Staff photo / Sean Barron Jr. John Kanapesky, a Vietnam veteran from Beaver, Pa., sits on a front tire of his 1930 Ford two-door sedan at the annual Cruisin’ the River car cruise Monday in Lowellville. The car cruise and show is set to continue each Monday through mid-October.

LOWELLVILLE — Don Keck’s eye-catching 1930 Model A coupe unquestionably fits the definition of a vintage car, but it also represents where the old and modern meet the road.

“I built it. It’s a solid car, and it needs a little body work,” the Youngstown man said about his bright, signal violet five-window vehicle. “It has a small block, 350 (horsepower) engine.”

Keck’s coupe still has many of the original features, but it also sports built-in modern touches. That was evident when Keck used a key fob to open the passenger-side door.

The bright-purple vintage vehicle was among those that came to Monday’s annual Cruisin’ the River car and bike cruise in Lowellville. The event is scheduled to continue 5 to 8 p.m. Mondays through Oct. 11 along East Water Street, noted Don Donofrio, an event organizer.

The Lowellville Business Association hosted the three-hour, family-friendly gathering, which had about 135 vehicles, Donofrio said. He added that the event also a way to bring people together in a setting that calls to mind a greater sense of normalcy.

“The cruises allow people to get out and see friends they haven’t seen over the winter,” Donofrio added.

Keck, who owns the Model A coupe with his fiance, Carol Moore, recalled having driven several years ago to Kansas City, Mo., with his late father to pick it up.

More recently, he has lowered the top more than 2 inches and added air conditioning; Keck also is making some interior changes, he explained.

“It took me a little over 15 years to get it done, but a little each year,” he said, adding that the vehicle has 3,000 miles and has been in about 30 car shows since 2017.

John Kanapesky of Beaver, Pa., wasn’t shy about describing a variety of features on his two-door 1930 Ford Sedan, one of which is its catchy red-oxide lacquer primer, which gives the body a rich brown look.

“The tail lights were off a 1939 Chevy,” he said, referring to the two teardrop-shaped lights.

Kanapesky also “chopped” the roof about 4 inches, meaning he lowered it that amount to give the four-seat vintage vehicle “that nostalgic hot-rod look,” he said.

In addition, the car is equipped with bias ply tires, which typically have a narrow tread pattern that adds to the look of many vintage vehicles, as well as a 1949 Ford Flathead engine, he said.

Kanapesky, who served four years in the U.S. Air Force as a mechanic on a B-52 bomber and is a Vietnam War veteran, praised friend Guy Shively, an Austintown artist, for hand-painting artistic pinstripe patterns on the front and back of his Ford Sedan.

Playing oldies music were DJ Dave and DJ Rick.

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