PENN TWP — It was a good day for a cruise.

Under a partly sunny sky with temperatures in the mid-70s the 2021 Penn Township Volunteer Fire Department's Mega Cruise came roaring back to the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport on Saturday.

The event was canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saturday the tarmac adjacent to the runway held hundreds of cars, trucks, muscle cars, rat rods and other examples of Detroit iron.

Toddlers in strollers, oldsters in wheelchairs and every age in between took in the displays of vintage automobiles.

Hoods were popped, trunks were opened as proud owners answered questions and listed their vehicles' features and histories.

Food stands offered lemonade, funnel cakes, gyros, barbecue sandwiches and cheese steaks.

A hangar was converted into a dining hall. Tickets were sold for an upcoming basket raffle.

John Weston, second assistant chief of the Penn Township Volunteer Fire Department, said “It's really been busy at the gate.”

Courtney Critchlow, working the table selling beer and hard seltzers, said, “I think it's doing pretty well. I can't complain. It's a beautiful day. We've had a pretty good turnout this year.”

Eric Murray of Wexford was showing off his 1981 DeLorean DMC12, as well as his Hummer, 2006 Saleen Mustang and his 2000 Dodge Viper.

Murray said he has owned his DeLorean for five years.

“It's called a DMC12 because it was supposed to cost $12,000, but with taxes and inflation it cost about twice that.”

He said he was a fan of the movie “Back to the Future” with its time-traveling DeLorean, but as he got older he became more of a fan of John DeLorean and his motor company.

Murray's DeLorean, with its stainless steel outer skin and the engine in the back, was “original as it gets.”

He said he puts about 250 miles a year on his DeLorean.

“It's a lot slower than people think, and the gull-wing doors are good for tight parking spots,” he said. “You kind of fall into it and you have to climb out because it's real low to the ground.”

Murray said he isn't a car collector, but “I'm working on it. It's a passion, and I don't get to spend as much time on it as I want.”

Ed Dental, of Cranberry Township, was showing off his red 1965 427 Shelby Cobra replica.

“Carroll Shelby built these just for racing, that's why they have the rollbar on them,” he said.

He said his Cobra's body and chassis were built in 2008 in South Africa and shipped to the United States, where dealers would put in the engine and transmission.

Dental found and bought his in Ohio about two and a half years ago.

“It was pretty rough when I bought it. I brought it back from the dead,” he said.

Now, he said, it's his fun car. “I take it out to dinner in the summertime.”

Frank and Debbie Pascarella, of Sarver, drove his 2000 Pontiac Trans Am to the airport from home.

Frank Pascarella said it's a WS6 equipped with bigger exhaust, brakes and ram air scoops.

“It's my first new car. My wife made me buy it,” he said.

Debbie Pascarella said the Mega Cruise was like a Norman Rockwell scene “with all the people walking around looking at the cars.”

She said her husband now is working on restoring a 1970 Challenger.

“I came home one day to find in squeezed in my basement by my freezer,” she said.

Al Urban and his son, Travis, from Freedom, were displaying separate vehicles.

Al Urban had a 1940 Ford Tudor that he bought four years ago.

“It was a rat rod. I restored it to close to its original condition. It rides great. It's got an Oldsmobile motor and transmission and a Chevelle rear end,” he said.

Travis Urban brought a 1966 Ford Ranchero that he began restoring in 2003 when he was 15 years old as his senior project at Freedom High School.

He doesn't work on cars as much now, he said.

“I'm a plumber by trade. I drive it as much as I can only on good days. I don't drive in the rain.”