Corvettes cruise to Oley fairgrounds for 44th annual “In-Vette-Tational”

Tom Biltcliff knew he wanted his 1971 Corvette 10 years before a chance encounter saw him walk away with the keys.

“Back in ’79 I used to work on this farm (in Kutztown),” Biltcliff said. “The farmer’s son brought (a Corvette) home. He gave me a ride; I thought it was pretty neat.”

About 10 years after leaving the farm, Biltcliff, of Topton, ran into the farmer again.

“I said ‘”Hey, does Doug still have that Corvette?”’ Biltcliff said.

That encounter led Biltcliff to a place where so many legendary car sagas begin—the dusty corner of a barn.

What he found in that corner was a fully optioned ‘Vette equipped with the 454-cubic-inch turbo jet V8 engine—the same car that sparked his love for Corvettes 10 years prior.

Tom Biltcliff of Topton displays his barn find 1971 Corvette during the 44th annual In-Vette-Tational Car Show sponsored by the Skyline Drive Corvette Club on Saturday at the Oley Fire Company Fairgrounds. He holds the original steering wheel that had been gnawed on by mice. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)

“We opened the glove box and all the original paperwork was there, which is like a gold mine when you find these kinds of cars,” Biltcliff said.

The car needed some love—mice had made their home in the car’s wiring, and gnawed through other parts, like the steering wheel.

Tom Biltcliff of Topton displays his barn find 1971 Corvette during the 44th annual In-Vette-Tational Car Show sponsored by the Skyline Drive Corvette Club on Saturday at the Oley Fire Company Fairgrounds. He holds the original steering wheel that had been gnawed on by mice. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)

“I had it completely stripped down to bare fiberglass,” Biltcliff said. “Every fiberglass seam has been redone and then I had it repainted.”

32 years, 19,000 miles and one full restoration later, and the car still glistens like new.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Biltcliff said. “Everyone said I would have to sell it when I got married…my wife said, ‘you don’t sell that car, because I know what it means to you…I’ve known ‘her’ before I met with my wife.”

Biltcliff’s Corvette was one of dozens on display Saturday at the Skyline Drive Corvette Club’s 44th annual In-Vette-Tational Car and Truck Show at the Oley Fire Company Fairgrounds.

Although their cars varied widely by years, models, aftermarket mods, and more, Corvette owners at the show all seemed to share an enduring love for the ‘Vette community.

“I come to shows not to win a prize, I come to talk to people about cars,” Biltcliff said. “It came full circle when my son was about six or seven years old, I could sit back on my chair, and he could tell my story.”

Barry Goodhart, of North Heidelberg Township., also had a Corvette story—one spanning over 60 years.

Goodhart said he bought his 1960 Corvette in 1962.

“My four daughters learned to drive on it,” Goodhart said. “I still drive it all the time…We do parades, ice cream runs…It’s not a museum piece.”

He said he used to take his kids for rides in the car when they were growing up.

“Kids could sit in the back, jump around, sometimes you had problems, most of the time you just had fun,” Goodhart said. “The kids had a great time.”

Goodhart’s ride was one half of the event’s flagship display, the other being a “Riptide Blue” 2024 Z51 Corvette owned by Mickey and Lucy Fink of Lower Alsace Township.

Mickey and Lucy Fink of Pennside stand with their 2024 Corvette Z51 next to Barry Goodhart of North Heidelberg Township, a 1964 charter member of the Skyline Drive Corvette Club, with his 1960 Corvette C1 Generation during the 44th annual In-Vette-Tational Car Show sponsored by the Skyline Drive Corvette Club on Saturday at the Oley Fire Company Fairgrounds. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)

The display, like the event itself, intended to show the full range of the Corvette legacy, and its evolution from classic cruiser to streamlined supercar.

Although he currently drives the most modern, souped-up version, Mickey Fink’s love affair with Corvettes also started decades ago.

“I first got into Corvettes when I was 16, I had a ’67 brand new Corvette,” Mickey Fink said.

Mickey Fink said he’s been buying newer Corvettes since getting back into cars in his later years.

“I love cars, I’ve been a car person my whole life,” Mickey Fink said. “To me it was about making money and getting to a better place in life. I just climbed the ladder and finally made it there…I never really had a new car except when I was 16 years old.”

Fink’s Corvette experience as a 16-year-old was short lived—he said he only had it 9 months.

“I got a speeding ticket, the insurance went to like $500,” Fink said with a laugh. “This was 50 years ago, we couldn’t afford it so we had to sell.”

Fink said he plans to get a 2025 Stingray when it comes out, colored “Hysteria Purple” just like the 2008 Dodge Viper he used to have.

Saturday’s show also featured other cars, from several generations of modern Mustangs, to classic antiques like a 1957 Lincoln Premiere Coupe polished to a slick, black sheen.

Lee Caleen of Bechtelsville sits behind the wheel of his 1957 Lincoln Premiere Coupe during the 44th annual In-Vette-Tational Car Show sponsored by the Skyline Drive Corvette Club on Saturday at the Oley Fire Company Fairgrounds. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)

Lee Caleen of Bechtelsville. said he bought the car in the 1990s while on the hunt for a car from his graduation year, 1957.

The car was fixed Ziggy’s Restoration, Bechtelsville, and has traveled with Caleen to shows all over the country, although he doesn’t daily drive it anymore, and keeps it polished to a slick, black sheen.

“300 horsepower—It needs them all to get it moving,” Caleen said with a laugh.

Classic car fans view enjoy the 44th annual In-Vette-Tational Car Show sponsored by the Skyline Drive Corvette Club on Saturday at the Oley Fire Company Fairgrounds. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)