Event Coverage My 2019 Vintage Torque Fest Adventure

As I am sure you all know by now, this past weekend was the 10th Annual Vintage Torque Fest in Dubuque, IA. The week prior the weather in the upper Midwest was miserable as it rained most every day. As luck would have it, by Thursday evening the sun had returned and the weekend was looking great. It couldn't have come at a better time.

This year I decided to take my 8 year old and it was an excellent decision. Having my little hot rodder as my co-pilot was definitely the highlight of my weekend. He was more than happy to miss a day of school and he could not contain his excitement as he enjoys hot rods as much as I do.

I have a Model A but this year my friend said I could take his truck, so I took him up on his offer. Thursday morning I drove to his shop to get the ride. I snapped this photo on my way back to my place.



To kick off our weekend of fun we hit a local cruise-in Thursday evening. We were both pretty happy to do something car related as it was a long cold Winter. This was our first opportunity of 2019 to hit a car show, so we were going to make it memorable. Friday morning we set off for Dubuque, IA. With the open road ahead, the sun shining, the radio cranked, we were quite possibly the two happiest hot rodders around.



We crossed the bridge into Iowa with the mighty Mississippi below us.


As we waited for the gates to open there were plenty of great cars in the staging lanes to enjoy!


Rolling into the Fairgrounds and looking forward to what was sure to be a great experience.


Our first stop was the swap meet. My boy even had a list of items he was looking for










This is a really cool radiator cap!




















After some good times and cool scores in the swap meet all I heard was "Dad....dad....dad...dad...let's go look at all the cars!!"
So with that we left the swap area to take in all the killer rides...

 

I was there with my guys! Great time!


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My boy was having the time of his life and wanted to look at every car. The variety of cars that arrive at Torque Fest is vast. There is something for everyone and so much to enjoy. With so much eye candy the day felt as if it were in fast forward.















































There's always action on the dirt track!

 

It's always nice when someone puts an effort into their dash!





Torque Fest is not just a car show. Besides the live bands, pin up contest, art auction, mini bike races, you can also bring your car on the dirt track for hot laps and drag racing!


Here are a few videos I took of some bangers completing hot laps before the "Dirty Drags". The action was more intense than this, but this is still a fun video. My boy was lovin' it!!

 

The Gentry crew was there once again with their mobile Louver Press. My fathers '40 Ford has a hood full of louvers so my boy is familiar with them. Now he was able to see how louvers are punched into sheet metal. Many people brought panels to be pressed and the Gentry's donated the money to Helping Hannah's Heart. This is a great family oriented show and such a joy to share this experience with my kiddo.



This Cyclekart stopped us in our tracks. They have not caught on in the Midwest yet, but they have a greater following on the East Coast and West Coast.




This is a scaled down version of an Indy race car. I could see my son in one of these!












There were plenty of motorcycles at Torque Fest as well. The board track racers are always my favorite of the bikes. Mini bikes are also encouraged and they have the run of the fairgrounds.

Here is a short video I took of the Weirdo mini bikes cruising the fairgrounds.

 

This was the "Sleeper" of the show....it looks like a tame little Chevy...



Until you look under the hood. The power plant is not exactly HAMB friendly (and No, its not a diesel, but I'm pretty sure you can guess) so you had best be ready for a race if you're going to challenge this Sunday driver, because it's packing about 425 HP.












We had an incredible time at Torque Fest. When it was time to leave my son was sad and asked if he could come with next year. Without a doubt we will do this again. So much to see and do, it really is an interactive event.
Vintage Torque Fest 2019 was a hit!

 

Nice........... Thanx, Gary

 

Great coverage! Sounds like a great trip!

 

Thanks for the pics & event coverage.

 

Anyone get any info on the '32 two door for sale?

 

Better have you friend that owns that pickup you were driving check his gauge or engine 10-15 lbs of cruising speed oil pressure is pretty low.

Nice work on the show shots.

 

Thanks for the ride along.

 

Great Pic's ! Thanks, Memories with your boy Priceless

 

What aa grea bunch of shots! I'd miss a day of school to see/experience all that. What did your son get at the swap meet or is there a new father/son project on the horizon? Think cyclecart! Thanks, Carp.

 

...excellent write-up and pics,...it pretty much tells the whole story, best thread yet on the T-Fest, thanks....

 

Thanks for the report. I drug 2 camera bodies and 3 Lens to VTF but never took a picture. Helped a buddy at the swap meet and between people looking, cars, and bands never got them out of the Biscayne. One pix I wish I had gotten was a dad and his daughter who was riding in a '30s era stroller. He said she was his forth kid to use it. Really had a good time again this year.
Bent

 

Thanks for the great pictures. It is good to hear you took your son! Way to keep the hobby alive. My 11 year old daughter is getting excited for her first trip to the Hot Rod Dirt Drags in less than a month.

 

Yeah, I noticed that. It was just the gauge.

 

I was able to add a few videos I took at Torque Fest. ^^^^ look above in my thread.

 

Thanks for posting all the pics. I took my camera, but only took a few with my phone.
We had a good drive there and back, and it's always a great show!

 

Thanks for posting Speed, I have never seen this kind of coverage of this show. I need to make time for this one next year ! Larry

 

Great pics, thanks for sharing. This was my old car, Bob bought it from me and did a really great job making it fully functional (it's very pieced together and was far from finished when I sold it) but it's really cool to see it racing around the dirt track in those videos.

Never did figure out what those aluminum doors were from. You can't see it in this pic but the other side door says "Ward" or "Warden" and below that "King's Highway".

 

Thank you so much for being positive and understanding what this show is all about.

 

thanx for great coverage, great turnout at a super event

 

Was my first time attending this year. Is now one of my favorite shows. Was well worth the 6 hour drive.

 

The Iron Invasion is the same venue in October and a lot closer, try it.

 

This was the first time I went as a passenger & for just Saturday. Going in my fellow club members 52 Chevy with no tunes was still a great time! The miles just flew by! Had some quality people & car,minibike watching all day long! Thanks again John for a great show!

 

Went to it last fall, another great show.

 

Thanks for the photos. Snowman