Claud and Darlene Muench waited at a stoplight in Ontario during a cross-Canada trip in 2003. In the through traffic, someone was hauling a classic car on a trailer.
"There it is," Claud exclaimed as it passed.
"What?" asked Darlene.
"The car."
Claud knew in an instant it was a 1956 Mercury Montclair 鈥� the car of his dreams. They followed it.
"He wasn't going very fast, and I rolled down her window and hollered out, 'Beautiful car, is it for sale? And he said, 'yep'. And we made the deal, what, three months or so later," he explained.
It was later trucked to 91原创.
He only ever wanted the Montclair from 1956. That was the year he graduated from 91原创 High School, and money was tight. He couldn't afford his dream car but did manage to pick up a used 1951 Meteor two-door hardtop as he set out to make his way in the world, working in sawmills.
"$975, and I've still got the bill to sale," Muench said of his Meteor.
He's not a car guy. There were never dreams of a massive climate-controlled barn full of distinctive vehicles. Cars were for everyday use and money wasn't plentiful while raising a family. But he never stopped wanting the '56.
The Montclair is in remarkable shape for its age. The hardtop comes complete with fender skirts and the continental kit.
"It has been repainted, and it does not have the original engine, but body-wise, never restored," he said.
Muench also started taking the '56 and display to car shows, and now has plenty of trophies that testify to not only the quality of the vehicle but also its popularity of the overall car hop display.
"At a car show, I always stay with the car because people want to ask a lot of questions. Because it's not only the car, but the display that goes along with it," he said.
The colour scheme 鈥� a rich metallic orange and ivory 鈥� reminded him of a certain burger joint that was also part of car culture so he started rounding up A&W merchandise a few years after buying the Merc and using it to create a unique display at car shows as a way to set his car apart from the rest. Over the years, A&W has sometimes even paid his car show entry fees and provided swag.
A&W's first Canadian location was in Winnipeg in 1956 and was for many years part of car culture. The restaurant used to have car hops, servers that would bring trays of food to people's cars. The trays fit onto the vehicle windows. Muench rounded up a tray at an antique store in Fort 91原创 and has sought out other related items, including signs. He did have to do some hunting to find the right mannequin. Most store mannequins are too tall, at about 6 feet. He found a vintage teen girl mannequin online and has it outfitted with A&W clothing, thanks to Darlene's skills (her passion is quilting) as well as with rollerskates. She's called Amie, and as recently as the recent Motors and Music car show at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, someone walked up to her and started talking to her about the Merc. It's a common occurrence.
He's rigged up old drive-in movie theatre speakers to play 1950s music, and at one time, put out a large picnic display, but at 85 and needing kidney dialysis daily, he's scaled back some. Still he remains a fan of 91原创's big charity show.
Muench started going to Cruise-In around 2005, and he's looking forward to going to this year's show with his trunk-load of memorabilia to set up his classic car hop display. Be sure and stop by to say 'hi 'to Amie.
