Growing up, I was surrounded by cars. My dad restored antique cars as a hobby, so at any given time the garage would be filled with vehicles in various states of repair.

What always impressed me was how he could take a wrecked frame, and by scouring Hemmings Motor News or traveling 9 hours to a car show, transform it with parts and paint into a beautiful – and miraculously running – car.

While he would take on the occasional restoration for other people, he had a few he kept, including his Chevy Coupe and a Depot Hack truck with wood paneled frame. Even to this day, he’ll take the Depot Hack — accented with the crate of antique milk bottles he used to deliver with his dad — out for a parade.

Then there was my mom, whose 1968 Stingray I’d ride around in as a kid, instilled in me a love for roaring engines and the lines of a classic convertible.

When I learned the I-X Center was playing host in two weeks to Ohio’s largest indoor display of custom cars, bikes and planes, it woke up the classic car fan that still marvels at how cool her parents are.

The I-X Piston Power Show rolls into Cleveland for 3 days from Sept. 30 through Oct. 2. The more than 1 million square feet of exhibit space will be filled with 1000+ vehicles. And thanks to the I-X Center’s huge hangar doors, the lineup will include eight piston-powered airplanes (making it the only facility in the country able to coordinate and move in large military aircraft).

One of these planes will be the fully restored B-17 from the movie Memphis Belle. Guests will be able to walk through the flying fortress’s cargo hold and sit in the gunner’s chair. For those who want to feel what it’s like to actually pilot a warbird, they can climb aboard an M4 Flight Simulator Ride and test their skills on a P-51 or Jet Inceptor.

In addition to a showroom of cars, planes, bikes, and boats, the event will feature the Piston Playzone with matchbox car races, the All American Soap Box Derby’s Indoor Rally, and “celebrity cars” like the Transformers’ Bumble Bee, Barney Fife’s police car and K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider. (Ok, I’ll say it — even though it’s meant for children, the Playzone sounds fun for adults as well.)

Tickets for the Piston Power Show are available for only $15 ($12 for children 7-12 and free for ages 6 & under).  You can purchase them here and onsite, or you can enter to win a pair of tickets through the below giveaway!

There are 5 Ways to Enter The Giveaway
**You must leave a separate comment on this post for each entry**

1) Mandatory first entry: “Celebrity cars,” like vehicles from Transformers, Starskey & Hutch, and Knight Rider, are going to be at the Piston Power Show. Leave a comment on this post telling me what’s your favorite car made famous by tv or film (mine is the Batmobile).

2) Twitter users can get an extra entry each day for tweeting: “The I-X Center is getting Piston Powered. Enter @ADHicken’s giveaway to win 2 tickets: http://wp.me/pPIgG-Ol”.  Each day you do this, you must leave a new comment.

3) Follow @ADHicken on Twitter.

4) Like Clue Into Cleveland on Facebook.

5) Like Piston Power Show on Facebook.

You have until this Thursday night, September 22 at 11:59PM ET to enter.  On Friday, I will select a winner using Random.org and will announce who won the 2 General Admission tickets on my blog.  Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry – Good Luck!

***
Disclosure: I was offered two general admission tickets to the Piston Power Show in exchange for this post. The choice of events I share and my opinions on them are 100% my own. Photos from pistonpowershow.com.