Event Coverage Car Shows As I Have Enjoyed - Now GONE

I mess with their heads when needed...meaning new Mustangs or Challengers that are running alongside in the city... I told my son that when he drives the 32 and one of these guys tries to show that their store financed car is cooler/quicker?... I told him to keep alongside or keep up, but at the next light, "stay on his passenger side, where "his girl" is sitting and looking"... Then never make eye contact with the driver.."just smile and wink at his girl! " She'll always break out in smiles, pissing him off! LMFAO.. Try it sometime!

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I also attended Good-Guys Columbus with one of my Grandsons. Enjoyed it for what it is. Plenty of H.A.M.B. friendly cars & lots of "not-so-friendly". Best part was I sold my '68 SS 396 that I've had for 23 years. I told one vendor I thought I was in WALMART. I did let the "eye" lady treat my left eye to take out the sags, ducked her to keep from the sales pitch. Not sure what the cost was, but a few rows later got caught by a different one & she did my other eye (looked great-younger-'til I got back to the hotel). Her's was only $300.00 but she would sell me one for $99 since I was such a nice guy. Saw at least one other with the same deal not to mention all the other good deals besides car related. I live halfway between Charlotte Motor Speedway & NC State Fairground in Raleigh & attend both Good-Guys (only missed Charlotte in '04 after the death of my wife). I enjoy going to shows to see what's new as well as old. Thanks to my late wife who was always the "book keeper" I'm financially able to travel. My body is wearing out faster than I like, so I go later & leave earlier, but still have fun. I'm in the process of down sizing both house & cars (lots of parts & a few cars), but I'll go as long as I can convince a Grand kid to go with me, usually not hard. No matter where I go, local or out of town, I always enjoy seeing old car friends, some I just recognize & some I even know their names. Life is too short to complain about things we have no control over. Take a kid to a car show & enjoy!!!

 

Amen and God bless

 

OH YE, I remember it well , auto swap meet tomorrow nothing but beanie babies everywhere!

 

BTW, The "Francis" line is from the movie, Stripes.

 

If you want a good show with nothing newer than 1948, check out the Frog Follies in Evansville Indiana August 24-26. I'm guessing here but I'd say around 4,000 cars, A huge flea market with mostly hot rod parts And most vendors selling the stuff we want and need. Pre entry is only 20.00 and that gets a free T shirt and more. I'm going back this year for the fifth time. If you only want to see early cars (like me) this has to be one of the best shows in the country.

 

Another benefit to having the non-automotive stuff is to give the wives/girlfriends/kids something to do. It helps keep down the "how much longer are we gonna be here". Now, if you really want to get into stuff I don't understand, its the cars with dolls and stuffed animals all over them. WTH?

 

I think about where this hobby will be in 10-15 years. If we don't let the younger guys participate with the cars they like then the our hobby is death in 10-15 years. At least there is a chance they will participate with their newer cars and later mature with age and see how cool the pre 72 cars are and gravitate to them. As with many of us our tastes change over time and as the younger people see the art of the earlier cars they will come around to them.

 

I was at some bad boy rod meet out in the boonies, and one guy had one those "shy baby doll"..but not laying against the bumper......um...er....he parked his front wheel on top of it!

Some "refined" people had an issue with that car display, but most people were laughing their butts off.. I sure did..

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Every October I attend the California Hot Rod Reunion. in Bakersfield. A number of years ago I was standing near the Goodguys kiosk on the vendor midway. Two small boys, probably about eight walked up to the kiosk and asked Marc Meadors for a couple of the small GG stickers. Marc asked them if they had $2 and they said no. Meadors replied, "we don't give anything away for free".
Sure, this was just one incident but one I will never forget.
Another issue, I live not too far from Pleasanton where the GG's hold four events a year. I typically go and meet up with my son. We walk around the shrinking swapmeet, (the highest cost vendor space anywhere) have one of the $12 (16oz) beers and are out of there in a few hours. I love my son so I guess the $100 outing is worth it.
Lastly, I understand Marc is trying to sell the GG franchise, allegedly, he wants to go NHRA funny car racing. If true, perhaps the new owners will be a bit less greedy.
Final-final......letting newer cars in is necessary to get some younger blood involved. Being 71, I know gray hair when I see it and those events have plenty.

 

I would rather see a square body Chevy truck than a rat rod piece of shit

 

Would anyone here get upset if they took their black with red/orange/yellow flamed belly button
'32 hi-boy, or their black with red wheels '40 coupe to an event and were told "Sorry, no pre 75s"
or "We don't care how much work you put into the car, it doesn't fit our parameters"?

At what point are guys and girls with different tastes or lower bank accounts allowed to integrate
with the close minded geezers? I remember when the NHRA instituted their 15 year rule, racers
screamed bloody murder. Exclusion sucks. Some of you have said the owners of later model cars
have their own events. That's not necessarily true. I'd venture to say that unless the event is
limited to a certain faction (All Ford Show or Buick-Olds-Pontiac Show) most types of
car freaks are represented. New (or newer) isn't bad, just different. Then again, if I went to a
car show and saw a fleet of stock new Camaros or 'vettes, I'd walk by them without looking and
head to the rides ('31 5 window, '66 Nova, '68 Camaro, built up '85 Mustang) that interest me.

