Eight years ago, Gene Herndon, Springfield, got his wish: A 1957 Chevy Bel-Air Sports Sedan.

“I grew up with them, from ‘50 and up, the tri-years (55-57),” said Herndon. “(Like) as all of the young kids, I could not afford one of them. Then I went into my professional life and when I retired, I bought a couple of cars. Then my wife (Judy) said when she was dating, one of her fellows had a ‘57 Chevy.”

So he found it in Tulsa and purchased it.

“That (sports sedan) identifies it as a four-door hardtop,” Herndon said. “It is a rare car.”

Herndon was one of the participants during the 22nd annual Street Dreams Motorsports Expo held Friday, Saturday and end today at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center. Taking in cars, trucks, motorcycles and even two semi-tractor trailer units, spectators could visit with the owners, take pictures of the vehicles and even shop some of the area vendors.

Herndon’s vehicle was painted red with a white hard top.

“It was in pretty good shape when I purchased it,” Herndon said. “It is in excellent shape now. I have done some restoring and customizing on it. It is restored as you would have seen it as original, you would have seen this in ‘57 on the showroom. By customizing it, I have changed the engine, and the power tran in it. I have added disc brakes, heat and air conditioning – although this car had factory air conditioning when it was new.”

Herndon and his wife, Judy, travel to some of the car shows.

“We go to very selected shows with our cars,” said the car owner. “We have decided it is not all about competition. We want to go somewhere and have a good time. We come over here (Joplin), put the car, leave it and we can go to Miami, Seneca, Grand Lake, do other things.”

But when April rolls around, they are usually seen in at a Steak and Shake in Springfield. Once a month on a Saturday night, car enthusiasts are seen at the restaurant.

“We have a cruise-in at Steak and Shake,” Herndon said. “That draws from 100 to 150 cars each month until the fall months.”

For some, when they travel to these car shows, they trailer them. But for Herndon, he drives the car.

“This brings back memories, lots of memories,” said Herndon, pointing to not only the car, but also to the drive-in movie speakers and the drive-in food trays.

The event is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. today for an admission fee.