Our Town: Acworth Classic car show goes beyond gawk and talk

Main Street, downtown Acworth

Information: 770-974-1234

Dallas Godfrey loves cars, particularly those with a few years under their hoods. The Acworth resident owns a 1966 Corvette, a 1970 Challenger, and 1987 Fiero GT, as well as a 2008 retro Challenger that’s just nostalgic. But Godfrey doesn’t keep his cars under wraps. As an active member and founder of the 25-member Lake City Cruisers car club, he can often be found at car meets around the metro area.

“There’s a cruise night somewhere every Saturday night,” he said with a laugh.

Godfrey is also one of the organizers of a regular car meet in his hometown. Anytime a month has a fifth Saturday, the Cruisers fill up the historic downtown district with an array of vehicles that draws crowds who come to gawk and talk.

“This is the sixth year I’ve put together the Classic Car Cruise Night in Acworth,” said Godfrey. “But it’s not just for our club. I go to other cruise nights and pass out fliers to get people to come to ours. If there’s no rain, we’ll end up with about 250 show cars.”

While the cars aren’t necessarily showroom, hands-off models, they also aren’t what Godfrey calls “grocery run” vehicles.

“These are specialty, classic cars that have been restored,” he said. “If they haven’t been restored, they have all original pieces. These are definitely not the cars you take to the grocery store.”

Among the cars that have cruised into previous Acworth shows were a 1920s Studebaker and an assortment of muscle cars such as Camaros and Challengers from the 1950s, ’60s and ‘70s. Occasionally, a “super speciality” car, such as a Lamborghini, or new versions of old styles, such as Camaros, may show up.

Godfrey said he’s also seeing a new craze in the mix: Rat Rods, old cars that may be ruined and rusted, but have been reworked with new motors, wheels and pipes.

“Some of them look like they’ve been rusting in a field somewhere,” he said. “You just have to see them to believe them.”

But the majority of cars date from the 1940s through the 1970s.

“The attraction is the cars,” said Godfrey. “America is full of car lovers, and they all have stories. Almost every one of them relates to a car that’s there. Maybe it was their first, or one they owned at one time. Whatever it is, they enjoy seeing and talking about it.”

The event has another benefit, said Jeff Chase of Acworth’s Parks and Recreation department.

“It’s a neat way to draw visitors to our historic downtown’s commercial district,” he said. “It’s a great partnership between the city and the Acworth Downtown Merchants and Lake City Cruisers.”

The event is free for visitors. Car owners who want to display their vehicle pay a $2 entry fee; proceeds benefit Acworth’s Horizon Field, a sports facility for special-needs youth. No advance registration is required.

Each Saturday, we shine a spotlight on a local neighborhood, city or community. To suggest a place for us to visit, e-mail H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or call 404-514-6162.