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There are a couple of things you can count on when it comes to the Fourth of July: a car show during the day at the Greene County Fairgrounds and fireworks in the evening.
“I think the morning sprinkles kept a few folks away, but we had 131 cars show up, which is pretty much an average count,” said Carl Borsani, vice president of the Greene County Antique and Classic Car Club, who puts on the show. “This is our 46th consecutive year.”
The cars were displayed in 22 classes with awards for first and second in each class. There were also vendors in the swap meet area with new and used parts for sale.
A 1929 Cord Sedan may have been one of the rarest cars on display, but Raymond Smith of Dayton also noted his 1957 Oldsmobile station wagon was pretty unique.
“It’s really hard to find these cars,” he said. “They are really well built with lots of steel so years back, during the height of the Demolition Derby circuit, most of them were used in the derby, and then ended up destroyed.”
A truck was also getting some attention, likely due to the bright-red paint job, and the bright-red Farmall tractor sitting on the bed.
“I’ve always liked Studebakers,” explained owner Phil Harris of Fairborn. “I’ve got a bunch of them, probably 10 or 12 that run, and lots of parts, but I really like the trucks.”
While Studebaker was known for their automobiles, they built trucks from 1900 until 1964. Harris was showing a 1962 Studebaker 96 BBC tractor, which is known for its square grill and flat front. The designation means 96 inches from bumper to back of cab, and was built this way because some states limited the length of a tractor.
“I found this one at the old Standard Register,” Harris said. “This is one of only two that were built with a long frame, and it was only used locally around Dayton. It wasn’t a long haul tractor.
“I wanted it to make a car hauler, so I can take another car or small truck along to events,” he said.
Harris, who is a GM retiree, did all of the work on the truck, including turbo charging the original Detroit Diesel engine.
“I also added a lot of modern parts and brakes. The truck maintains the old look but drives like new. I just drove it to Nebraska for a Studebaker meet and took along one of my pickup trucks.”
The 1946 Farmall narrow axle tractor sitting on the back fit right in to the fairground environment.
“My dad had one just like this when I was born and I always liked it, so I found one and restored it, too,” Harris said.
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