back Mountain, realizing that Valentine was the original owner of the rare classic, and offered to sell it back to him for the same price he sold it for in the 1980s &#8212; a mere $2,000.</p><p>Because it sat untouched for so long, Valentine said he had to completely tear it apart and restore it, adding then when he finally got the classic back it had a few extra &#8220;parts.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;It had 14 millions nuts in it,&#8221; he joked. &#8220;Every squirrel in Luzerne County put their night supply of squirrel nuts in it.&#8221;</p><p>Valentine said he seldom enters car shows, but he enjoys participating in the Back Mountain fundraiser because it&#8217;s close to his home.<ins> Many have admired and inquired about the car throughout the event, he added, as Austin Healeys were only produced for a short amount of time and aren&#8217;t come by too often.</ins></p><p>Attendees were able to vote for their favorite vehicles as they walked through the lot full of classic cars, with top vote-getters earning a trophy. As the final votes were cast and tallied, event organizer and band sponsor president Barbara Spencer explained why the event is so important to the marching band.</p><p>&#8220;We have a big goal. We&#8217;re trying to get new chairs for our band room. We have a lot more kids joining band, which is a great thing,&#8221; Spencer said.</p><p>Besides chairs, Spencer said the group needs funds to purchase more instruments to satisfy the influx of students, as well as formal wear for concerts and daily expenses. Nearly 30 students assisted with the fundraiser, from selling candy and food to tallying votes and handing out raffle tickets.</p><p>Spencer said many local car club vendors enjoy participating in the event, and have remained loyal to the band throughout the years. Still, she hopes more classic car enthusiasts will hear about and paricipate in the annual event in the future and help the fundraiser grow.</p><p><ins>On the opposite end of the lot from Valentine, Dave Williams stood beside his truck. With one half of the hood lifted, he looked down at the engine of his red and black 1941 Chevy pickup while he spoke about an issue he&#8217;s been having with its spark plugs.</ins></p><p><ins>Williams said he bought the truck about nine months ago. While he admitted he&#8217;s no mechanic, he&#8217;s hoping to learn how to fix the truck&#8217;s mechanical problems as they arise, and was hopeful that someone at the show could tell him how to resolve the spark-plug situation. Luckily for Williams, Dave Reinders took a liking to the classic truck, having a similar model of his own.</ins></p><p><ins>&#8220;I had its panel truck equivalent, &#8221; Reinders said as they discussed the problem, adding that he was drawn to Williams&#8217;s truck. &#8220;It&#8217;s nice-looking.&#8221;</ins></p><p><ins>Williams explained that the pickup was in fact his first classic purchase. He also admitted that he actually wanted a Corvette instead.</ins></p><p><ins>&#8220;I saw it and I thought &#8216;this is fantastic&#8217; and I bought it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I wasn&#8217;t looking for a truck, though. I was looking for a &#8216;62 Chevy Convertible, but I saw this and (I thought) it was really cool.&#8221;</ins></p><p><ins>Williams said he is fairly new to car shows, but he wanted to come to the event and view other classics, and he decided to bring the truck along with him.</ins></p><p><ins>After completing a lap around the cars &#8212; and telling Williams he should&#8217;ve bought the Corvette &#8212; Ed and Barbara Kalish prepared to head home. The Tunkhannock couple has been attending the fundraiser for more than 15 years, bringing their nephew, Nathan, along with them. They family admitted that while they aren&#8217;t collectors themselves, they enjoying seeing the vehicles of yester-years, occasionally wishing that they would have kept some of their own cars.</ins></p><p><ins>&#8220;The funny thing is, we&#8217;ve had some of the cars we see here,&#8221; Barbara said. &#8220;So it&#8217;s a real kick in the pants when you think &#8216;Oh, I was a stupid 24-year-old who got rid of that car&#8217;. It&#8217;s kind of funny to see them here, but it&#8217;s really nice to know that some people knew what they had and have restored them and hung onto them.&#8221;</ins></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">There were plenty of cars on hand for the 33rd annual Back Mountain Car Show, Vendor Fun &amp; Run at the Luzerne County Fairgrounds in Lehman Township on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Back-Mt.-Car-Show-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>There were plenty of cars on hand for the 33rd annual Back Mountain Car Show, Vendor Fun &amp; Run at the Luzerne County Fairgrounds in Lehman Township on Sunday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Back-Mt.-Car-Show-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Four-year-old Travis Ide gets a backwards ride from his grandmother, Diana Ide, Harveys Lake, at the car show. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Back-Mt.-Car-Show-3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Four-year-old Travis Ide gets a backwards ride from his grandmother, Diana Ide, Harveys Lake, at the car show. </caption1><photoCredit1>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Back-Mt.-Car-Show-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Tim Barto, of Kingston, looks over some of the competitors of the car show. Barto had a late model Chevrolet Corvette entered. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_Back-Mt.-Car-Show-2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Tim Barto, of Kingston, looks over some of the competitors of the car show. Barto had a late model Chevrolet Corvette entered. </caption2><photoCredit2>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marcella Kester</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>WHAT&#8217;S NEXT</p><p>The Lake-Lehman High School marching band will have a food stand at the Luzerne County Fair Sept. 6-10 and will host its annual craft show Nov. 18 at the high school to continue fundraising efforts.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Collectors share stories at classic car show fundraiser in Back Mountain