Car fans 'Thunder'-struck

Husband and wife Stewart and Diane Barnett of Moncks Corner leaned back in lawn chairs to grab a little shade next to their 1964 Ford Mustang while spectators checked out the car, displayed at the annual Street Thunder car show last Saturday.

Barnett said it took him six years to restore the coupe — "parts, wires, everything." Diane added an extra touch: a drive-in tray hooked to the driver's window, complete with a plastic Coke and hamburger.

"That's my idea. It's from the older days (of drive-ins)," she said.

"A&W (drive-ins), especially," he chimed in.

In an event that gets bigger every year, dozens of Camaros and Corvettes, Mustangs and street rods, muscle cars and tuners, motorcycles and trikes, big trucks and a hyper-suspension sedan balanced on two wheels, crowded the Street Thunder show between Texas Roadhouse and the Super Kmart on Rivers Avenue.

Up to 350 vehicles turned out, so many that PT Cruisers and various trucks parked on grass rather than the asphalt parking lot. Along with the car owners, hundreds of people perused row after row of vehicles grouped in more than two dozen categories.

"It's very organized," Diane Barnett said.

"We try every year to accommodate more people," said Kim Sheldon, president of the sponsor, Coastal Carolina Corvette Club. Proceeds go to Lowcountry Orphan Relief.

"We had an excellent turnout of Corvettes," Sheldon said. But the Chevy speedster made up just a portion of the entries.

Doug and Barbara Curry of Summerville brought a 2007 Rolls-Royce Phantom, complete with two jars of Grey Poupon mustard on the front and rear seat rests, a play on the old TV commercial in which one Rolls owner lowers his window to ask another, "Do you have any Grey Poupon?"

"It's a great model," said Curry, noting the V-12, 460-hp engine. The interior, meanwhile, has lamb's wool seats.

"That's what I like," Barbara Curry said.

Andy Harris of Goose Creek entered in the trike category with a three-wheeler that has a Harley-Davidson front, Volkswagen seats and 1.9-liter engine.

The vehicle has a clutch pedal, and gears are adjusted on the bike handle. The hardest part was lining up the transmission to fit a bike and a car. "That was an absolute nightmare," he said.

Still, Harris said he's pleased with the result, especially the performance. "It will fly," he said.

Reach Jim Parker at 937-5542 or jparker@postandcourier.com.