Cars were stars at ‘Super Wheels,’ Boston Cup shows

Boston Cup draws 25,000 to classic cars on the Common.

DRIVE IT HOME: Paul Breault won a NE Motor Press Association trophy for his ’65 Mustang fastback. It was the car that judges would “most like to drive home” from Boston’s City Hall Plaza.

By Bill Griffith

October 9, 2016

3 minutes to read

During this parched summer, many of us dreamed of waking up to the sound of rain drumming on the roof.

However, when that happened to Paul Mennett on the first of October, he wished he’d been dreaming.

His Super Wheels Showdown auto show was scheduled to start first thing that Saturday morning—rain or shine—at Boston’s City Hall Plaza.

Owners who drove their cars to the event would be facing many hours of cleaning road slop from their vehicles’ undercarriages afterwards. And many of the cars that would be arriving by trailer never see water. Instead, their owners use waterless washing products and detailing sprays on the finish.

Mennett, owner of the Cruisin’ New England shows and the NESN-TV show of the same name, knew it would be too much to expect all of the 60 registered cars to make it, but he hit the roads in the rain and wind and hoped for the best.

He wound up with nearly 50 cars and a group of owners who went all in for the day’s festivities.

Here are some of the award winners. Vehicle of the Year: Patrick Fletcher, Whitman, ’55 Chevy pickup. Cruiser of the Year: Albert and Pauline Iannone, Marieville, Quebec, ’51 Mercury. Participants’ Cup: E.M. Robinson, Crown Point, NY, ’32 Chevy Coach. Grundy Insurance Legend: Rick and Karen Santucci, Newton, Oldsmobile 4-4-2. Publisher’s Choice: Dane Turner, Waterville, VT, ’56 Chevy Nomad wagon. Majors Cup: Don Nicolls, Pelham, NH, ’55 Chevy.

There was a New England Motor Press Contingent on hand, too, with a modern-day hot rod—a 702-horsepower Dodge Hellcat—plus a judging assignment.

The NEMPA crew’s award is pretty simple: Our judging staff (OK, three warm bodies) had to agree on “the car we’d most like to drive home.”

Sounds simple, but there were a lot of cars we (or you) would have loved to drive home.

In the end, the award went to Paul Breault of Westford who drives his 1965 Mustang Fastback 2+2 all over New England every summer.

His Mustang has been restored, but it looks absolutely factory original with the basic 289-cubic inch V-8, 2-barrel carburetor, 3-speed manual transmission, and single exhaust.

“I bought the car from a friend of a friend in Mooresville, NC,” said Breault. “He got it from a neighbor. That gentleman died in his 90s, and his daughter, who was in her 70s, basically gave him a gift to get rid of the car.

“This fellow then started a rotisserie restoration (think of a car on a giant barbeque spit) and had it 80 percent finished when he decided to get married and sell off a few of his cars. He knew I was interested in this car so I got to finish the project.”

It was a big deal for Breault.

“I always dreamed of having a 1965 Mustang,” he said. “When I was a kid, a neighbor had a fastback he’d painted Plum Crazy [the Plymouth-Dodge muscle car purple]. I promised myself I’d own one someday.”

When he had a health scare about 10 years ago, Breault knew it was time to start looking.

Now, he said, “I try to do something every year to improve the car.”

Of course, there are setbacks.

“The car gets some road rash from driving so many highway miles,” he said, “and then there are some self-inflicted problems. I was at a show in Amesbury earlier this summer and had the Mustang floor mats on display beside the car. Then I got distracted and wound up driving off without them.”

For the record, he remembered last weekend’s trophy, adding it to a long line won by this car.

<h2>More Winners</h2>

The 5th Annual Boston Cup show on Boston Common (Sept. 25) featured an array of vehicles ranging from the old Red Sox bullpen cart—the one with a Sox cap as its roof—to $5 million Ferraris.

But most of all, it captured momentum as being an integral part of the Boston fabric, a fabulous show in a great venue.

Peter Bourassa, publisher of the MMR newsletter for aficionados of high-end motorcars, wrote last week:

“Held annually on the grounds of the oldest city park in the USA, The Boston Cup is unquestionably the best car show in America to offer free access to the citizens on whose common ground it is held. Further rebuffing the elite mystique that often accompanies such rare and beautiful cars, the winners are not chosen by marque-specific judges but by fellow competitors. This is definitely a by-the-people and for-the-people event.”

The event was blessed by perfect weather that drew an estimated 25,000 spectators.

Best of Show awards went to a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 owned by Bruce Male and to Peter Rhoads’ 1936 Cord 810.

Bill Griffith can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @MrAutoWriter.