Father-daughter duo display classic restorations at car show

     The pride of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Rod & Custom Car Show this year in Monticello was a 1953 Maverick Sportster, restored and owned by Tom Chandler of Elkader, Iowa.

     The retired band director calls himself a “hobbiest.” He does not restore classic cars for money, but for fun.

     Tom’s classic cars have been on display at the car show for four years now. He attended the show just once before being asked to bring one of his own.

     Feb. 27 and 28 in Monticello was the first public showing of Tom’s ’53 Maverick. He was supposed to be at a classic car show in Florida the same weekend, but the event was postponed until May due to the pandemic. So, Monticello, Iowa, was lucky that he was willing and able to be here for the car show.

     Tom is quite the collector of rare and unique classic cars. In fact, he shares something in common with another car enthusiast, former late-night talk show host and comedian Jay Leno.

     In 2014, Tom happened to be traveling to California and received the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to tour Leno’s famed garage and actually meet the man himself.

     “He wasn’t a comedian or a celebrity,” Tom said upon meeting Leno. “He was a car guy.”

     Both Leno and Tom own a 1954 Bristol, a rare British car.

     When Leno heard that Tom also owned the Bristol, he couldn’t believe it.

     “He knew of no others in the country who had one,” Tom said. “He didn’t believe that people in Iowa had cars like this.”

     Tom built a “pretty good hobby shop” on his property in Elkader.

     His interest in classic cars started in the early-1960s.

     “I had the money to spend on this,” he said of his expensive hobby. And Tom will also tell you that public school teachers don’t make a whole heck of a lot of money, either.

     In 1964, Tom spotted a car he knew he had to have one day, a 1927 French Derby. Five owners and 30 years later, Tom finally brought the car home in the early-1990s.

     Tom took home the overall “People’s Choice” Award at the O’Reilly Car Show in Monticello.

     And now Tom’s fascination and interest in classic vehicles has trickled down to his daughter, Kate Chandler, of New Virginia, Iowa.

     Kate also brought her work with her to the O’Reilly Car Show: A 1963 Willys Overland Station Wagon. However, unlike her father, Kate uses this car as her every-day vehicle, not just something to display.

     As Kate tells it, she was looking for a replacement vehicle, something big enough to haul her art materials. So, she went from an old Toyota pickup to the Willys.

     And, with some assistance from her dad and long-time family friend Del Reimer, Kate restored the Willys all on her own, complete with modern equipment.

     The body is a 1963 Willys, but the running gear is from a 1997 Chevy S-10 with a V6 motor.

     “I wanted something reliable,” she said of adding the S-10, “something comfortable and modern.”

     Together, Kate, Tom and Del did the body work, frame alteration, paint, upholstery, and interior work. Kate, being the artist that she is, actually designed the paint colors for the exterior herself.

     “It was a fun project,” she said.

     Car enthusiasts might cringe at this, but Kate drives this car on a daily basis, up and down a gravel road, no less.

     “It’s not a show car,” she said with a laugh, noting that this is the second car show she’s brought it to.

     The Willys includes all the latest modern amenities, too: heat and AC, rear defrost, a cell phone dock in front for easy charging, backup lights, heated seats, remote door locks, USB charging stations, cruise control, and enhanced interior lighting.

     “I like learning to fix things myself,” she said of taking on the project.