And yet, every year, I’m drawn to this annual Freakfest. Everybody seems to have fun here. I have fun here. The pinup girls posing for pictures and the kids on the old playground equipment in front of the big movie screen have an innocence that contrasts nicely with the hard edge you find elsewhere. Creativity trumps perfection. Fun trumps anxiety. It’s a place where people can forget the troubles of normal life and perform in a theatre of like-minded actors.
And make no mistake, when it comes to cars, there are
some diamonds in this mine. Take this ’62
Chrysler Newport Town and Country station wagon. First of all, when was the last time you saw
one of these? That hardtop station wagon
is wonderfully unusual, and this car was very original overall. I’d be happy to take a car like this
anywhere.
They also had a bona fide celebrity vehicle in their
midst. This 1970 Chevy long bed pickup
is one of the most talked about vehicles on the Internet. And for good reason. Beneath the beat-up farm truck exterior is a
brutal drag racing legend. Don’t let the
looks fool you. This thing’ll run 10s on
the strip and better than 125 miles per hour.
You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a truck like this pick its front
wheels three feet off the ground. It was
also featured on the show Pinks All Out on SPEED.
I could imagine having a lot of fun with this little ’51 Chevy coupe. It looked like it was purchased straight off a used car lot in about 1958. It even had the old used car dealer style plaid seat covers. It was just a simple little car with yellowed white walls, old paint, and no outside mirror. It just looked really good sitting there.
I could imagine having a lot of fun with this little ’51 Chevy coupe. It looked like it was purchased straight off a used car lot in about 1958. It even had the old used car dealer style plaid seat covers. It was just a simple little car with yellowed white walls, old paint, and no outside mirror. It just looked really good sitting there.
Of course, if you like rat rods, this was the place to
be. Now some of them were—how can I put
this delicately—God awful. Just because
you have a welding torch doesn’t mean you should use it. But some of them were actually well put
together and kind of cool. Of course, I guess
they’re like any type of folk art, the beauty is in the eye of the
beholder. Sometimes I try to judge them
with the same criteria that I would use on normal cars, and that really doesn’t
apply here.
And honestly, trying to compare this event to a regular
car show doesn’t apply either. This is a
party. This is an event. This is a social gathering. Sure, you have to go there in an old car, but
it is not a car show. Come to have a
good time, or don’t come at all. The Los Punk Rods Car Club knows what they're doing at the Boulevard Drive-In.
Craig,
ReplyDeleteYou are wayyyyyyyy too funny !
I'm still laughing.......Great write up !
Don- Basehor
Hope you didn't take B-Ho...
ReplyDeleteWent to one of these type gatherings - once. Being surrounded by obese, tattoo laden, beer swilling slobs with scraggly facial hair [and that was just the girls] far outweighed any potential enjoyment of the cars. And the cars were junk too - with no offence to junk intended. However, it looks like there were actually a few pretty neat cars here. Still hope you had a tetanus booster...
Ha--yeah, this show can seem pretty intimidating at first. Everyone that I encountered was nice to me at least, and I know the organizers put a lot of effort into this. I actually do like it, though, just because it's something a little different than what I normally go to. Plus, my old truck actually fits in here, which is a plus!
ReplyDeleteI was planning to attend, but the rain kept me away. For the non-believers, this photo says it all.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/scottspy/3902038482/