Hot Rods and Kustom Cars
For the last few years I’ve been attending a small town show not too far outside of Wichita called the Hobo Happening. Being that it’s the Saturday before Thanksgiving in Douglass, KS it’s been either 50 degrees or 35, this year was closer to the 35 and a stiff cold wind. Still with all of that they had a great turnout this year.
Showing at an indoor event is always a bit of a hassle. For those of us that live out of town it adds a degree of difficulty to show at an event like the 2015 Starbird Devlin Show. For me it started Wednesday evening with a 90 mile drive to Wichita to drop off my daily driver in a parking garage. Then Thursday I took off mid morning to get the Galaxie washed and drive her to Century II. By 4pm I had the Galaxie in the show and cleaned up and I was back at work. I even had a few minutes to stop by Deville’s Barber Shop & Shaving Parlor to get myself looking good for the weekend.
The 5th Annual Mid Decembrrrr Run is in the history books! At it’s peak we had 22 people on the run, but due to busy schedules people had to come and go during the day. We ate lunch with 21 people if I counted correctly and had 15 or so vehicles on the run as we showed up at Johnny Torres Upholstery in Hutchinson, KS.
Back in September I stopped in to Big Creek Restoration in Ellis, KS to see what Mike Keller and company were up to. I figured they’d have something killer in the works and I was right. An incredible 34 was under construction, at the time a rolling chassis with a beautifully detailed Hemi between the rails. Now the body is back on and it’s looking really good!
In 2012 I received a call from my friend and mentor Doug Reed asking if I’d like to be a part of a display at the 2013 Starbird-Devlin show in Wichita. He was assembling some cars to be a part of a Kustom City display showing off kustoms to the folks that attend the show. For decades Wichita had a rich heritage of kustoms and in recent years the kustoms weren’t exactly featured at the show.
The show fliers all call out for traditional hot rods and kustoms only. The crowd did a pretty good job this year of sticking to that with minimum whining. I hope in the years to come we can see this show turn into another fantastic time capsule type show featuring the timeless styles of of the old days while encouraging folks to build their own rides in a way that will never go out of style.
Dan’s Model A
When the announcement was made that the Rumble would be moved to Commerce Street I was excited. I’d heard of the shows that I missed at the Go Away Garage years ago. I thought maybe, just maybe some of that mojo was left and this show could pick up on it. A few of the same folks are still involved, so why not?
Johnny Hammann’s 47 Chevy
I’ve been attending the Rumble since 2009 when it was the Rumble in Delano and held accordingly in the Delano District of Wichita. The venue has changed, the date has changed and those are hard things for a show to survive. The Primary’s Car Club that puts the event on has done a great job weathering the changes and they are on track to take this cool show to new levels over the next few years if the 2014 Rumble is any indication. Though the show is still relatively small compared to many others, they have a vision, some good folks to put it together and they have a great location. The job now is to get the word out to the folks out there how cool of an event this is and encourage even more folks to show up next year.
The show is big, and getting bigger every year, the Saturday night cruise I haven’t made yet but I hear it’s a blast, if your cooling system is up to it. For the previous 3 or so years the Ol Marais River Run show has been hit by rain, this year that was the forecast all week leading up to the show but Thursday that changed and as far as I know it didn’t rain during the day time at all.
After seeing some friends saying they were going to head out to the Kansas International Dragway for some “Throwback Drags” last Saturday night, I decided I needed to go check it out. I was in the area anyways for the Blacktop Nationals after hitting the Rev It Up show in Lawrence, KS that morning.
Continue reading “2014 Kansas International Dragway Throwback Drags”
“You’re going to want to replace that flathead.” That’s the first words of many people when we talk about my 51 Ford. They tell me how they would be good for tooling around town or this or that but for the amount that I drive I’m going to want to replace it with something more powerful and modern. My counter argument is Roy Fields’ 1949 Ford. Not only has this car been all over the country including taking Fields to Bonneville to run he and his brother’s LSR car. Tales of that drive include extended high speed runs proving the motor’s longevity.
