Hi, I'm Mike Blythe. And I'm addicted...to old cars. All it took to get me up North after having ridden the bike up there only two months ago was a phone call from Ed Johnson. Eddie is my high school buddy in Peoria who called me and wondered if I'd be able to make the Aledo car show. I had told him about Miss Frump, and he had just purchased a 1962 Chevy Impala that he drove in school. Add to that another high school classmate, Danny Kistler has a 1968 Chevy Nova that he owned back then and was going to display also, and it created kind of a perfect storm. I had a friend in G-Burg, JC, who was going to bring their Fiero over also, and then maybe head over to Knoxville for their annual car show. So it was a busy day.
One of the problems was that Miss Frump was in the shop for a starting problem. Luckily she was able to be discharged from the hospital but would need further work done on one of her torsion bars and Dr. Allen wanted to tighten a stearing gear problem. This meant no long trip to Knoxville, so no JC, but Miss Frump was able to make the Aledo show.
Danny's 68 Nova (same car he had in H.S), Eddie's 62 Chevy Impala (same model he had in H.S.), and my 63 Dodge Custom 880 (more like something my grandfather would have owned when I was in H.S.)
For style, nothing beats a 62 Chevy. Eddie has this one shining and I was really surprised he didn't take an award home with him. There were no classes, however, and that makes it tough to judge. This was a 'Best 40" show and it is almost impossible to get it right. The interior was immaculate and original and the paint job looked really professional. It was no wonder he had the most "looks".
My new Dodge is in remarkably good shape and except for the work I need done to the torsion bars, shows well. But at car shows it's usually all glitter, muscle or nostalgia, and Miss Frump fails on all three accounts. It's not really her fault; it's a cobbled mutt of a car that was hurriedly designed to give Dodge a large car presence in the market after the disastrous '62 downsizing debacle.
It was really nice to get back to a car show again (I went to G-Burg's railroad days show so 2 this summer). Lawn chair, check. Sit in the shade, check. See lots of old Aledo familiar faces, check. Fun conversations with Eddie and Danny, check. Coolers with beer, check.
In the 50's fins were everywhere. Even on boats. I really liked the looks of this neat looking old boat with outsized fins. Restored trailer and fun addition to the car show. Hey, it's Antique Days, anything goes.
This old jalopy had a lot of interest from the crowd. It is an unrestored barn find. Rare these days, since most barns have been checked out already or have fallen in.
This is a shot looking west from College Avenue where our cars are parked.
And this is looking East. Antique Days Car show started a few years ago and I was one of the first attendees. There were about a dozen of us parked on the west in front of the senior citizens center. It has since grown to almost 300 cars.
This is a shot from where we sat all day. That's Danny's car on the left. Best place to park - in the shade all day.
A shot from 4-way south on College Avenue...
...and North.
A lot of souped up stuff, chopped and sometimes unrecognizeable from their hey day. Like that gold thing to the right - chopped, lowered and chromed up, really not my thing. Me? I like them just the way they rolled off the assembly line.
A true hot rod. Okay, some of the redone things i do like. I kind of liked this one.
Although seemingly stock, this car, unfortunately had aftermarket wheels and a rather obtrusive stereo system. I don't have a problem with stereos in old cars but they should be hidden. Many put their CD decks in the glove compartment or under the seats. When you start drilling holes in the hat shelf or doors it becomes less and less stock. But aside from that, I liked this old '60 Ford a lot.
A dazzleing 1963 Dodge Custom 880. These cars are virtually unseen these days and certainly forgotten. Mention an 880 to a car buff and you are likely to get a quizzical look in return. Thats' one of the beauties of this thing. Half Dodge, half Chrysler, a real mutt with an interesting history. Oh, and yes, she still sports her original spare tire. Miss frump may not win many trophies, but it's likely most have never seen anything quite like her, or will ever again. With most of the 9000 made gone, she is a rarity.
Eddie's Chevy was a true joy to park next to. It was funny to see folks walk by my Dodge without so much as a glance, and give a flattering nod to Danny's Nova, but people came to a full-blown stop when they saw this beauty. Dark blue, perfect interior, this car is a the proverbial show-stopper. Was there ever a better looking Chevy than the 62's? Ed and I used to run around in his robin's egg blue '62 in high school, and glad that he found this one after a long search.
Danny's Nova has an interesting history. He had this in high school and in later years sold it to someone and, to make a long story short, he was able to buy it back. How many of us wish we had our high school wheels? Yeah, like about ALL of us. Well, Danny's has his and although there are modifications, like where is the back seat, Kissy?, it is pretty much original. Nova's were at the forefront of the automobile downsizing trends and proved people would buy them if they were nice looking. Nova's clear into the 70's were a great looking car.
Stopping by with a cooler of ice cold beer was Jerry Bigham, another classmate from Aledo. Thats' Eddie in the middle and Kissy on the right. My chair is in the middle and that's my beer on the sidewalk.
Comments
Post a Comment