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37th Annual Daytona Turkey RunA Great Way To Spend Thanksgiving Weekend From the April, 2011 issue of Street Rodder By Carrol Hamilton
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It's Thanksgiving weekend in Daytona Beach, Florida, you're in the infield of the Daytona International Speedway, there are over 4,000 hot rods, over 4,000 vendor/swap meet spaces, and over 2,500 cars in the car corral-it must by the 37th Annual Daytona Turkey Run. No awards, no TV personalities, just thousand of cars and parts to look at and enjoy coupled with a carnival-style food court and numerous door prizes given away daily. Add what is arguably the "World's Most Famous Beach"-an array of nighttime activities, plus all the amenities of a tourist town-and the Turkey Run is the place to be. Sue and Jim Kraus of Bourg,... Sue and Jim Kraus of Bourg, LA, are the proud owners of this really fine '39 Ford coupe. The metallic maroon paint, along with the tan wheels, baby moon caps, and wide whites gives a classy look. The Daytona Beach Street Rods handle the show car portion of the event and a majority of the proceeds go to the Volusia County Special Olympics. The Daytona Beach Racing & Recreational Facilities District oversees the swap meet, car corral, and the gate admissions. Those proceeds are reinvested in local recreation facilities and activities. Unlike corporate-produced car shows, the Turkey Run is unique, in that it directly supports the local community. After 37 years the Turkey Run is run like a well-oiled machine. In addition to plenty of show car parking areas, there are special reserved "club parking areas." These areas are marked with the club names and the club member's cars have specific stickers that indicate their club parking area, thus allowing the traffic directing crew to get you to your area. There are notaries available in the car corral area should you buy or sell a vehicle. There are traffic-directing personnel at all infield intersections. There are "parts haulers" available to carry your swap meet/vendor finds to the parking area, and there are motorized carts available for rent. The Turkey Run is participant/spectator friendly. For a slight fee, the host... For a slight fee, the host club will furnish dedicated club parking. No need to arrive early to get a good spot and you can be sure that you can park with all of your friends. As we walked the spacious speedway infield we came to the conclusion that our hobby/sport appears to be weathering the economic storm quite well. In addition to the largest crowd ever, the array of cars ran from budget-built rods to high-end national award winners; rods, customs, muscle cars, antiques, and everything in between. Vendors we spoke with were doing a brisk business as were the swap meet crowd. We witnessed a lot of parts being hauled out to the parking areas all weekend long. If you are looking for a laid back, fun event, packed with a variety of day and night activities, reserve the 2011 Thanksgiving week for the 38th Annual Turkey Run, for more information: www.turkeyrun.com.  "Ed" came down the East Coast...  "Ed" came down the East Coast from Delaware in his beautiful Purple '40 Ford drop-top.  Mary Ann and Eldon Smith of...  Mary Ann and Eldon Smith of Duluth, GA, brought their beautiful black over silver contemporary Dearborn Deuce. The interior features tan leather with snake skin inserts.  Red metalflake, white rolls...  Red metalflake, white rolls and pleats, cheater slicks, narrow whitewalls on chrome reversed wheels, with spiders; this '60s style T-bucket was in the swap meet area with an asking price of $16,500.  How often do you see a totally...  How often do you see a totally restored '32 Ford sedan? Yeah, we know, it would sure make a cool hot rod, but we doubt that Patty and Steve Ellis see that in this car's future.  If you have the patience and...  If you have the patience and time old tin is still out there.  Charlie Price is the proprietor...  Charlie Price is the proprietor of Vintage Speed and to showcase his wares he built this fully chromed Nailhead for his A roadster. Six chromed Strombergs on a chrome log, lots of chromed finned aluminum, and some unique carb stacks look good in front of the checkerboard firewall.  There was a fair amount of...  There was a fair amount of future street rod material in the swap meet. Starting with a restored Model A would make building a street rod a fairly straight forward project.  Not something you see every...  Not something you see every day: Official Car, AAA Contest Board, 23rd Indianapolis 500. Joe Gimple, of Daytona Beach, built this '35 Ford replica.  Tony Smoot rolled down from...  Tony Smoot rolled down from Woodbridge, VA, in his smooth '32 Ford roadster. This ride is loaded with cool items that Tony made himself, including the hood side inserts and the grille shell chin bar.  Early Ford pickup trucks,...  Early Ford pickup trucks, like Donald Stagerwald's dark blue '50 model, are as popular as ever. Don trucked in from Seymore, TN.  Parked next to the Sunoco...  Parked next to the Sunoco Racing fuel pumps, this flat green Model A accented with apple green wires and firewall sure was an attention getter.  Drop-tops are big in Florida...  Drop-tops are big in Florida and Jerry Wahl of nearby New Smyrna Beach was seen cruising in his blue and white '55 Ford Sunliner.  Mickey Lauria, of Total Performance...  Mickey Lauria, of Total Performance fame, has retired and was enjoying his first car show as a participant in 40 years. His friends told him to bring the car, bring some chairs, and bring a lot of cash to "support the vendors."  How about a '30 Marmon sedan;...  How about a '30 Marmon sedan; two-fours on a tunnel ram feed the big-block Chevy, while it rolls on oval track stock car wheels. Benny Stevens drives this, waist high, hot rod around his hometown of Bushnell, FL.  This long, low, sleek custom...  This long, low, sleek custom '48 Cadillac had a crowd around it all weekend long. Chris Ryan out of Anderson, SC, is the proud owner.  If you are going to paint...  If you are going to paint it black it has to be straight and Susan and Randy Balmer (North Port, FL) got their '37 Ford sedan really straight. The tan leather interior looks very inviting.  We all like Divco milk trucks,...  We all like Divco milk trucks, but how about a '33 Model H home delivery model. Tiller steering from either side and powered by a four-cylinder Continental engine.  This is one bad '34 Chevrolet...  This is one bad '34 Chevrolet sedan. The eagle lead flames splitting the black and orange highlight the super smooth body. Walter and Karen Burdett came down from Gasport, NY, to celebrate Thanksgiving with their rodding friends.  This early Chevrolet Woody...  This early Chevrolet Woody caught our eye; dark green, five-spokes, and nice wood. Simple but cool.  Shirley and Ray Pember motored...  Shirley and Ray Pember motored in from Lake Worth, FL, in their '29 Essex. Wide whites and 10 spokes are a nice touch.  Joy and Ron Rogers can be...  Joy and Ron Rogers can be found wheeling their '37 Ford Woody around the beach town of Ponce Inlet, FL. The powder blue woody with the surfboard on the roof rack is just plain cool.
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