 

After participating in 2 TROGs, 2 Hotrod Hill Climbs, the Hotrod Dirt Drags, and the HAMB Drags a couple times; lawn chair car shows do nothing for me. I don't need to go to any more good guys or NSRA events.

 

I'm 34. I started building a 70' C10 about 5 years ago and someone said to me: "why would you build something that new, that's not a hotrod, it's too new." That someone is my Dad! His car is a 1950, purchased in 1987. So if my math is correct his car was 37 when he started on it. 37 years of rust and wear. A real Hotrod right? So when I started on my truck in 2013 it was 43 years old... So what makes a hotrod? Is it the level of difficulty of the modifications? Is it how long it rusts for? Does it have to be a certain body style? Is it an attitude? I say let anyone who puts the time in enter the shows. You don't have to like their vehicle. You don't have to vote for it. Just walk past and appreciate that the person put forth an effort and is ultimately helping the shows stay strong.... Just my 5 cents. (no pennies in Canada anymore, round up!) - Travis

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See, the problem here is this is your opinion. Not every young kid has 32 Ford money. I sure ain't funding my kid for one! He's gotta make his own hay

If some young, motivated, future hot rodder builds a square body, or a stance car, or whatever *they* think is awesome with their money, what gives you the right to say otherwise?

My kid is absolutely surrounded with HAMB friendly cars, but he has different tastes. Am I supposed to blow him off because of that? OR, should I nurture that interest, keep exposing him to all kinds of car culture, and grow a future supporter of that culture? I spent a boatload of cash taking him to the Lone Star Round-Up this spring and he loved it. He also still loves his truck. Who am I to judge? Who are you?

If we don't respect the effort and the ability of all types of car builders, whether what they build fits in our wheelhouse or not, we risk losing a generation to other interests. That has an impact on everyone in the hobby.

With all of that said, there are still plenty of opportunities to go do stuff that fits the HAMB culture. The LSR, the Hillclimb, the dirt drags, the HAMB drags, the Hotrod Hundred events... and on and on. You just have to open your eyes and look around a bit.

 

These discussions always make me pause, smile, and feel deep gratitude for our country and how we get to live. We can feel so passionate about these things when really they have no basis to our happiness or contintment.

If you want a pre ‘65 hot rod show, organize one. If you want a pre ‘87 show organize one. It’s fine to express a preference and these shows are voluntary. Complaining about what others prefer seems pretty off base to me. If you like it, participate, if you don’t, dont. If you can’t find a show that fits your style, organize one.

EDIT: I want to add.....I one of those guys that likes all years and makes of cars. I built a couple Jeeps (42, 54 and 69), 59 Ford 60 f100, 94 Impala SS (road raced it) and now building a 14 BRZ and 69 travel trailer.

 

Man, I'm right there with you. My wife and I are trying to decide now if next year is Hill Climb or Dirt Drags. The sitting in a parking lot thing has passed me by. Even at the LSR if we had not gone to the shop crawl, it would have been too "sit around" for us. We have to be in the action. The HotRod Hundred events are the best for this stuff.

Here's my rub... my kids can't afford to jet off to Colorado or Texas with us if we do those things. So, we also go to local shows (we have two "large" event type shows here locally, plus the regular stuff). This gives us a chance to do car stuff with them. I also have some friends that don't have the folding money to travel. We support them as well. At the end of the day we do both because it's about the people too, not just the cars.

 

Um, That is why they have Women"s World. Rumour has it G.G.s charge too much for the regular Vendors to attend so they have to fill the holes with non-automotive vendors.

 

Between this forum and the MTFCA forum I see lots of old guys worried about "the future of the hobby".What do you care? You'll be pushing daisies anyway. Don't worry about the younger generation, they will find their own interests (most already have) and enjoy it as much as we enjoy the cars of our youth. Remember stamp collections, model airplanes, HO gauge railroads? Times change and people with them.

 

I don't have a problem with any car club allowing anything they wish. It's their party. But the AACA has not veered away from their 25 year old rule since the club was founded in the late 1930s. In the mid 1970s the club was pressured from car owners and parts vendors to lower it from 25 to 15 to allow the exploding '55-'57 Chevys to be allowed on the show field and restoration parts to be sold at Hershey. I know because I had just entered that parts business to enhance my collector car business. The AACA didn't waver! So the Carlisle swap meet was founded in about 1975 and held the week before Hershey and allowed anything. It was another 5 years before we were allowed to sell those cars and parts at Hershey. So we started going to both. I thought the Carlisle show would go away in 5 years. Wrong! They made enough money to buy the Fairgrounds. But as you can see it didn't hurt the AACA. There will be all kinds of 1993 cars in the car corral and show field at Hershey this fall with parts galore in the swap meet. Time marches on.

 

Hello,

The HAMB cutoff is perfect for the subject matter. If the later years were added, it would be like a few of the other websites that are a jumbled mess ... "Lets show everyone, everything, with no specific order of things..." Not the HAMB, despite what some are posting as HAMB friendly...

