History The runs/shows that stand out from all the others

I always heard the Noccalula Rod Run at Noccalula Falls, AL was a good one to go to. I never made it, didn't have anything old enough at the time, and the club that held it for years quit a few years ago. Probably some of you guys went a time or two....

 

Holy Crap HRP. That video is AMAZING!!! That brings back such fond memories of what early street rodding was like...and the importance of Rod Runs to this hobby.

Nowadays you can go to a cruise or show almost every weekend. But what a lot of the younger guys don't realize that in the 60s, 70s and into the 80s, there were no cruises, and hot rods weren't allowed or accepted at Car Shows. The only time you ever saw more than 2 or 3 hot rods together was at an indoor car show or the newly created Rod Runs. 20, 30, 50 or more "like minded" hot rodders that DROVE their cars...it was like nothing we had ever seen (or been part of) before.

These early Rod Runs were few and far between, but they weren't to be missed...and you would drive almost any distance (even if it was questionable if your rod would make it) just to be part of it. It was a GREAT TIME to be a hot rodder!

Thanks for the memories HRP

 

Oh yeah, Me in '71...18 year old hippy '48 Chev 283 3/spd

 

Gatlinburg from '71 until the bitter end, with the riots, fire hoses, helicopters, and local "kids" in the flat bed truck wearing riot gear. And overturned police car (s). Also always enjoyed any KKOA or KOA show.

 

Unfortunately , all that was true. The president of the Nashville Street Rods (who started and hosted Big G ) told me they had to stop Big G because of their liability and the City of Gatlinburg pulled the plug as well. I was there and I was part of the problem because I was part of the "audience". I also agree the Shades Runs were good but not Big G. Enough of this BS , but I still miss it. Later Bill

 

Come on up, Danny - we’ll be waiting for ya ......

 

Stray Kat 500 and the Hot Rod Hundreds in several states are nothing but pure fun for me.

 

Me too, Big 3, LARS, local clubs swaps. I guess for a run, the only thing that I do is the Aces's poker run every year through Santiago Canyon down here.

 

Such a shame that the "idiots" messed that one up.
I don't recall the year it started but we were going there when it was at the school in the mid 80's, always enjoyed that event as a fellow worker had a vacation place there and would invite us up for the weekend.
There was even garage sales the whole length of the peninsula as a bonus.

 

I agtree about BTT50's. It's so popular that I haven't been in 15 years. (Kudos to Yogi Berra.)

 

In Pittsburgh we used to have the Wexford Starlight Car cruise every Friday night in the summer. It used to pull 1500 on a bad night. And these were mostly all old cars.. On year on labor day they had 3200 cars! There were Auburns, Customs from the fifties, Zephyrs from the thirty's and forty's, hydro sticks, Mana-fre's. I didn't know there was this much out there especially in my neck of the woods. .

 

I went to Peoria as a passenger and I thought I died and went to heaven, nothing was ever as much fun.

 

That's exactly how I felt when I went to Gatlinburg!

At that time no one drove their hot rods too far from home, I only knew a couple of guys that had a hot rod and for me to drive my Model A truck from South Carolina to Tennessee was a adventure, I carried every tool I thought I might need and fortunately they all stayed in the tool box.

Driving a hot rod a 170 miles to a show is nothing today but at that time we were proving these old home built hot rods could be dependable. HRP

 

KKOA in Salina Ks. ,Stray Cat 500 , HAMB drags .

 

LARS
Grand National
Lone Star Round Up
Pistons & Paint
Bonneville
all these are traditional shows
Keep the entry fee cheap because the cars make the show not visa versa
Good Guys could be on this list as well as NSRA @ this point they are way high on entry fee
No show should be over $45.00

 

3W John, You were actually at Peoria? The Tom Medley, Bud Bryan, Jitney Jake Peoria? Man, that makes you a legend in my book!!!

 

It is a shame, it was a great town for a show. CJ had a motorhome and we would take that and haul a car up as we would get together with some others and rent a big field a guy owned. Was a lot of fun. Accidently caught the grass on fire at the show with CJ's 55 Chevy pickup he built as the truck was so low just the heat from the pipes burnt the grass. We stopped going regularly when they moved the show off Labor Day weekend.

