Bob and Jenny Galentine loved classic cars and oldies music before they attended their first Hot August Nights in 1986. But after seeing the cars, they knew they had to have one.
"After searching for several years, I met this guy who had a 1953 Chevrolet Belair two-door hardtop parked in a field in Fallon," said Bob Galentine, who learned to work on auto interiors in the military. "I traded with the owner by sewing new seats for his 1953 Corvette, and we became the third owners of the Belair with the original pink slip."
The Belair was missing the engine and transmission, the metal floor was rusted, and both rear-quarter panels were rusted behind the wheel wells.
"We removed the body from the frame of the car, a frameoff, with the help of some (Karson) Kruzers friends," Galentine said.
"Jenny 'pulled' wrenches along with me as we took the car apart to be cleaned, sandblasted, and powder-coated. Tom Christianson did the powder coating. Frank Aps welded new floor panels and metal panels behind the rear wheel wells replacing the rusted panels. Frank completed the body work and painted the car with the ghost flames Jenny designed."
Galentine's auto interior work came in handy again when he made a deal with Karson Kruzers president Jack Anderson for a 327-cubic-inch Chevy engine and a 400 automatic transmission.
The couple has spent between $34,000 and $35,000 on their car, even after trading out much of the work.
"For people thinking about restoring a classic or customizing a vehicle, whatever the figure for your restoration budget, add 25 to 100 percent to that amount for a realistic final figure," Jenny Galentine said.
The couple first entered their car in Hot August Nights in 2001.
"We had a great time cruising up and down Virginia Street, going to the swap meet at the Live Stock Events Center, and of course all the cool live entertainment," Bob Galentine said.
The couple has attended every Hot August Nights since 1986.
"In fact, Bob has every Hot August Nights hat pin," Jenny Galentine said. "We became members of Hot August Nights in 1987 and volunteered at the concert at Lawlor. We decided to join the Karson Kruzers because they had the same interests, and we did have to drive to Reno for meetings."
