Ed Horvath, left, checks out a 1949 Citroen at the Thorold Car Show. Also pictured are Sun Collision car detailer Tim Michaud and a 1981 Ferrari 308 GTSi.

The one thing car people all have in common is they don't mind getting their hands dirty, Ted Staples said.

The other thing is they are willing to wait nearly a lifetime to build their dream.

Staples, who showed his restored 1957 Chevy pick-up truck at the Thorold Car Show on Saturday, said from the time he was 16 he was interested in cars.

Restoring cars was "something I always wanted to do when I was working and raising a family," Staples said, but it wasn't until he retired from the nickel plant in Port Colborne that he had the time and money to invest in cars.

Gordon Gillespie spotted a 1958 Ford Edsel when he was 11 years old and since that time he has always wanted one. Gillespie took home the Mayor's Choice Award for his Edsel, a car he restored that is the same colour as the one he saw when he was young.

Becky Day, community relations co-ordinator for the Business Improvement Association, said the fifth annual car show brings back memories for a lot of people.

"A lot of people see cars they used to own, or were around when they were younger," Day said.

She said she always hears a lot of people say, "Oh if I would have kept it I would have a collector."

Day, who organizes the event, said it grows every year. Averaging about 120 cars on Saturday, Day said cars come from all over the region and across Ontario.

The event brings exposure and business to the Front Street stores.

"The biggest link is the history; it brings the city back to the way it was," Day said.

But Tim Michaud, a detailer at Sun Collision in Thorold, said some things have changed.

He was looking after seven cars at the car show, from a 1949 Citroen to a 1981 308 Ferrari GTSi, and said while cars used to be made out of steel, now they are made out of fiberglass.

"They don't made 'em like they used to," Michaud said.