Can you tell the true identity...
Can you tell the true identity of this roadster pickup? It's built from a cut-down '48 F-1 pickup, with a '55 bed, riding on a Model A frame and wearing a '28 grille. The imaginative hot rod was offered for $14,900, but didn't get sold.
The ride was relatively uneventful in spite of the dreadful heat. We first made a stop at COMP Cams in Memphis, a small six-hour detour on the way to the Nats and then motored into Louisville on Wednesday. After a brief rain on Thursday the weather went from intolerable to bearable and the fairgrounds began to fill in by late afternoon.
By Saturday afternoon over 10,000 cars crowded the fairgrounds and the mix of street rods and pluses made for a fresh new look to the event. Other than a handful of "protest cars", like a '78 Dodge truck, the event really was the Street Rod Nationals Plus, plus a lot of very cool cars that look great parked among all the pre-'48 hot rods. By the time the weekend was over it was apparent the mixing of old and older was working just fine, so Plus remains a positive, not a negative. It was after a discussion with Editor Brennan on this very topic that he suggested I photograph a few of the cars that caught my eye. And so I offer this small sampling of hot rods that made me stop for a closer look at the first ever NSRA Street Rod Nationals ... Plus. Enjoy.
Varied Treasure
The Street Rod Nats Plus Swap Meet
We don't think of swap meets as cars and parts someone doesn't want. We think of them as previews of coming attractions.
The Street Rod Nats Plus swap meet, socked back at the northeast portion of the Kentucky Exposition Center grounds, is an annual magnet for buyers and sellers. We know for a fact that a fair number of street rods, and a larger number of parts, on display in the show 'n' shine areas once served their time in the Nats swap meet. As we wound our way through the rows of sellers and stuff, we wondered what some of these vehicles used to be and where some of these parts came from. Now we're wondering about where they will go and what they will become. It's inevitable (isn't it?) that the cars, parts, and pieces on trailers, atop tables, and filling plastic milk crates will one day find the owner they've been looking for and contribute to the success of a street rod project-maybe even a trophy winner.
One of the most beautiful...
One of the most beautiful Tri-Five Chevys in Louisville was Emerson Blue's '56 Bel Air hardtop from Fort Washington, MD. Every contemporary modification was done in keeping with the original design of the car, from the five-spokes to the two-tone exterior paint and interior upholstery.
Late Arrivals
The Street Rod Nationals Plus welcomes post-'48 cars
The NSRA created a real commotion within the hobby when it announced that, after years of limiting the Street Rod Nationals to pre-'49 vehicles, it was modifying the rule and welcoming cars and trucks 30 years old and older.
The uproar that followed rang a familiar bell around here. In 2007, after years of maintaining an identical pre-'49 cutoff, the magazine you're reading right now began covering '50s and early '60s cars, even while retaining the STREET RODDER title.
When we got to Louisville this year, we were relieved to see that NSRA's inclusion of later cars didn't prevent the place from filling up with acres of beautiful pre-'49 street rods. We were also happy to find a lot of cool Tri-Fives, shoeboxes, lead sleds, customs, pickups, and other "new" iron-including an outstanding '49 Fleetline featured elsewhere in this issue. Had NSRA not changed its pre-'49 rule, we wouldn't have seen any of these cars. Had STREET RODDER not changed its pre-'49 rule, you wouldn't see this sample of some of the "late arrivals" welcome-for the first time-at the Street Rod Nationals Plus. Enjoy.
RideTech air shocks and four...
RideTech air shocks and four big guys contribute to the low cruising altitude of Ronnie Poche's fridge white '59 Olds Super 88. Plus-size custom Billet Specialties rims, low-profile rubber, and Z06 Corvette discs hint that this is no stocker; there's an LS2 under the hood.
A black leather interior with...
A black leather interior with white tuck 'n' roll seat inserts on front and rear buckets add an updated appearance to this otherwise classically styled '49 Buick Super convertible, owned by Leonard Peterson.
Dale Carpenter contrasted...
Dale Carpenter contrasted his '56 Ford Ranch wagon's satin black with some full-gloss burgundy paint on top. The pinstiping and flames you see on the hood, front quarters, and door are carried over to the rear fins and tailgate.
This '49 Chevy pickup got...
This '49 Chevy pickup got the full custom treatment, from the chopped top, spots, frenched headlights, five-spoke Radirs, whitewalls, and shaved sheetmetal to those purple seaweed flames. Bob Speece is the proud owner.
This sled among street rods...
This sled among street rods is Terry Stutzman's chopped, slammed, and shaved '51 Merc from Bristol, IN. All the right traditional custom touches: skirts, side pipes, spots, wide whites, and '57 Caddy hubcaps modified with Mercury emblem centers set it apart.
Kennedy's Hot Rod Shop built...
Kennedy's Hot Rod Shop built this knockout '55 Nomad for Bobby Hardin, dropping the cleaned up two-door body over an Art Morrison chassis. The dressed up LS1 is tied to a 4L60E automatic. The interior was customized with Lexus seats and lots of tan leather.
Here's another wagon with...
Here's another wagon with a suede black/shiny top combo. Kurt Blum's recently completed '59 Chevy Nomad wears some metalflake green on its top and an LS2 in the engine compartment. Blum loaded the cargo area with an assortment of Eisenhower-era Hamilton-Skotch coolers.
Jerry Blackman's '53 Chevy...
Jerry Blackman's '53 Chevy is red all over, including the upholstery and the Cadillac air cleaner on the built-up 305 engine. A '68 Nova subframe was added underneath. Custom elements include modified fenders and '64 Lincoln taillights.
The Americans and blackwall...
The Americans and blackwall meats give a '60s edge to Joe Albietz's '49 Ford coupe. We especially liked the color and the cloth-covered stock split-bench seats. We never got a look under the hood, but wouldn't be surprised to find something stout.
Another well-done shoebox...
Another well-done shoebox with tasteful paint, this '51 Ford Custom is the mild-mannered alter ego of the restless-looking '49 (one photo up). Clarence Sackett preserved the car's stock condition, right down to the Flathead mill with a Ford oil bath air cleaner.
This '59 Impala was a stock...
This '59 Impala was a stock California car when Ron and Cathy Tatum bought it from the original owner. Now it runs a generously chromed Chevy ZZ4, with RideTech airbags to drop it. The '59 dash is filled with Classic Instruments.