Deacon Pedro Sedano thought he’d led about every type of Catholic blessing, until his parish priest, Rev. Don Nevins, called with a last-minute request.
Sedano, a ordained minister at St. Francis of Assisi Church, had blessed new homes, apartments and businesses for many members of the Near West Side parish (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text).
But never old hot rods and vintage restorations.
“Fr. Don had to marry some people that day and couldn’t go himself, so he said, ‘Pedro, will you try to make it there for me?'”
So Deacon Sedano blessed 240 extremely cool rides parked in a lot at 718 W. Monroe St. for the Members Only Car Club’s 6th annual Car Show last month.
“I say they are a gift from God,” Sedano said of the cars. “Because God gives their owners the spirit and energy to save them. You want to save something old like these cars for your grandchildren, to show them.
“I was very emotional. I have friends with cars from the 1930s and 1950s. I had a 1979 [Cadillac] Coupe Deville for 21 years and now wish I had it back. I know how they feel.”
The Members Only Car Club ( www.membersonlycc.com) is 10 buddies who share a passion for vintage iron.
And like most car enthusiasts, they’re a social bunch. They’re in contact with other clubs. Put the word out about a custom car show. Set it in a convenient downtown Chicago location and see what happens.
“Ours was the first show by a private car club to be held in downtown Chicago,” said member Roberto Diaz, who’s spent eight years seriously tweaking a 1948 Buick Super and 1954 Chevy Bel Air. “We didn’t want a neighborhood show. We wanted to make it easy for people coming from Indiana and Michigan and Wisconsin.”
Enthusiasts came from all three of those states for the blessing, the first for the club. It plans to make this an annual event.
Showing off sweet frame-up restorations and swapping stories with other owners was secondary for the Members Only guys, who share a connection to St. Francis of Assisi.
The $10 registration fee per car, along with several truckloads of non-perishable food items, went to the parish at 813 W. Roosevelt Rd. “We wanted to do something for the church,” said Diaz. “We know the people and the good work they do in the community. I hope we can make this a yearly thing to help them out.”
There is no typical profile of the Members Only cars. No dominant style of restoration. Diaz said his colleagues each have different priorities and lifestyles. Makes sense because they, too, are varied — city workers, machinists, police officers, computer networkers and landlords.
Diaz added hydraulic suspension systems for raising and lowering his cars. He also likes flame paint jobs. His friend JaimeRodriguez takes another approach.
“My car is a 1951 Chevy Suburban,” Rodriguez said. “They’re very rare. You don’t see them. Most people don’t know the Suburbans started in 1935. They were called the Carryall then, but they were Suburbans. I bought mine from an old guy in Wyoming and brought it back here. The full restoration took two years. Just finding parts, I had to go to swap meets in other states.”
And Rodriguez did nothing radical. “My Suburban is stock. It’s a restoration.”
Rodriguez has been doing restorations for 10 years with the full backing of his wife. Diaz, however, is slightly more pragmatic about his wife.
“She likes the cars. They keep me in the garage,” he said, laughing. “She also knows these cars are a valuable investment. If we ever had financial problems, we could flip one of the cars.
“But to me this is more than a hobby. It’s a lifestyle.”
