Weston Moonshiners Cruise was like taking a trip into the past

The Downtown Liberty Cruise was Saturday night.  I know that's a huge monthly event, and I live north of the Missouri River, so it's only natural that I make that a regular stop.  But this weekend I wanted to try something different.  I mean, I've taken pictures of most everything in Liberty 100 times.  So I looked at the handy weekly calendar here on HMC, and decided to give the Weston Moonshiners Cruise a try.

Weston is actually a pleasant drive on Highway 45 from my house in Parkville.  For a while, there was no traffic coming or going, and with the farm fields and forest on one side, and the train tracks on the other, I imagined that my old truck and I had been transported back to the mid-'60s.  I can't exactly explain it, but somehow that drive just felt "right" for the old beater I was driving.

There are a bunch of antique stores and quaint little shops in Weston, although most of them were closed when the car cruise was taking place.  We kind of enjoy going through those old junk shops sometimes, so maybe we'll get back up there during regular business hours.

The cruise wasn't huge--maybe 30 or 40 cars.  Weston is a little out of the way for some people, but I think a combination of the heat, plus big cruises in Liberty and Belton on the same night, probably kept the count down a bit.

There were still some nice cars there, though.  One was a 1930 Franklin that was quite a car in its day.  You probably could have bought six new Fords for what this cost new, although Franklins were marketed as economical.  It had an interesting-looking, 95-hp inline six-cylinder engine that had originally been developed for use in aircraft.

Looking down the line was a '72 GTO that the owner had proudly upfitted with a custom interior.  The front seats were out of a late-model GTO, and all the seats were recovered in leather.  The seats were just installed the day before, and it was clear that the husband and wife duo who were standing guard over the orange Goat were pretty happy with the modern amenities. 

There was a '59 DeSoto four-door sedan that caught my eye.  Honestly, this car wouldn't have won a beauty contest even when it was brand new.  Compared to some of the other contemporary offerings from the Chrysler Corporation, 1959 DeSoto styling was a bit bumper-heavy.  And this stodgy sedan body style was finished off in a hue that could best be described as calamine lotion tan.  But the old car was so original that you had to respect it.  It just looked like a nice used car that you might expect to see on a car lot in about 1962.  A little detailing on that thing would really bring out the inner beauty.  Plus, it was for sale.  Hmmm ...

A black '69 Camaro SS/RS with a 396 big block and houdstooth interior was a very welcome late arrival, a red and white '59 Ford four-door sedan may have shared the same grocery store parking lot as the DeSoto back in the day, a chopped '40 Ford Deluxe sedan had a great early-'50s custom look, and a red '57 Corvette--well, you know, you can't go wrong with one of those.

Maybe the best part about this cruise is that I got to talk to a bunch of people.  Sometimes I go to a big cruise, and hardly anyone stops by to say hi.  At this one, I met several people that either read this blog, or just wanted to hang out and talk about old trucks.  It was a great atmosphere, and something I really enjoyed.

And on that note, I hope you enjoy the 100 or so pictures in the slideshow below.  Or, for a better version of the slideshow, click this link.