By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

A car that will cruise in the Old Settlers’ Day parade will appear strikingly like a 1929 Mercedes-Benz. The reproduction vehicle was made to look that way.

Chris Costello, president of Tampa State Bank, said he didn’t go looking for the car. Bank employees recommended it as a showpiece for the bank to drive in parades.

The car was built in 1984 by Classic Motor Carriages company and marketed under the name of Fiberfab Inc., a car kit manufacturing company bought out by CMC in 1983.

The bank bought the car from an Overland Park resident.

“He’d owned it about 10 years and he was ready to move on,” Costello said.

The bank had a mechanic look over the car before buying it.

“He said it’s sound, it’s well worth the money, go get it,” Costello said.

The yellow, brown, and black convertible roadster has air horns that rely on the car being running to make a loud sound, Costello said.

It seats two and has the dashboard design of a 1929 Mercedes-Benz except for the addition of a radio. A leather belt holds the engine compartment hood down.

Similar cars are listed for sale online for prices between $12,000 and $25,000.