Art & Inspiration Pics: 1974 Street Rod Nationals

..................................Thanks for that update. Would love to see it out again. What a sweet '40.

 

Thanks for the memories. I was there but my 48 Monarch Convt. was not captured but the photo of my buddies 34 Ford panel "Teds Vintage Tin" was great to see again.

 

What an awesome thread! I turned 18 in 1974 and had been a hot rod freak since a kid reading R&C and Hot Rod and Car Craft magazines. It would be a few years later (after several muscle cars) before I got my first real street rod (early 80's) and by then the 70's look was fading fast with M&M color paint jobs, tweed interiors and billet crap taking over.

So great to look at all these photos that brings us back to a simpler time when we were all so young! Seems like we had more fun and everyone wasn't so angry all the time. Glad this thread has been kept around and sure would like to see a HAMB section for late 60's and 70's style rods. Going to be redoing my '34 three window (not my avatar but a full fendered chopped top coupe) and seriously been thinking about going with slotted aluminum's, wide bias tires (front and rear) and maybe replacing the dropped axle with a stocker.

 

I grew up in the 70"s. We lived right next to hwy 62. We really didn't even have to go out to the fairgrounds, even though it's only a few miles away, we could just sit on the back stoop & watch them roll in. Looking at this thread again recently, I noticed the white dodge van with the '74 poster. I recognized that, as I have had that poster for many years

 

...yup, St Paul Minnesota,..I was there, a lot of those cars are still around tho most have changed somewhat..the Nats were held in St. Paul quite a few years...

 

What stands out to me is the age of the folks, look to be much younger than what we see now.

 

Yep, I was 45 years younger in 1974!
I actually didn't attend my first Nats until 1977 in St Paul.

 

NO SHIT.

 

It was the best fair grounds in that era. Kind of like a town with no houses. Nice streets and plenty of trees. Louisville is like a asphalt desert. Probably the worst place to have the Nationals.

 

Yep. Sam Gregory's sedan. I remember it from Rod Action. Always loved this one.

 

I found around 20 from 1979.Had forgotten about them until I read this revived thread. Gave me a chance to go down memory lane.
I was at St.Paul in 1974 but have no pictures. Most likely didn't own a camera at age 15

 

I missed the updates on this thread. That tan with brown metallic 38 Chev coupe in the background was my parents. I was 10 years old. Our family went on the Worlds longest rod tour from Winnipeg to St. Paul. It was super hot in Winnipeg and not a tree in sight. The 38 blew it's radiator and I have a photo of me laying under the hood to get some shade while Dad swapped out the radiator. My uncle Dean had his 39 Chev sedan. Fun times indeed.

 

Talk about the "good old days"!

 

What an awesome thread!

 

Not sure if I've already posted this but ha ho
This is our 1974 St Pauls super 8 cine film.

 

I believe this is Willie Lewis' 31 Chevy out of Des Moines. He still owns the car, just saw it at GG Des Moines in July. It's orange and chopped now.

 

I drove to the 74 nats ( as a spectator ). I was 15 with a learners permit ( I grow up 15 min from the fair grounds) In my newly built o/t 66 pontiac, but this show changed my life forever

 

Thanks for posting the video. It's nice to remember I was that age once.

 

Al's. C.D.T., thank you for the video. Great memories.

 

The link to the 1974 St. Paul video in post #256, is a HOOT!

 

I bet this was a fun ride! Wonder why one headlight...

 

@seb fontana It had two headlights. The angle of the photo together with the wide tires and the headlights being back a ways you can't see it there.

Other photos here: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...et-rod-nationals.1046093/page-5#post-11861445

 

I found a local Marshalltown legend's T touring in the video above at 9:11 minutes. Cool to see the car moving. I wonder where it is now?

 

I'm kinda obsessed with this car. Pretty sure this pic is from the first nats in Peoria.

 

You managed to catch me following Norm Grabowski out of the fairgrounds right around the 9:15 mark.

I was shooting 35 mm back then but shortly after that I switched to 8mm film for a couple of years then to Beta video for a number of years. Ken Sargent and I formed K&S Video and shot car events all over the northeast, the Nationals & Canats as well as the Aussie Nats for a number of years then I switched back to photos.

Now I shoot digital images exclusively

Great seeing that video. I think I even saw Tom "Trash Mouth" (that was his CB handle) Tully in his Long Island Street Rod Assn shirt clowning around for the camera.

 

Yes that was Tom, we actually traveled with Tom from Long Island in his 1936 Chevy, and on the way we met up with Sebastian Rubbo. We had a great time.
Any idea what happened to Tom?

 

I see Tom at least once a year, usually at the Northeast Nats in Burlington where we both are NSRA Safety Inspectors. We work different shifts but he's always on duty when I get there on Friday afternoon and have my '68 GTX inspected.
He's been living in the Stroudsburg, PA area for quite some time now.
He hasn't changed,either. Still the same fun-loving jokester he always was.
Tom's daughter Amanda is a gearhead as well, BTW. She'll make a good NSRA Safety Inspector with her formal mechanic's education.

Saby, as you probably already know, died a number of years ago. Lenny Biondi (Boston Area Roadsters) wound up with the '36 and he restored it. I did the re-wiring on the car for Lenny back in 2002.

Those photos I posted a couple of years ago have a lot of pics of Saby's '36 and George Fitzios' silver cammer powered roadster from Windsor, Ontario.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/pics-1974-street-rod-nationals.1046093/page-6

Was Paul Saputo with your entourage coming out from the island? I saw his car in a couple of pictures.

 

Wow that's great you still meet, please pass my regards to Tom, I would love to get in touch if possible. We stayed a Al Leggros house in Long Island, we traveled with Tom, in his 36, Chip & Beth I think they had a 32 black roadster, Sally & Nick with, I think their 34 Panel Van, then I'm not sure. Thanks for the info about Tom.

 

Skip Happy New Year. It's good to hear that some of the guys are still around. I remember all the names you mentioned. I was with Vintage Tin LI, had the bright yellow 40 Willys coupe. I think I spoke with you at one of the GG events they held in Rhinebeck. It's too bad they moved I only live 3 miles away from the fairgrounds.