Most people don't buy their cars at yard sales, but that's exactly where Nancy Carter found her most prized possession three years ago.

"I had been looking for a car," Carter, from Crothersville, said. "I never dreamed I'd find something like this, especially at a yard sale. I just lucked out."

Instead of an old, beat-up clunker someone was trying to get rid of, Carter happened upon a fully restored 1973 Mustang convertible.

"I had always wanted a Mustang since my aunt had a '65," she said at Saturday's Cars & Guitars Cruz-in in downtown Seymour.

Shelling out $15,000, Carter drove the car home and dubbed it "Sweetness."

Since then, Carter has become a regular at area car shows, and if you think she only knows that her ride looks good, think again.

"I do all my own detailing," she said. "You want to know what kind of engine's in there, just ask," she said.

She hasn't lost a judged show yet.

"My husband says I spend more time with the car than I do with him," she said, laughing. "He's probably right."

On Saturday, Carter displayed her ride in the fifth annual Cars & Guitars Cruz-in in downtown Seymour. The popular show brought in more than 300 entries of all makes and models, with participants coming from all over the state as well as from Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan.

After the show, visitors packed a portion of Chestnut Street to hear Terry Lee and the Rockaboogie Band. Lee pleased young and old with his ivory tickling and Jerry Lee Lewis-esque antics. This was the second year for Lee and his band to perform.

Diana King, president of the Cars and Guitars Committee, said she was worried with the ongoing recession that this year's show wouldn't be as good as past years.

"I thought this would be the hardest year yet because of the economy," she said. "But it has been the best one."

The show raises money to benefit physically challenged children in the community.

"There is always a need for more when it comes to physically challenged children," she said. "We can never have enough for them."

In the first year, the committee spent proceeds from the show to buy specially designed touch-screen computers for students at Seymour Community Schools.

The next year, the group started raising money for its current project, a handicapped-accessible playground at Shields Park. A ribbon-cutting for the playground was held June 15, but because of the cost, it's not finished.

"Right now there is just mulch around the equipment, but we are saving to purchase ramps and special material to put down so children in wheelchairs will be able to use it," she said.

She also said she would like to see some money be used to buy park benches to put around the new equipment for parents and grandparents to use while children play.

"We still need about $30,000 to finish it up," she said.
In four years, the show has raised around $40,000 for the playground.

King said the car show has been such a success because of community support.

"Everyone has really got behind this project," she said. "We had more than $17,000 in door prizes that were donated by local businesses. We couldn't do it without the help of all the businesses, the volunteers, our committee and everyone who shows up."

Vicki Trimpe of Seymour was happy to be a part of the show. Sitting with the Hoosier Mustang Club, Trimpe swapped stories about cars with other Mustang enthusiasts.

"My husband Bill and I bought it about 30 years ago and at that time it was my car," Trimpe said of the Spring Time Yellow 1965 Mustang Fastback. "I used to tote the kids back and forth to school in it, but it didn't look as nice back then."

Since then, the Trimpes have invested a lot of money and time into having the car restored to its original condition.

"To us it's priceless," she said. "We would never sell it. Every time he shows it, it takes first place in its class."

This was the first year for the Trimpes to participate in Cars & Guitars.

"I really like it because it's well organized and there are a lot of great cars here," she said of the show. "And it's not a judged show, which is great because it lets people just come together to have a good time and share their passion."

For Jon and Laura Stahl of Seymour, that passion is Volkswagens.

The couple entered two cars in the show, the first a 1961 Volkswagen ragtop and the other, a specially made hot rod, featuring a Volkswagen engine on a fiberglass replica of a 1923 Ford chassis.

"I bought it because it was unique," Jon said.

This wasn't the first year for the Stahls to display their cars.

"We brought both of them last year," Jon said. "We've known the Colglaziers and the Kings for a long time. We've all been car nuts as long as I can remember."

Dan and Alicia Colglazier, Gary and Carolyn Colglazier and Mark and Diana King, along with parks and recreation director Jeff Vance, make up the Cars and Guitars Committee.

Stahl said he thought the show was not only good for car enthusiasts but for the community.

"It's a good show for a good cause," he said.