SASKATOON — Jon Korolis and Tony Hill share the same passion for cars. Whether Japanese-made vehicles or old-school British model automobiles, they both laboured for hours in modifying and reconstructing their machines to their specifications.
Korolis and Hill were part of the festivities at the 6th Annual Walter Murray Car Show & Community BBQ, held at the Walter Murray Collegiate football field. Around 140 cars were registered for the event, with the WM bands entertaining a sizable crowd.
Korolis, a Walter Murray alumnus, said his passion for souped-up cars was inspired by watching the Fast and the Furious movie, which gave him the idea of organizing the event with the help of his teacher, Mark Wilderman.
“Mr. Wilderman helped me out in starting this event. Now, six years later, it has become bigger, and I love coming back here. Cars became a passion of mine after the first Fast and Furious movie. I saw the Evo, and I fell in love with cars,” Korolis told 蘑菇视频短视频.
“When I turned 16, I got my license, and all I wanted to do was build cars and show them off. To, maybe, inspire the younger generation to enjoy a good hobby. I love old Japanese cars. I like muscle cars as well, but my genre is more Japanese, with an old-school style.”
He was referring to the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, which he now owns — a 2014 model that he hand-built beside their house without the use of hydraulic lifts, instead only hand jacks whenever he worked on his project.
“It is very garage-like. I wish I had a shop. I have a 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. They stopped making them in 2015. This is a GSR; it is also available in MR, which comes in both automatic and manual configurations. They're pretty rare cars, and I love them,” said Korolis.
Hill, on the other hand, likes British-made cars as a member of the Saskatchewan British Car Club. He brought his 1967 Mini Moke, a vehicle introduced in 1959 that gained media exposure after appearing in several films in the James Bond franchise.
He said the vehicle was designed for the British military. Still, after several trials, British Armed Forces officials decided they were not suitable for the British Army because they were too low to the ground. The vehicle became a popular mode of transportation for tourists in the Caribbean islands.
Hill said the Mini Moke ended up being a rental car on the Santa Catalina Island, which is 35 kilometres away from 蘑菇视频短视频ern California’s mainland. However, his journey of owning one had an interesting backstory, with his wife instrumental in the vehicle.
“It might seem strange; my wife and I both woke up one morning, and she told me she had dreamt of a light blue Mini Moke that she remembers back in England. She asked me if there was any in Canada. I answered, 'No, I don’t think so,'” said Hill.
“I looked on Kijiji and there she was. So, I bought it and got it the next day. It was destiny; she dreamt of it. That’s why it's blue, because that's what she remembered. It's kind of cool. It seems a bit far-fetched, but that's exactly what happened.”
He added that the Mini Moke he saw in Kijiji was in Pincher Creek, Alta, an almost seven-hour drive from Lucky Lake, which is 156 kilometres south of Saskatoon. He rebuilt the body and the fenders, while his wife did the upholstery and seat covers.
