Vintage cars more than a hobby for some owners
BY JAY BODAS
Staff Writer

JAY BODAS The Muppets take Metuchen at the 2005 Antique Car Cruise Night; the vehicle’s owner, Shag Roszits, of Rahway, was given the Muppet Animal as a gift from a neighbor because the taxi reminded her of the Muppets’ famous movie.

METUCHEN — For Mickey Estok, of Perth Amboy, rebuilding classic cars is not just something he does in his spare time.

“It is a labor of love,” Estok said. “I do it because it is my therapy and my hobby.”

Last week, Main Street was the site of the 2005 Antique Car Cruise Nights. The event is held on the first Wednesday evening each month over the summer, when owners of classic cars come from all over the county to show off their vintage vehicles.

“I have been working on my car, a 1950 Memphis-built Ford with a Mercury motor, for three-and-a-half years,” Estok said. “I bought it originally because it was identical to a car I had in high school, and I wanted to rebuild it. I redid the paint, the chrome and all the electrical.”

Their reasons ranged from the practical to the artistic. Piscataway resident Wayne Scott’s patriotism inspired him to rebuild a 1998 red Corvette with a Sept. 11 theme, complete with a U.S. flag design on the seats and an image of an eagle underneath the hood.

“I have always been patriotic my whole life, and I used to be in the Navy,” Scott said. “I spent four years working on the Corvette and just finished it two nights ago, as it is now more than 99 percent done. I have invested something in the mid-$30,000 range into it, which is more than the initial cost of the car.”

For another car enthusiast, the inspiration was a children’s movie.

“My neighbor told me my car reminded her of the taxi the Muppets used in their movie, ‘The Muppets Take Manhattan,” said Shag Roszits, of Rahway. He showed off his 1954 Chevy yellow cab, which he is interested in selling.

“She gave me the first Muppet, which was Animal, and I bought the rest of the Muppets at the shore at Seaside,” he said. “I drive it all over the place, to all the shows in Woodbridge and Somerville, and everyone loves the car, especially the kids.”

Metuchen resident Philip Salkie also bought his car already finished, but he had a more practical reason in mind.

“Five years ago for $12,000 I bought a Sparrow electric vehicle made by Myers Motors, and it runs totally on electric charge, getting 40 miles to the charge,” Salkie said. “It takes about five hours for it to fully charge, and I plug it right into a regular wall outlet. I like the idea of an electric vehicle. Part of it is the toy fact of it, and part of it is about being environmentally conscious. It definitely saves me money too.”

The Sparrow has a top speed of 100 mph and is only the 41st vehicle of its kind ever assembled.

Salkie has used the all-electric vehicle on his daily commute.

“I used to drive it 36 miles one way to work, plug it in the office, and then drive it back home,” he said. “I used to do this for years. Right now, it is not air-conditioned, but there are thermoelectric cooling devices that I am playing around with to create an air-conditioning system for it.”

The Sparrow, with two wheels in front and a single wheel in the back, is technically considered a motorcycle.

“There are states where you would be required to wear a helmet and have a motor cycle endorsement because the vehicle is federally recognized as a motorcycle and allowed to go into HOV lanes,” Salkie said.

It is insured as a motorcycle for just $180 a year, he said.

But for Estok, who has been a regular at the Metuchen car show for the last three years, the motivation for rebuilding classic cars is a reward unto itself.”

“I have always worked on cars, and you never really make money on them,” he said. “Everything from the paint to the engine is so expensive, I have invested $28,000 into my car, but I am now selling it for a lot less than that, for $23,500. I want to use the money to start work on my next car.”

Cars will be on display again on Sept. 7 from 6 - 9 p.m. on Main Street.

For more information about Mickey Estok’s 1950 Ford, please call (732) 826-5737. For information about Shag Roszits’ 1954 Chevrolet, please call (732) 382-2139.