OWASCO - Side by side the icons of automotive history sat along the shores of Owasco Lake earning the admiration of hundreds of visitors during the Finger Lakes Antique Car Show at Emerson Park Sunday.

Dan and Melody Morrison, who were visiting from Dallas, Texas, said the cars were a reminder of an almost forgotten way of life, when friends would gather at restaurants after school to show off their wheels or visit the drive-in with their sweetheart.

“Back then, as soon as you learned to drive, everything revolved around your car,” Dan Morrison said. “You would do you're own work, pull out your own engine, everything. Now I don't even change my own oil. It was more important to the kids than it is today. Today, cars are just transportation.”

Among one of the rows of cars, a maroon 1929 square-top Chevrolet roadster that was anything but a standard daily driver caught the attention of the Morrisons.

With a V8 engine borrowed from an old race car, a front chassis welded on from a Ford Mustang and a rear chassis taken from a Chevrolet Camaro, Donald Barker, of Syracuse, said there was little, if anything, left in the original state compared with when he got the car 12 years ago.

“I saw the car pull up to this hot dog place in Syracuse and I said I had to have that car,” Barker said. “I went over to the owner and made my offer and he said yes. The car was in good condition then and it was all original parts at the time.”

While Barker's car was a testament to his own handiwork, a nearby 1967 Mercedes-Benz 230 highlighted the potential of one of the few European cars on display at the park.

Rob Colvin, of Elbridge, said he bought the car from a friend three months ago after it spent years sitting in his yard.

“He just said I could have it if I could get it running,” Colvin said. “I got it running so I took it home. All it took was a little carburetor cleaner.”

While the car was in operating condition, Colvin said there was plenty of work he planned to do on it, including a new paint job to repair the faded gray coating and some body work to remove the blemishes acquired from years of inactivity and exposure to the elements.

While most of the cars in the park originated from America, Colvin said the appeal of his German luxury car was that few people will find one at a show.

“I like the body style, it's a different looking car and you don't see anything else like it here,” Colvin said. “Parts are easier to find for American cars and they are cheaper, so you see more of those cars at car shows. You're not going to find many like this one.”

With so few of the classic and antique cars still on the road, Melody Morrison said that was why automotive fanatics such as herself come to the shows.

“I'm 53 years old, and a lot of these vehicles I don't remember,” she said. “It's nice to see how far we have come with technology, and it's nice to see so many kids learning about the history.”

Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net