Cars trickle in at the Fritz's Car Cruise

When BHo and I showed up for the Fritz’s Shawnee cruise Sunday afternoon, I wasn’t surprised that we were one of only three cars in the lot. It was a little cool out. The Chiefs were sort of playing football. The NASCAR race was underway. It just wasn’t the idea situation to have a huge turnout.

So after we parked, we went in and enjoyed a little ice cream while people had their burgers delivered via model train. Fritz’s is a good place to go for a car show, because even if there aren’t any cars to look at, you are still entertained.

But when we went back outside, things started to change. People were showing up. The car count improved greatly. And there were quite a few cool things to check out.

This ’51 Ford Victoria was a pretty good one. It had a nice ‘50s custom look; sort of like what a kid would have wanted to make out of a 3-in-1 model kit, but never could quite accomplish. It had all the stuff—’57 Cadillac hubcaps, ’59 Cadillac taillights, Lakes pipes, teardrop dash knobs, dummy spots. And the workmanship was very nice. These shoebox Fords aren’t always my favorites, but there’s something about this Victoria hardtop body style that really appeals to me. They looked good out of the box, and they obviously make cool lead sleds too.

Don Mayberry is not only a big supporter of this blog, but a tireless advocate of the Kansas City car scene in general. Don just picked up this minty fresh ’37 Ford sedan, and you can certainly expect it to be at many local car shows to come. With that chopped top and all the modern conveniences, it’s easy to forget that this baby is 75 years-old! And I’ll bet it never rode and drove as nice as it does now.

The ZR1 is the ultimate Corvette today, but we’ve seen that designation before. Between 1990 and 1995, Chevrolet topped the already formidable Corvette line with the “King of the Hill” ZR-1. In place of the standard L98, the ZR-1 featured the exotic LT5, which was designed in collaboration with Lotus and Mercury Marine. With extra-wide rear wheels and bodywork, the ZR-1 could approach the 180-mph mark, which was huge in the day. This all-black example was a rare, first-year 1990 model, which was the first C4 Corvette model to feature the squared-off taillight treatment.

From Mustangs to Mini Coopers; from Cougars to Collies, there was a little something for everyone at the final Fritz’s cruise of the season. Check out the pictures in the slideshow below, or click this link for a better version of the slideshow.