Continue reading “1949 Ford : Roy Fields’ Custom Shoebox Feature”
This week I call up my friends Eric from the Los Punk Rods about the upcoming Greaserama and Mickey Bryan of Stray Kat Kustoms about the Starliner.
Continue reading “CPPS EP. 20 : Greaserama & Starliner : My 2 Favorite Shows”
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Lots of great cars showed up to the Halstead Old Settlers Day Show, I sure love me a Ford Cammer! Check out the fuel injected flathead at the end of the post!
When I attend a small town show that’s new to me, I take a chance. It could suck. It could rule. It could be filled with cars with their hoods open…
Mickey from Stray Kat Kustoms even came up and hung out for the day at the 2014 WFO Guys Show. Rolling with some friends that had a bit of mechanical issues, but everyone eventually made it.
I can’t even tell you folks how many years I’ve planned on hitting the WFO Guys Show in Augusta, KS. Every year I find myself doing something else. That was dumb, this show is pretty damn kool!
Continue reading “It’s About Time I Attended The WFO Guys Show In Augusta”
The 8th and final post of the 2014 KKOA Leadsled Spectacular coverage! Thanks to everyone that’s come to the site to see the coverage! Make sure to go to the top right hand corner of the site and subscribe to the blog!
That’s the look of a man having a good time at the drags. It’s one of my favorite parts of the KKOA Leadsled Spectacular each year to see Gene Winfield get to flag the races.
The drags as always brings a big crowd. Kudos to all involved to resolving the traffic issues from 2013. We were able to roll directly into the event and back out when it was time this year unlike previous years where you were watching your temp gauge and praying the whole way in and out because it was a complete traffic jam.
Continuing coverage of the 2014 KKOA Leadsled Spectacular from Salina, KS. Continuing my comments from yesterday, I would love this show to return to it’s roots, even though that would mean that my 63 Galaxie wouldn’t be allowed in. Comment below what you think of the show, and what background do you come from? Kustom guys seem to be thinking along the lines that I am, where as just car guys in general like the shows that have all types of cars.
The Drags have brought big crowds to the event but the diehard kustom folks don’t attend, and don’t support them. This is where I’m torn, I enjoy going except for when it’s as hot as it was this week, but I really could do without them. They are entertaining, and they bring a big crowd to the event. The drag photos start later in this post and continue tomorrow.
Click here to see 90 images from the show including Drag Racing Action!
The 2014 KKOA Leadsled Spectacular was in town all weekend just in time for the first major heatwave of the summer here in Salina, KS. The 34th annual event was held in Salina for the 9th time, lots of cars showed up but not a lot of leadsleds or kustoms. Since the show’s registration requirements have opened up the show has grown but it’s lost a bit of clout in the kustom community. Some notable kustom car builders and owners have privately told me that they disagree with the bigger is better show rules and they long for the days when the show had strict rules for entry. I’d like to see the show like that again too. Not that the show is bad like it is now, just different.
Most of Thursday was spent gathering up stuff for our booths, KKOA Leadsled Spectacular Set Up Day. After a quick run to a nearby town to pick up an electric fuel pump to get a buddy back on the road we packed our booths for the day and headed out to Bright Built Hot Rods for their Open House. Here are some photos from that event. Click Here to see all of the photos
Every year on the Wednesday before the KKOA Leadsled Spectacular, KKOA member and 2014 KKOA Hall Of Fame Nominee Rocky Burris throws a little get together at his home shop. This year had the added bonus of honoring the Leadsled Spectacular’s Grand Marshall and Kustom Legend Dave Stuckey. KKOA President Jerry Titus came down from the busy pre-show last minute work in Salina to tell us all some stories of working with Stuckey at Starbird’s Star Kustoms Shop back in the old days. Read the captions on each pic to get more of the story. Thank you Rocky for always inviting us all to the pre-party!
I always say the best thing about getting neck deep in the rod/kustom family is the people that you meet. Lots of talented folks are out here in the Midwest building killer rides, one of them is Johnny Torres at his shop Johnny Torres Upholstery in Hutchison, KS. Johnny’s shop is located on the south end of Main Street in Hutchinson, in the former offices of the Ark Valley CO-OP. Go follow his facebook page here and keep up to date on what he’s up to.
