Hampton couple’s vintage car makes headlines in UK magazine

A Hampton couple’s Ameri-can classic recently grabbed international headlines.

Jeff and Tracy Spear’s 1957 Chevy 210 “Cherry Bomb,” a mainstay at local and national car shows, was featured in the June issue of the United Kingdom-based “American Classics” magazine, which highlights efforts of individuals who restore and preserve classic cars.

The multi-page spread details the Spears’ acquisition of the vehicle, the restoration process and their love of tour-ing the car at automotive shows throughout the country.

Jeff Spear said the process for the article began at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas last November. Graham Heeps, who wrote the article, approached the Spears and expressed his interest in Cherry Bomb, which the Spears had on display at the show. Heeps took some photos and chatted with Jeff and Tracy about the vehicle, mentioning that it would be featured in the magazine at a later date. After the show, Heeps emailed Jeff, asking for additional information as well as photos of the restoration process.

Finally, nearly half a year after the car show, the Spears received notice that Cherry Bomb and its story would grace the pages of the magazine. Jeff said they have a digital copy of the article and are waiting on hard copies to arrive in the mail, however, he said he was impressed by the focus on the restoration process and the amount of pictures dedicated to the vehicle before it received its signature, sparkling red paint and vivid graphics.

“A lot of times in magazine articles, all you ever see are pictures of the side, the front and the interior,” he said. “This has pictures of when we first got the car, pictures of Mary and Roy (Christenson, owners of Roy’s Paint and Performance) working on it, lettering it and polishing the blower. Stuff like that makes it more real.”

Jeff said he was not familiar with the publication prior to Heeps introducing himself, but since the interaction, he has become im-pressed with the magazine's dedication to American muscle cars and people who strive to preserve that part of history.

“You can tell by the cover, they really like American cars,” he said. “Almost everything they do is out of the United States.”

Spear said Heeps’ interest in the vehicle and using his platform to spread the interest of classic American cars to a different country is the beauty of car shows. Throughout their touring experiences, the Spears have come to learn that American classics are an international sensation.

“You get people from all over that come to these big-ger, national shows,” he said. “We’ve met people from Australia and places like that that ship their cars here so they can be a part of those shows.”

Spear said the chance to share Cherry Bomb’s story on such a wide scale is an honor and that he hopes their passion for classic cars inspires a new audience to give “expired” vehicles a second look.

“It’s really exciting to take something that could’ve easily been in the junkyard and make it something that is worthy enough to be in a Las Vegas car show,” he said. “I hope this gives them that boost of confidence that if this guy can do that, I can do that.”