Custom car, truck owners show off at fairgrounds

Vehicles changed from roof to wheels — or with just a few tweaks — were on display at the Missouri State Fairgrounds on Sunday.

The Best of the Midwest Car and Truck show, organized by Sedalia car club Infamous Toys, drew more than 200 custom vehicles to compete at the fairgrounds.

Club member John Miller, one of the event’s organizers, said members have talked about a show since the beginning, a huge undertaking for a new club.

“There was no decent car show in Sedalia. In fact, there was no decent car show in mid-Missouri. You had to drive to the other side of Springfield to find a decent multi-vehicle show,” he said.

The Sedalia resident drives a Nissan Sentra, but not much is left of the car he purchased. The only stock item is the passenger-side dashboard, he said.

“Once you get to a certain point, there’s no turning back,” he said.  He originally intended to change only the wheels. Now his car has been redone from bumper to bumper, and features a custom stereo system, seats, gauges, blue lights in and out, and engine. Soon, he hopes to install a television and Nintendo Wii video game system in the trunk, and upgrade the transmission to a six-speed.

He plans to have the first Sentra in the country with over 500 horsepower. All told, he has spent over $34,000 on the car, and that does not include labor.

“Once you get bitten by the car customization bug, that’s it,” he said.

All proceeds from the show, which featured cars and trucks of all years and types, went to benefit ChildSafe of Central Missouri.

“I saw an opportunity not just to have a big car show in Sedalia, but also support and organization that I truly believe in,” he said.

Competitor Larry Howerter came from Monroe City to show off his yellow 2002 Corvette, complete with vanity plate.

“If you’re going to do car shows, it’s got to be different. So that’s the challenge: to do something no one else has done,” he said.

He said he was interested in customization since he was a teenager, but gave it up once he got married and had a family.

“Now that the kids are gone, I started back up again,” he said.

Howerter said he goes to one or two shows a week during the summer, and works on the car over the winter.

He said the Sedalia show was a good size with a good variety of vehicles.

“This is one of the better shows we’ve been to this year,” he said.

A.J. Alejandro, one of the event’s organizers, said he typically attends between 20 and 25 shows per year with his 2000 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer.
Unlike Miller, he drives his car every day.

Four-year-old Zane Chandler stopped to take a picture of a huge 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche, accompanied by his mother and uncle.

“It’s something I’ve always been interested in,” said his mother, Sedalia resident Kari Robinson. “Let him come out and see all the different cars.”

Robinson said car customization is a family interest.

“I told his dad, you can tell he’s daddy’s son,” she said, as Zane looked up at the vehicle.

They weren’t the only ones. Miller said his 13-year-old son Keelan helps out with the upgrades.

“This is going to be his car when he turns 16,” he said.

agualtieri@sedaliademocrat.com