It’s cruise night in Bayonne.
Classic rock and roll rumbles out of large speakers in the corner of the Wendy’s parking lot just off Route 440. Songs by the Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen, and other performers recall a different time and place, with lyrics that celebrate the culture of the car and draw visions of movies staring Jimmy Dean or Marlon Brando.
Although the location has changed over the years and membership in the Liberty Classic Car Club has grown, members have gathered for this weekly ritual for the better part of the last decade to show off their classic automobiles to each other and to the general public.
In its latest venue at Wendy’s, the club meets every Tuesday – rain or shine – from about 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., taking a huge step back into time and traveling along what, for most of the 22 members, is Memory Lane.
Depending on the night, any number of cars might roll into the parking lot, from the oldest model in the club, dating back to the 1940s, to any number of cars not even considered historic but driven by non-members wanting to show them off.
Organizers of the club – with the permission of the restaurant management – have modeled the cruise night after similar events held at of drive-in restaurants in the 1950s – when the so called rebellious youth of that era used to flock together to talk about and even drag race their cars.
Of course, no one is proposing drag racing these days. Instead, most of those who come to Tuesday night gatherings talk a lot about their cars and the past experiences the cars evoke.
The good old days
Many of the car owners are middle aged or better, collecting cars they knew from their childhoods. But a number of members are relatively young, caught up in the flash and romance of older cars.
While the club meets in Bayonne, members come from all over Hudson County, and though Bayonne is their current home, the members can trace their roots back to the club’s foundation in 1994 when a handful of car owners organized under the shadow of the Statute of Liberty in Jersey City.
Artie Gronczewski, the club’s current president and a member since 2000, said that while a car must be at least 25 years old to be considered classic, non-members often show up with newer cars just to take part in the cruise. To be a member, you have to own a classic car and show up more or less frequently at the cruise nights.
“Participating in cruise nights is key to membership,” Gronczewski said.
Members do attend other events, seeking out antique car shows throughout the area, but essentially, the heart of the club is the weekly get-together where they talk about attributes of their cars, discuss where they might get parts, and how they acquired the car they have.
Yearly dues cost $20, which covers insurance and any other costs – with a cruise night raffle and door prizes and a yearly show. Left-over proceeds at the end of the year are donated to local charities.
Every car owner has a story Gronczewski has a 1967 Cornet RT. He brought it in 1999 out of the nostalgia for the same model car he owned in 1969 – which he says slyly he often brought to the high school as a boy to drag race. He recalled a race in which he beat out an SS396 Chevy.
“They couldn’t believe I beat it with a Cornet,” he said proudly.
The current restoration took him 14 months, partly because of the difficulty in finding parts for a Dodge.
Like many members of the club, eBay has become a central resource. In the past, people like Gronczewski would spend their weekends wandering through junkyards in search of parts. But the era of junkyards has passed, and such places are nearly as historic as the cars. Several club members said they restored their cars completely through parts they acquired via the Internet.
Of course, eBay purchases have their own risk, and horror stories of car purchases from distant places are common in the club.
Gronczewski, purchased his RT via the Internet. He was looking for the car and his brother gave him a link to one for sale in Eugene, Oregon.
“It looked good in the picture,” he said. “But they must have kept it in a cornfield.”
He essentially bought in unseen, had it shipped east, and discovered an assortment of problems the moment he received the vehicle.
Once upon a time in Jersey City
Frank Virvet was a founding member of the club when it still called Jersey City its home.
“We all had old cars and wanted to show them off,” he said.
The club’s name was derived from being close to the Statue of Liberty.
He purchased his car, a 1958 Thunderbird, in 1975 when his wife, Oria, was pregnant with their son. He was working in a gas station.
“A guy pulled up with a for sale sign on it,” he said.
Once he climbed behind the wheel, he knew he had to have the car. It took him two years to fix, and it served as the family car for everyday use until 1984 – at which time he put it away for historic preservation.
The 1958 model changed radically from the previous year to the more familiar form that most people associate with the classic car. Prior to 1958, the Thunderbird was a two-seat sports car that looked a little like the MG. Tony Dahlstrom has a ’72 Chevy Nova with factory skin and sky roof, one of the handful of this particular model.
Like Gronczewski, he had previously owned the model car, and, like many of the car owners, Dahlstrom talks about the struggles he’s had to restore the car and what it took for him to restore it to its original glory.
There are classics, and then there are classics
While the most recent cruise night prominently displayed classic cars such as a 1968 Rambler and a Chevy 350, few classic car clubs would be complete without one of the premier classic cars of all time, the Mustang. In this case, it was a 1966 model.
Steve Wiackley said he making a delivery when he saw the car in a garage. Apparently the person’s son – who usually drove the car – was overseas.
“I asked if the car was for sale,” he said.
People often own more than one car, and sometimes barter or sell cars at the meetings.
Many people bring non-historic cars such as the 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix or talk about other cars they own.
Some cars are classic no matter how old they are, such as the Camaro, which draws people’s attention immediately.
Tom Swierat owned his 1991 Camaro for about two years, and talks about the troubles with fenders, shocks and nose.
“I had the car four months before I could fix it,” he said. But once he had the parts, it only took him a week to get the car in shape.
He also owned a 1986 Camaro.
Gene Bond unabashedly takes full advantage of his last name with a small plaque on the dashboard alluding to the fictional spy movie character James Bond.
Gene Bond has owned his 1968 Mercury Montego convertible for about four years. His uncle made the 007 plate, and when pressed, Gene says he likes the older James Bond movies such as Live and Let Die or the Sean Connery movies from the 1960s.
Putting the show on Broadway
On June 17, the club will bring their historic collection to Broadway in Bayonne for the first Classic Car show of the summer. This event is being presented by the Bayonne Town Center, Big Apple, and the Liberty Classic Car Club. Members will bring their vehicles to Broadway between 17th and 20th streets.
DJ Mike will accompany “Elvis” to sing some oldies.