On Friday evenings this summer, Shipyard Park turned into classic car central with the return of Wharf Nights.

Twice a month, car owners have come from towns along the South Coast to trade car stories and drool over the chrome eye candy.

Many car owners at the wharf did their own restorations.

Some bring albums full of photos that show the transformation of their cars from rustbuckets to Rolls Royces.

And every car owner brings an interesting story about the history of their classic vehicles.

Rick Vaillancourt of Tiverton, RI has owned 13 classic cars and restored them himself.

“I’m a car nut,” he admitted. “I did my own painting, sewing and motor work.”

Donald Philla of Mattapoisett also did a lot of work on his 1950 Oldsmobile 88 Convertible.

When he bought the car in Minnesota, Philla said, “It was rotted – no floors, no nothing.”

Now with the top down and the chrome waxed to a shiny black, it’s hard to imagine it was ever a rusty mess.

But, Philla isn’t done with it yet.

“I’ve been working on it for five-and-a-half years, so far,” he said.

Philla’s car came from Minnesota, but Steve Bisaillon of New Bedford got his 1957 Ford Ranch Wagon in California.

While stationed on the West Coast with the Air Force, Bisaillon traded a racing dirt bike for the Wagon.

That was 1979.

He later drove it cross country to Worcester.

Bisaillon said it took him 19 years to restore the car.

“I never gave up on it,” he said.

As the nostalgic sounds of doo-wop blasted over the loudspeakers from the gazebo, we chatted with a few more car nuts to hear their stories.

The final two Wharf Nights of the summer are September 7 and 21 at Mattapoisett’s Shipyard Park from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

For more information call 508-758-3335 or 508-264-8905.