Thursday, August 29, 2013

Cars of the 2013 Parkville Days Parade

As residents of Parkville, our family likes to try and hit some of the local parades and festivals.  Each year, they have Parkville Days, which includes a carnival, vendor booths, and a parade down Main Street.  The parade consists mostly of area high school bands, but between the tuba playing and baton twirling you might actually see an interesting old car or two in there.  So as per usual, here’s a look at a few of the noteworthy rides that braved the heat last Saturday morning.

For me, picking a favorite was pretty easy this time.  It was this ’65 Corvette roadster that Miss. Platte County Fair got to ride in.  I’ve looked at this car up close before, and I know that it’s a mostly original, exceptionally nice old car.  And anyway, just look at it.  This car just commands your attention.  These Bill Mitchell-designed Midyear Corvettes had simply perfect styling, and one like this, with that Nassau Blue shining in the sun, is just too beautiful.  Two thumbs up from this reviewer.

Deborah Butcher, the parade’s grand marshal, rode in style in this white-over-red Eldorado convertible. These were only available for two years, 1984 and 1985, and I remember studying the brochures back then and thinking they were really beautiful, especially the interiors. Hey, it was the ‘80s—cars weren’t all that exciting back then. ASC did the convertible conversion on these for Cadillac, and they only built about 3,000 of them over the two-year run. They were extremely expensive in their day, so they’ve always been a rare sight.

The North Kansas City Hospital chose this ’64 Corvair Monza convertible to represent themselves in the Parkville Days Parade.  See how the banner covers the entire front-end?  You just can’t do that with a conventional front-engine car. This one is coated in Ember Red, and has the optional full wire wheel covers.  1964 was the final year of the more boxy, “first generation” Corvair, although they did upgrade the engine and brakes.  So if you’re a fan of this style, this would be a good one to have.

Finally, let’s take a look at this pretty ’55 Ford Sunliner convertible (“Sunliner” meant “convertible” on these, so I suppose that description is a little redundant) that was bringing up the rear of the parade.  Now we all know that 1955 was a big year for Chevy because of that new small block engine and contemporary styling, but Ford actually sold almost 10,000 more convertibles that year.  That shouldn’t be a huge surprise, though.  These Fords were pretty, with bright color options, potent Y-block V8s, and flashy interiors.  I don’t know who was driving this car or why it was in the parade, but I’m certainly glad they made it.

The complete photo gallery of cars from the 2013 Parkville Days Parade is in the slideshow below, or click this link for a nicer version.

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