Johannesburg - Paulo Calisto, convenor of the Classic Car Show, is a petrol-head to the bone.
He's seen his brainchild, which started off as a carpark show-and-shine three years ago (that pulled more than 300 cars!) grow into Gauteng's biggest classic-car event.
His secret? Pulling together the purists and the customisers by getting them to see that each discipline requires just as much blood, sweat and tears as the other, that re-shaping a 60-year-old wreck into a rolling work of art that actually works is no less an effort than restoring the same car to the condition in which it left the factory.
Because, deep down, we all love fine machinery, painstakingly created or re-created, and we can appreciate the effort that's gone into it even it it's not really our style.
And now Calisto is set to shake up the establishment again, by inviting bikers - classical purists and customisers alike - to bring their bling to the 2014 Classic Car Show in association with Rolling Thunder on 7 December at Nasrec.
‘PETROL-HEAD-ONISM’
"Classic bikes and cars, street rods and custom bikes are all part of the movement we call 'petrol-head-onism'," he says. "So we've invited all the mainstream motorcycle clubs, as well as the Vintage Motorcycle club and the Classic Motorcycle club, to shine up, show and party.
"Come and drool over acres of lovingly polished sheet metal, while the car guys go nuts over the jewel-like precision engineering of the superbikes, the incredible detail work on the custom cruisers and the purity of the classic machines from the days before electric starts, disc brakes and fuel-injection."
There will also be more than 100 stalls selling automotive bits and pieces, live rock music, helicopter rides at R150 atime, a special play area for petrol-heads in training and, of course, plenty to eat and drink.
Calisto believes that this mix of old school and street cred will be a first for Gauteng and set a trend for future shows.
"It's all about checking out each other's toys," he says. "The secret of these shows is the common passion that unites all petrol-heads; it's a great way to meet new people, people who understand the way you think, the way you see things.
And if you're new to the scene, once the bug bites you may end up owning a classic machine sooner than you think - it's addictive."
For more information visit the Classic Cars website , call Paulo Calisto on 082-497-7218 or show publicist Stuart Johnston on 083 450 9255.