I miss going to those old car shows at the Great Western Exhibit Hall in Los Angeles, the small Long Beach Hot Rod/Custom car shows in the old Municipal Auditorium, even, the shows at the LA Sports Arena, too. Those were small enough to be able to enjoy hot rods and custom cars during the late 50s and all through the 60s-70s era.

We even liked the original Oakland Roadster Shows at the Cow Palace and the Oakland Arena. After all, it is the OAKLAND ROADSTER SHOW. But, now in Pomona?

As those early shows and places fell one by one, the larger shows began to pop up. It certainly attracted a lot of people and for us, it was overwhelming. The times moved on during the late 60s and into the 80s the Detroit factories were producing a lot of junk. Smog laws, crappy box designs, less HP for the popular cars, etc, they all led to the downfall of the industry. It was everything to downgrade our hot rod background that we saw in newer cars. But, those small hot rod/custom car shows were still popular until they weren’t and closed up shop.

Jnaki

It is hard to get the young people to get interested in hot rods and customs. It was fun (in HS) to go with a couple of guys or even on a date. The girls would look at other girl's outfits, while we scrutinized the cars to no end. Some girls pretended to be interested in the custom cars and hot rods, just to be nice, though.

Today's attitude in social media is taking precedence over fun things to do like go to an arena car show or picnic. Speaking of picnics and car shows, what happened to the mellow, Early Times Pancake Breakfasts and Car Shows? Or the Big One: The quaint, LA Roadster picnic and show in a neighborhood park? Growth is not always the best thing. IMHO

 

Remember when everyone hated fiberglass reproduction cars and said it was going to ruin the sport? They never did. Newer models only make the sport thrive with the infusion of youth just like reproduction vehicles did many years ago. Everyone has their own taste. If you don't like something, just walk past it.

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I pulled my 7000 mile 88 Fox body out of the back of the shop yesterday to wash it. Sitting in the driver’s seat, it struck me that, despite the new car smell, this car is.....old, in design and ergonomics.

At 30 years old, it’s the equivalent of a 40 Ford coupe in 1970, when I was 19.

 

Same thing for the NSRA. In fact they have been that way for quite a while. I had a Car/Racing Radio Show in Springfield, MO and the first year for their change I had their marketing guy on the show. His answers were of course what you would expect, the '48 and back cars are a dying breed and to keep the events and the association going they simply had to slack off on the cut off. At the time they had opened it up to 1980. The plan was every year to ad a year so they are now likely in the late 1980s as well. I know this year at the event I saw a few Fox body Mustangs etc. but the real kicker was a rusty 1986 Lincoln Continental "slant back" with 22" rims! Holy mother of .......!!!! LOL

During the radio interview, I ask the NSRA guy, "Why 1980?" I mean seemed to me they could have just maybe went through 1960 or something. You know catch all the 50s cars that had been left out. And then if they were still short catch the early Mustang and Camaro plus muscle car years through 1970. He didn't really have an answer. I think they just drew 30 years and older out of a hat. I can not say with much conviction that it was a bad idea, it is obvious something needed to be done. I still attend and just like everything else in this world, if I don't like it, I don't spend anytime looking at it. But if having a few mid 1980s black primered malibu station wagons in the mix keeps the event open and the rest of the killer rods on the property, I guess I am in...

 

Bingo! Some of us consider ourselves lucky enough to have grown up in the 40s, 50s, and 60s . . . so HAMB friendly is right in our wheelhouse. But one's love for Foxes, '79 Cutlasses, C5s, or ___________ is an equally valid auto love affair.

Hey, cool is cool, it does not recognize time limits. For us, it simply cannot ever be more cool than HAMB-friendly, but that's because our first love was a HAMB-friendly car! Not difficult to connect these dots

 

Yea, those old horse and wagon guys still don't let model T's in their shows.

 

This is the point so many miss. As a kid I wanted polished aluminum on everything!! I hate it now, I grew up.

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Time's Change, Life Change's, History and Tradition are very important. A 1987 car is 31 years old already and to keep the Hobby going, shows alive, continued interest, affordable, thinking opening the years up are needed as us senior members are dropping off IMO, at 70 now, the only big show I attend is Back to the 50's and not every year, still like cruising, local shows, but the long drives, hassle, big crowds, expense, and been there, done that, plays in my decisions. I was at a local car show last Saturday with my OT Camaro ragtop and overheard a young man bitchin ( he had a very nice 70 Chevelle ) about all the late model junk, everyone has an opinion, pick and choose, Enjoy the Hobby !

 

Several opinions on this one. I was not in favor of the new cut off dates, but am getting adjusted to them. At the latest NSRA in Pueblo, there was a weird variety of rides. One was a radically jacked up 4X. Why? Several others of the right age, but didn't seem to fit. I have only missed one Pueblo show in 30 + years and have enjoyed them all. Not by sitting in my chair, but walking around, meeting other rodders that I may see only once a year, getting new ideas too.
And by the way Laroke, your friend Hank Langsedkamp took the long distance for the second year running.