 

Grand National will be interesting over the next few years since that show plus Sacramento have pulled out of the ISCA for judging and Championship points, so you could see a drop off in high quality non roadster cars as they cant gain any points for Chicago. It also gutted the talks of reviving the West Coast Challenge for indoor shows.

I agree as well with the entry fees with Goodguys and NSRA, although I think the Goodguys shows still give you more for you buck over NSRA anymore.

 

Yes, I rode shotgun in a friends T.

thank you.

 

Lead Ain't Dead in Dewey, OK. Above is an informal gathering before the event, followed by a dinner theater with a 1950's car movie. The next day, about 8 of us ran to Daryl Starbird's museum. The day of the show, I parked my off-topic truck around the corner.

I drove 3 days to get there. It was my first Kustom event - I had a great time, everyone was nice to this 74 year old "newby". I caught 2 more car museums on the way home.

 

The first 20 something years of the Run to Roslyn when Paul Harper and his tight knit group of car folks friends ran it. Laid back event that drew a lot of traditional rods and customs that you never saw anywhere else and in the early days spending the weekend and partying at the Brick on Saturday night was part of the fun.
The early days of The End of the World run at Long Beach as was mentioned before when the poker run was the big deal as you got one piece of the dash plaque If you can call something about 4 inches square a dash plaque at each poker stop.
For me an event doesn't have to be a big car count event, it doesn't have to music or entertainment and if the only spectators are other car folk who made out because they love the cars that are there that doesn't hurt either.

 

I remember a show at a HUGE field, had to walk quite a distance if I recall.
Wasn't that at Ocean Park?

 

HAMB drags....best event, hands down

 

Hello,

The Bay area was always a destination spot for us. The few days prior to the big events happening in some area of the Bay, always drew hot rods and cool cruisers roaming the streets from downtown San Francisco to Sausalito across the bridge, and even up in the Berkeley hills. There was something in the air about "going to San Francisco" for a car event or two.


When those Andy’s Picnics in Castro Valley, CA (across the Bay, inland) were happening, it was THE place to go. From taking photos, be seen by the hot rod groups, and looking at all of the hot rods (from mostly, the Bay Area, but…) trekking in from all over. My wife and I used the event as part of our Westcoast touring and photo road trips. A week long vacation and sight seeing + special touring was thrown in as an excuse to go to that hot, dry, dusty canyon, just to see cool hot rods and customs. What we wouldn’t do for a good photo opportunity…ha!
from HEMI32

But, in thinking back and relating it to today’s current big time events, the Early Times Pancake Breakfasts and the early LA Roadster Shows at nearby So Cal parks were something that no one else was doing as a group. In the beginning, it was just hot rod families, then it became a “thing” to do for other hot rod guys/girls, etc. Finally, the Roadster Show got so big that it moved many times, to end up as a Nationally recognized huge event associated with the Father’s Day happenings in So Cal.

Jnaki

These days, it is fun to go to one of the local events, it sparks the hot rod/cruiser/drag racing memories from So Cal. Some are good and some are just too crowded. Many events have lasted well over 30 years, they seem like fairly young, historic events, but 50 years sound like those good old days that started the craze, over a half century ago.

 

There are a lot of runs that have special meaning to me and my"partners in crime", for me But more so I think it comes down to a certain era you might have been a part of in time when cars shows, campout weekends were what your life revolved around. The world seems different now and I know it's not politically correct but I miss the times when we could have a few beers at a show and have my rebel flag back seat cover that wasn't something that was frowned upon like it is now. I also miss drop kicking those fabric crying kid's people used to have leaning against their cars at shows.

 

Of all the events that I went to this year the KKOA Lead Sled Spectacular in Salina was the premiere event for me. A lot of customs and hot rods, top chopping demonstrations, just a fantastic show

 

Yep that was it, the show is still there at that location.

 

Remember ol' Crazy? in the roaring 30's with the yellow hiboy.

 

YEP!_---===== Now that we are very much older, we can look back at all the neat times with our cars & friends.-----See you at 2020 LAR show, we'll have more to offer then.------Don

 

Times flys when your having fun.