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Last Flings of the Season for a Fuzzy Dice Fraternity

24.10.2006

HAVING hired a baby sitter to watch their three sons, Rich and Sharon Peterson were looking forward to doing something a little different one Saturday last month. Instead of driving to their regular cruise night — an informal gathering of enthusiasts and cars of all vintages — at the Whiskey Cafe here, they would drive to a midnight cruise in Lebanon, N.J., about 50 miles away.

Mr. Peterson had washed and waxed the couple’s forest-green 1998 Ford Mustang convertible at their home in River Edge. Then a friend called with bad news: the midnight cruise had been cancelled. Rain was in the late-night forecast.

A change of plans caused by weather is nothing unusual in an East Coast summer, but with fall approaching and the season for enjoying classic cars waning, the disappointment was more keenly felt. It is not just a missed opportunity to enjoy a much-fussed-over vehicle; there is also the reluctance to give up an evening among like-minded friends. In another month or so, the cars will be parked until spring.

But the sitter was still coming and the sky was still sunny. Not wanting to waste a perfectly good wash-and-wax job, the Petersons decided there was a way to save the night: head to the Whiskey Cafe after all.

By 5:15 p.m., the Petersons had pulled into the parking lot after stopping to make a $1 donation, and had parked the Mustang in a row of about 10 others belonging to fellow members of the Garden State Region Mustang Club. The Whiskey Cafe parking lot smelled a lot like car wax.

“Got to get here early, or you end up in no-man’s land,” Mr. Peterson said, gesturing toward a forlorn parking lot at least 500 feet away.

On a clear night in late summer, the cruise night can draw more than 1,000 cars, regular participants say. Turnouts are high at the end of season in part because fewer owners are away on vacation.

Detroit muscle cars, buffed to lustrous sheens, make up a large percentage of cars in the parking lot, but even so the diversity is impressive, including everything from antiques like Model A Fords to nearly new “pocket rocket” imports. Thunderbirds and Corvettes cluster with their kind; authentic hot rods are scattered among 50’s-style customs complete with fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror; a wildly modified pickup may be parked right alongside a retired Checker taxicab.

The threat of rain on this night had cut the turnout, however.

The Petersons did not seem to care. They have been coming to the parking lot, tucked behind two nondescript office buildings off Route 17 not far from Giants Stadium, for nearly eight years. The American Cruisers car club organizes this gathering, held each Saturday from May through October.

There are off-season activities for enthusiasts feeling the symptoms of withdrawal. Members of the cruisers club meet on the first Wednesday of each month in Moonachie. They also hold a Christmas party for members at a rented hall. But the cruises take up most of their time.

“We’re trying to capture a little bit of our past — and never grow up,” the club’s president, Don Nardozza, said.

A cruise night sounds downright old-fashioned, like something out of “Happy Days” or “American Graffiti.” But that is the idea, to recreate the spontaneous cruises that once gathered at burger joints and ice cream shops. Cars are to show off and to talk about. Most cruisers are weekly regulars.

“We’re trying to justify what we spent on our cars. It doesn’t always work,” said Jim Signorelli of Maywood, N.J., a friend of the Petersons who owns a 1993 Mustang Cobra.

Car talk dominates at a cruise night because there is, well, not that much else to do. The cars do not literally cruise around a parking lot — only in, then out. A raffle drawing is the drama of the night. Die-cast models and hot dogs are for sale.

The Petersons stood at the front of their car, chatting with other owners. Later, they would have dinner with a half-dozen cruisers at the Whiskey Cafe, where customers enjoy burgers, beer and dancing. Despite the 50’s vibe, no one wore a poodle skirt.

Usually, Mr. Peterson, 43, brings his powder-blue 1971 Mercury Cougar convertible, a corporate cousin of the Mustang, and talks with interested spectators and other club members. His wife usually arrives a little later in the Mustang with their boys — Richie, 11; Michael, 9; and Mark, 5.

“They get bored after a while,” Mrs. Peterson, 38, said. “It’s a tough age for them.”

The couple, deeply loyal to Ford vehicles, also own a 2006 F150 pickup and a 2006 Expedition, neither of which is suitable for a cruise night. The Petersons also own a 1969 Mustang convertible that is being restored.

“It was so rusty, the steering wheel fell out of the cowl,” said Mr. Peterson, who works at A & F Auto Body in Rochelle Park. Friends who visited him at work gave him his nickname, Dusty, which is also on the Cougar’s license plate because he is so often covered with the fine powder of body repair.

The Petersons learned of the Saturday cruises from a cousin, Jim Calise, a gregarious, goateed man who is vice president of the American Cruisers. Club officials hand out trophies to owners of the cars they like. The limit is one trophy a year for each car.

“You meet a lot of interesting people,” Mr. Calise said. “There was a guy who used to come here dressed up like Elvis. World’s worst.”

Doo-wop music plays loudly over speakers in a corner of the parking lot, eliminating the need for visitors to blast a stereo. The scene looks like a football tailgating party, only toned down. The cruises wrap up not long after sundown.

Each car has a story, which the owner will be only too happy to tell anyone who asks. Mr. Peterson inherited his Cougar from an uncle. He says he has spent $8,000 to bring it from a rusty hulk to a sharp weekend car, and did the body repairs himself.

Mrs. Peterson drives the ’98 Mustang to work every day. Her husband installed a third safety belt in the middle of the backseat so that all three boys can enjoy a ride in a convertible. He added wheels from a Mustang Mach 1 model (her idea) and installed dual exhaust pipes (his idea).

“Gives it a little rumble,” he said.

“He actually bought it for himself,” Mrs. Peterson said, rolling her eyes.

The car has 53,000 miles on it. Even though the Petersons have won two awards at national Mustang collectors’ shows, the car is not worth as much as muscle cars from earlier eras. It has a six-cylinder engine and an automatic transmission.

“She can’t drive stick,” Mr. Peterson said as his wife smiled bashfully. “I tried to teach her. It didn’t turn out too well.”

The Garden State Region Mustang Club, which has more than 170 members, welcomed them with open arms. Mrs. Peterson likes the club because its activities are family-oriented; members watch out for one another’s children when they attend events.

The Petersons say the cruises are fun. They have made many friends, and to offset the cost of their hobby, the Petersons barter with others at the cruises for parts and service.

After two hours, raindrops began to spot the Mustang. The convertible roof went up, but the group stood in the soft rain and kept chatting. Classic cars are not supposed to get wet, but no one went home.

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