Cruising Around the 2012 Street Rod Nationals

The 43rd NSRA Street Rod Nationals were held this past weekend in Louisville, Ky. California Car Cover has been going to the SRN since we were founded in 1989. The show attracts thousands of classic cars to the Kentucky Expo Center each year. I had not been back to the show in a number of years, so I came along this year to assist the CCC Crew in our booth. We were busy talking car covers all weekend but I tried to sneak out of the booth when I could to snap some pics and video. Here are some of the highlights.

Custom Camaro Interior

 Do you follow us on Instagram? You should! Just look for Tony DeFrank and calcarcover. I post quite a few photos there that do not end up on the blog or CCC Facebook.

 This cool 1957 Chevy was a raced and owned by our good friend John Barkley from Street Rodder magazine. John sold the car to another good friend of the DeFrank family, Marv Ripes of A-1 transmissions. The car used engines built by Joe Allread, who happened to build motors for some of the old DeFrank & Cohen Hemi cars of the 1970-80s. It was cool to see it on display in the Cragar booth.

Nice Chevy Camaro on display

1933 Chevy Coupe at the GM Performance Booth

 One of my favorite photos of the weekend. I had see this truck back at the Detroit Autorama. It was based upon a drawing by hot rod artist Keith Weesner. I had just met the owners/builders of the truck inside the hall when I saw the truck parked out front of the building.

Custom Engine Compartment in the above Ford

 The Builder's Showcase Hall featured a variety of beautiful custom cars. There were plenty of cars on display at either end of the exhibit hall.

 The building was packed throughout the weekend. There were about 10,000 cars at the show and thousands of people. They all needed a place to beat the heat and relax. There was even some rain and thunderstorms while we were there so often the crowd escaped to the building to stay cool and dry.

Custom Wagon

Talking car care at the California Car Cover Booth.

 Another big attraction at the show was the weekend swap meet. There were plenty of people at the show looking to sell parts, nostalgia and cars. Here are some photos from the swap meet.

Clean Nova SS up for sale.

This project needed some TLC.

Not sure what happened to this motorcycle

 The nice thing about the Kentucky Expo Center is that there is a lot of space...a lot. There is parking and grass all over the center so car clubs have plenty of room to park and put up canopies for shade. You could spend an entire day+ walking around the show and not see everything.

 It appeared that the best way to get around the show was on the tractor pulled trailer.

 It was nice to see a lot of cars that I have not seen at car shows this year. I have been to plenty of events this year and it was cool to see some different cars. The new "Rolling 30" rule at the Street Rod Nationals attracted a lot more muscle cars to the event. The rule allows owners to drive in their car that is at least 30 years old to the show, which was previously restricted to older classic cars.

Wait a second. I think I know a few members of this family.

One of the more unique ways to cruise the show

Clean Chevy II

Here is a short video of the action from Louisville that the CCC Crew and I put together.

Some of the guys and I at the end of the day.

I had a great time in Louisville. I was able to see some friends from street rodding and drag racing that I had not seen in a number of years. Check back here next week for highlights from the upcoming Pomona Swap Meet, plus coverage of the Monterey auctions and historic races in two weeks.

On the Road in New Mexico

I had last weekend off before the Street Rod Nationals in Louisville so I headed out to New Mexico to see the sights in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos. In between trips to pueblos and museums I took some photos of cool cars and sites along the way. I love traveling the back roads of the USA and happening upon cool roadside attractions.

 This is a view from up on Sandia Peak on the northern side of Albuquerque. The elevation at the top is 10,378 feet. The 15 minute tram ride to the top has some amazing views of the area and you get the chance to see some wildlife. We even spotted a black bear during our ride to the top. Check out the photo below of the tram maintenance worker. His job is to maintain the cable and gears on the top of each tower.

How would you like this job?

Tent Rocks National Monument

 From there is was off to Tent Rocks National Monument. It required a 3 mile round trip hike, but provided some amazing views of New Mexico.

 Are you a fan of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives? I am and was glad to see that a few restaurants featured on that show were in New Mexico. I stopped in the Bobcat Bite in Santa Fe for their famous green chile cheeseburger. It was outstanding and well worth the drive and wait.

Bode's General Store

 Leaving Abiquiu, I spotting this cool gas station and general store. Evidently, Bode's has been a general store since 1893. After picking up some refreshments it was off to Taos.

 Cutting through the Carson National Forest I came across some cool roadside relics. Along the highway there were plenty of old beat up classic cars and I tried to take photos of the ones that I saw in time to stop. It was supposed to be a quiet weekend for my girlfriend and I so I was trying not to stop every five minutes to look at rusty classic cars.

Old Ford Thunderbird

From Carson it was off to Taos. Getting to Taos on the US 84 means you have to cross the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. The bridge is over 1,200 feet across and is 600 feet up above the Rio Grande River.

 Heading back to Santa Fe from Taos, I came across my favorite stop during the trip, the Classic Gas Museum in Embudo, NM. Cruising down highway 68 towards Santa Fe I spotting a group of old gas pumps and had to turn around to check the place out. This place had all sorts of nostalgia and Americana. It is definitely worth a visit if you find yourself in New Mexico.

Next time I am in New Mexico I will definitely be returning here when I have a few hours to stroll around and check out the nostalgia.

calcarcover Instagram

Check back next week for photo and video highlights from the Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Ky. I will be working with the California Car Cover crew at our booth all weekend. Hope to see you out there.