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1909 wine-themed Ford Cab savored at benefit car show
By Sean Barron
BOARDMAN
Perhaps some people may have read the famous John Steinbeck novel “The Grapes of Wrath” while riding in a car, but it’s probable that few – with the exception of Joe Valerio – carry the grapes of wine on the side of their vehicle.
“I started with a pile of lumber and stainless steel. A friend of mine came up with some drawings on paper, then we worked on them, and I built the car,” the 75-year-old Campbell man and former wine salesman said in describing how he had taken more than two years to construct his vintage 1909 Ford C Cab vehicle from scratch.
It’s difficult to miss Valerio’s classic car with a 427-horsepower engine obviously because of its old custom look, but also because it carries a colorful, hand-painted mural, titled “The Wine Merchant” that depicts two wine goddesses holding grapevines. In the background is a rendering of Sonoma Valley, Calif., a major wine-producing area north of San Francisco that has hundreds of vineyards.
Valerio’s car was one of many such attractions that made up Sunday’s annual Bike and Car Festival at Wedgewood Fernando’s Pizza, 6200 South Ave. Proceeds from the fundraiser, which was interrupted by a heavy thunderstorm, are to benefit United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.
Much of the money will go toward the agency’s early-education efforts, including its Success By 6 and Success After 6 programs, noted Roxann Sebest, UW’s marketing director.
She did not mention a specific financial goal, however.
Success By 6, launched in 2009, is a four-week pre-kindergarten readiness program to better prepare youngsters before they start school and is offered in 18 school districts, Sebest explained.
The newer Success After 6 initiative is a pilot program to connect schools and community resources as a way of providing a greater emphasis on emotional and social development, health, social services and academics. It also offers tutoring and after-school support via the YMCA of Youngstown for students in kindergarten through grade three at the Youngstown Community School, according to the agency’s website.
Valerio, whose son spent seven or eight years participating in car races, explained that brass accessories are another theme of his vehicle. Specifically, his Ford, which he referred to as a “scratch-build automobile,” is equipped with brass headlights and taillights as well as a horn, radiator and other parts.
Valerio, who finished the car in 1979, added he patterned it after an early-1900s truck and built it mainly for show but also for everyday driving. Suffice it to say that it’s won more than a few fans.
“It is a whole ton of fun; it’s unforgettable,” his granddaughter, Taylor Valerio, said.
The show featured numerous stylish Harley Davidson and other motorcycles, along with vehicles such as a 1966 Buick Riviera, a blue 1964 two-door Comet Cyclone, a 1962 Ford Fairlane and a white 1964 Rambler that Todd Sherrod owns.
“It was the original car when we bought it,” recalled Sherrod, of Hermitage, Pa. “I completely redid it from the front end up.”
The vehicle has 60,316 miles and was built as a “straight axle,” meaning that it’s higher in the front, which allows for better traction and weight distribution, he explained. The car also sports a 440-horsepower Chrysler engine.
Sherrod finished working on the vehicle in 2000 after having bought it in Liberty Township from the original owner. He spent about two years remounting and equipping the Rambler with Chrysler parts, said Sherrod, who is a service manager for Ben Bissett Chevrolet in Mercer, Pa.
Nevertheless, the car’s interior maintains a certain level of originality that includes the dashboard and door panels, though Sherrod added carpeting and had the seats reupholstered.
The car and motorcycle show was a win-win also because the United Way continues to enjoy a solid partnership with Wedgewood Fernando’s Pizza, said Sebest.
“This is just another venue and crowd for us to get our name out there,” she said, adding: “We have a good relationship with Wedgewood. They help us out throughout the year.”