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Community Corner

1937 Coupe Cruisers from Southern California Reach a Must-See Event

The pair, who said the Woodward Dream Cruise had been on their bucket list for years, found themselves at the Hunter House on their first day in Michigan Monday.

For Metro Detroiters, the 17th annual Woodward Dream Cruise is a late summer ritual somewhere on the spectrum between enjoyment and endurance. But for hard-core car buffs from elsewhere, it's a Big Deal.

"It was on our bucket list," says Barbara Jane Block of Cypress, CA, a first-timer who rolled in Monday with husband Dick and his impressively-restored orange 1937 Ford Coupe.

"We've been reading about it for years," he adds, referring to spreads in Rod and Custom, Street Rodder and Street Scene magazine. Two years ago, for example, Street Rodder called the Dream Cruise "a monster event."

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So for the pair, the Dream Cruise moved from dream destination to reality — part of a four-month meander from various classic car events across the country. "We're cruisin' in the coupe," says Dick Block, sitting outside on Woodward in Birmingham, 2,300 miles from home. "We enjoy the fun of going places we've never been."

The 65-year-old retirees plan to spend 10 days in southeast Michigan, also hitting a Flint cruise Sunday and visiting tourist attractions — "going wherever we feel," as he puts it.

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Their highway ride and lodging is a Country Coach RV, which tows the eye-catching classic cruiser acquired in 2005. The 74-year-old Ford — "all original steel," Block notes — was repainted bright orange by the Orange County owner, a mechanic who relies on mail-order parts to keep it road-ready. "He's got a lot of catalogues," said his wife of 41 years.              

Modern amenities include air conditioning, a 10-CD changer ("every disc is an oldie and goodie") and a 10x10 rain canopy in the trunk. During events, a four-foot-wide boom box sometimes faces out from the open trunk.

"Never grow up," says the trim, buoyant car collector, who also owns a GT Mustang, a Shelby Cobra replica built from a kit and two Jeeps.

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