Who needs to drive them?
JJ Peterson has owned 15 classic cars. What he doesn't own is a driver's liscense.
Peterson, an Ashland High School sophomore first went to a classic car show at the age of 13.
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Above: Ashland High School student JJ Peterson sits in front of his 1968 Pontiac GTO, which took him two years to restore. Photos by Orville Hector | Daily Tidings |
"My dad took me to a car show and I saw a '69 Cutlass," he says. "I thought it was really cool and then realized that there was a beat-up one sitting in the yard across the street from our house. So I bought it."
Since then, Peterson has bought and sold cars to fund the restorations that he takes on. He also sells and buys car parts on eBay to help fund his expensive passion.
The classic car magazine Hemmings featured Peterson this month. He took first place at the Lost Creek classic car show last August. Saturday he was the youngest entry in the Ashland Elks Club's seventh Annual "Cars of Summer" show. Peterson presented his 1968 Pontiac GTO that his Dad and his friends helped him to restore. After two years of work, Peterson is proud of the outcome.
"We did not restore it to the original settings," says Peterson of his bright orange classic with a 500 horsepower hot-rod engine. "We made it the way I wanted it to look."
Peterson's current holdings numbers five cars, including another Cutlass, a 1965 Baha Bug and a 1973 Trans Am.
"Next year some friends and I are hoping to start up a Classic Car Club at the high school." he says.
The Ashland Elks "Cars of Summer" showcased more than 40 classic car entries this year. Proceeds benefited Elks charities, including the Bob Roberts Fund which provides scholarships to high school students.
Bob Kaufman presented his 1970 Oldsmobile 442 convertible at the show, a car he had for 10 years before realizing that it was a collectible. He purchased the car in 1977 for $750 dollars. After learning of its emergence as a classic in the late 1980s, he began the restoration process. It took the restorer almost 14 years to finish the car.
"I had the original factory restoration certificate, so the car was able to be restored to its exact settings from 1970." says Kaufman, pointing out the paint color, the tires, and the upholstery. "This is what the car looked like when it was first driven off the lot."
Spectators seemed equally awed, among them Art and Roberta Nichols who met almost 50 years ago because of Art's love of cars.
"I was working at A&W as a car hopper," says Roberta, "When Art asked me for an autographed bumper sticker. That's how he first learned my name."
"It was a good plan too," says Art, "Because I would never, ever have stuck anything on my car."
Classic car owners are, after all, very protective of their automobiles. Take Karl Greiner's '67 Barracuda for instance. Propped in front of the shining red classic was a sign whose message was bold for all viewers to see.
"PLYMOUTH BARRACUDA PARKING ONLY. All others will be eaten."
