Outta' Control Hot Rods takes control of the April Platte City Cruise

In Kansas City, many people think of Platte City as the place where Sonny Hill used to sell cars, or maybe where you stop to grab a Whopper before you head up to St. Joseph.  Well, there is at least one more thing that is worth checking out in Platte City, and that's the Outta' Control Hot Rods Car Cruise in the Pizza Shoppe/Mr. Goodcents parking lot.

Last year, the hot rod club that organized this monthly event pulled out of it, so it was kind of left in limbo for awhile.  Larry Colstion was a big fan of the Platte City Cruise, though, and endeavored to make it thrive again.  Attendance was a little weak in 2011, but all of Larry and the crew's work from Outta' Control Hot Rods is finally paying off, because there were easily 100 cars there for the first one of the 2012 season.

As the name of the car club implies, there were lots of hot rods there.  Most of them were of the modern wheels, modern mechanicals, vintage air variety that make for comfortable cruising.  Those kind of cars usually don't come cheap, but a lot of times they are appreciated if you're heading to a meet a few hundred miles away from home in the middle of summer, and they can save marriages if your significant other doesn't appreciate finicky carburetors and 4-55 air conditioning.

What was really cool there?  Well, it would be easier to tell you what wasn't.  There's a '66 Caprice station wagon that we've seen around before, but it's worth a second look.  The old car had a lot of equipment, including factory air conditioning and a 396 big block.  There's just something about that bright red wagon with the fake wood appliqué that makes you want to take the family to Yellowstone National Park.

There were several interesting older Corvettes there, including a pretty Hondouras Maroon '62, a red '65 roadster with white seats that would make anyone happy, and a pretty original '63 coupe that was refreshingly non-perfect.  There was also a very desirable black '57 Corvette out there.  All of them were nice, and really, older Corvettes were even better represented here than at the Corvette show I went to earlier in the day.

There was really quite a variety there.  Look one way and you'd see a line of Chevelles and El Caminos.  Look somewhere else, and you'll see a bunch of tri-five Chevys.  There were a couple of neat Firebirds.  A Camaro or three.  Several old trucks.  A GTO here and there.  There was just a little something for everyone.

The fun abruptly came to an end when the clouds thickened and it started to sprinkle at about 7:30.  Nothing too serious came of it, but the crowd scattered all the same.

I'm glad this cruise is started to take hold, because I know these guys are working hard at it.  They'll be back at it next month in Platte City, but if you can't wait that long, see the slideshow below.