Marine Corps Base Quantico -- It was overcast and drizzly, and several participants in the fourth annual MCB Quantico Car Show brought pop-up tents to cover their vehicles, but Sgt. Kyle Burks wasn’t worried about his 2005 Dodge SRT-4.
“I’ve spent the past three days putting wax on it,” he said. His daughter helped him wipe down the car and arranged her yellow stuffed dog on top of its gleaming open engine.
Burks’ vehicle was one of 65 pre-registered in show, which was held Saturday in Daly Hall parking lot.
“We’ve got cars from 1953 up to 2016 registered today,” said Joey Miranda, youth programs director for MCB Quantico.
Miranda’s office organizes the car show with the support of the base Auto Skills Shop. Mike Cushman, manager of the shop, said it’s a facility where Marines can perform maintenance on their cars.
“The base will not let them work on their vehicles outside, so we provide a safe, clean working environment for them,” Cushman explained. There is a daily rental fee to use the facility, and all tools are included.
There were no requirements for entering the car show, said Miranda.
“30 percent of the cars belong to active duty Marines, but you don’t even have to be affiliated with the Marine Corps to enter,” she said.
Vehicles could win in the following categories: Overall Favorite, Most Outrageous, The Motivator, Favorite Import, Favorite Truck, Favorite Engine, Favorite Pre-1964, Favorite 1964-72, Favorite 1973-2004, and Favorite Post-2004. Sgt. Maj. Thomas L. Johnson of H&S Battalion presented a special award to his favorite car belonging to an active duty Marine, which went to Gunnery Sgt. James Skaine, HMX, and his 2008 Corvette Z06. Skaine’s Corvette also won Overall Favorite.
One of the oldest cars there, and the winner of the Favorite Pre-1964 award, was a red-and-white 1958 Chevy with 132,000 miles on it. It belongs to Bill Musseman, who bought it from a Stafford man who’d had it sitting in his garage for 15 years.
“It was in not-good condition – mediocre at best,” Musseman said.
Musseman estimates that he’s put in several hundred hours restoring the vehicle, including working on the suspension, putting in a new engine and breaks, rewiring, and doing body work.
“I’m only 25 percent done,” he said. “This isn’t my first restoration job but it will be my last!”
One of the most personal vehicles was Sgt. Daniel Musgrove’s white 2005 Scion TC. Musgrove had spent 11 hours decorating the car with intricate designs that he drew freehand with a black Sharpie pen. His vehicle won for Favorite Engine.
Perhaps the car that had traveled the furthest was a cobalt 2014 Ford Mustang GT that owner Frederikke Lysgaard drove from Florida to the show. Her husband, Asbjorn, is with the Norwegian Special Forces training at OCS at Quantico.
Lysgaard said she really wanted an American muscle car.
“Life’s too short to drive boring cars!” she said. (Headline)
The Lysgaards, who are Norwegian, will have to sell the car when they return to Europe next year. Frederikke Lysgaard gets emotional when she thinks about selling “her baby.” The vehicle won the car show’s Kids Choice award.
The car show was held in conjunction with the second annual Front Porch Series, an initiative that was founded a year ago by Bonnie Amos, wife of former commandant Gen. James Amos.
“The goal is to promote volunteerism on base and in the local community,” explained Joyce Murphy, Family Readiness Program Manager. “We want to encourage families on base to get out of their homes and into the community.”
Approximately 20 organizations set up tables in Little Hall to introduce families to the wealth of ways they can get involved locally. Participating organizations included the Prince William Park Service, Habitat for Humanity, the Semper Fi Funds, the MCB Quantico Early Intervention program, the Girl Scouts, and the Marine Corps Marathon.
Many families came to see the car show but went into Little Hall to escape from the drizzle, where an array of kid’s activities awaited. The art education organization Abrakadoodle set up a finger-painting station and the Early Intervention program set out musical instruments made from household objects for kids to experiment with.
Tiffany Cange came to visit her daughter, who was volunteering, but stayed to watch her sons, nine and five, rocking out on the coffee tin drums and plastic bottle shakers.
“I think we have a great community here on base,” she said.
— Writer: auphausconner@quanticosentryonline.com