There will be a few extra vintage vehicles tooling around Ames this weekend for the second-ever Motor-Ioway event.

Ames will host travelers who arrive here for the beginning and end of the event.

Gerry Schnepf, Motor-Ioway organizer, said the event includes a seven-day trip around Iowa with a collection of vintage and classic vehicles, including trucks, semis, fire engines and military vehicles.

“It’s like taking a museum out to the state,” Schnepf said.

Last year’s Motor-Ioway started in Des Moines.

This year, organizers chose Ames as a base for their tour because they wanted to draw attention to the DOT to emphasize the “importance of roadways and transportation in history.”

The 170 participants will begin arriving this afternoon at the Iowa Department of Transportation headquarters at 800 Lincoln Way.

Participants will be displaying their vehicles at the north end of the DOT parking lot between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Participants refer to this as “shine time” because owners “get out the rags and polish up their cars,” Schnepf said.

People can see the vehicles at no charge and chat with the owners, he said.

There will also be free music and entertainment and inexpensive food. For $2.50 per person, the Story County Cattlemen’s Association will serve a burger, chips, slaw and pop.

Visitors are asked to park in the Target parking lot at Lincoln Center immediately east of the DOT and walk along Lincoln Way to the DOT.