Pride , self-expression and horsepower are on full display for all to come and inspect close-up
The practical use of a motor vehicle is only the beginning of a vehicle ' s true calling- Henry Ford was quoted as saying that auto racing began five minutes after the second car was built . Where does this fascination come from ? For generations , everything from Hot Wheels to the Dukes of Hazzard to remote-controlled cars have shaped many a motorhead ’ s destiny . Just stop at one of the various car shows put on around Windsor and Essex County for a view into the culture surrounding motor vehicles .
Collectively , in parking lots and fields around the area , you ’ ll find an interactive museum in force , with a gorgeously restored 1965 Ford Mustang parked comfortably beside a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado . Friendships , both decades-old and newly-formed , lead car lovers to chat about their efficiency rates while swapping stories about recent close encounters of the police variety . Pride , self-expression and horsepower are on full display for all to come and inspect close-up .
To walk through Gay Peifer ’ s garage is to experience that sentiment full force . The house is located on the outskirts of Amherstburg , but it ’ d be more accurate to say he lives in his garage , encompassing four giant rooms . Motorcycle figurines made out of nails and screws , punch presses making pennies with crosses in them (‘ Pennies from Heaven ’), a 1968 bus converted into a walk-in kitchen and a hot-rod made out of a WW2 F-86 Jet Sabre Fighter drop tank enliven the scene . “ It ’ s all junk ,” says Peifer . Maybe so , but certainly interesting junk .
“ I just always liked cars ,” says Peifer , which explains Santa ’ s decision to give him a set of axles when he was five years old . By the time Peifer was 16 he was tinkering with a 1935 Chevrolet . Even his first transit vehicle , a 1965 Fairlane , saw its motor replaced after the first year . Cars both new and used can always stand a little more modifying .
“ The fun is in taking it apart , sanding it , drilling it full of holes , putting it together , and the first time you fire it up you get that little bit of a rush ,” says Peifer . “ There ’ s the pride of knowing I ’ m taking the junk somebody else threw away and bringing it back to life .”
The same sentiments are shared by Nick Wiebe , service manager at
Shows and cruise-ins are popular destinations for those who follow car culture .