Fun at the 45th-Annual Frog Follies

The Frog Follies. Just the name sounds fun. And for 45 years, pre-1949 street rods have been converging on Evansville, Ind., for one of the biggest street rod conventions in the country. With more than 2,000 cars in attendance, the name isn’t the only thing fun here. Most entries here follow the classic street rod recipe—take the shell of an old car and replace everything with modern components to make it drive like a new car. But a few traditional hot rods sneak in, along with a stock (“before”) example or two. You might even find something newer than 1948 in the car corral or amongst the large swap meet. The fact is, with a show this big, there was something for everybody within the gates of the Vanderburgh County 4-H Center.

A smaller run, but still fun at the 14th-Annual 2019 Goodguys Nashville Nationals

Goodguys events are unlike any other car shows that I go to. They’re more like going to a NASCAR race than a cruise. Everything is bigger and more professional. You get to see the same cars that you read about in magazines. All the big sponsors and displays are there. That was all evident last weekend at the 14th-Annual Nashville Nationals, which was held for three days at the Tennessee Titans Stadium. The only problem was the weather. It rained most of the weekend. Sunday was supposed to be the clearest day, which is when I went. But the rain had a profound impact on car count. It was easily the smallest Goodguys show I’ve ever been to. Still, the cars that did show up were worth the trip downtown.

Big turnout for the 12th-Annual Fall Redneck Rumble

If you like rat rods, the Redneck Rumble is the place for you. Held twice-a-year at the Wilson County Fairgrounds, this is the premier event for creative automotive rust manipulation. Yes, you may rub up against a car and get tetanus. Yes, you may get mowed down by an obnoxious kid screaming down the walkway on a mufflerless ’58 Cushman scooter. No, you are not going to like every car in the show—and you’re not supposed to. There’s no question that most every car here is interesting, and some of them are just plain cool. Everyone is proud of their creations, and they love sharing them with like-minded people. If you’re among them, let’s take a look at some of the standouts from last weekend.

The 2017 Frog Follies - 43 years and still going strong

When it comes to car shows, the Frog Follies in Evansville, Ind., is no joke. 2017 was the 43rd year for this street rod extravaganza, and some 3,500 cars came to the party. Hosted by the E'ville Iron Street Rods Car Club, this event pulls cars from all over the country. The entries are limited to pre-1949 street rods, but there are plenty of later classics scattered throughout the extensive car corral and swap meet areas. We went up for the second year in-a-row, and had a great time once again. I’m going to take a look at a few show cars, cars that were for sale, and whatever else caught my attention.

12th-Annual 2017 Goodguys Nashville Nationals

If you’re in the Nashville area and you can only go to one car show a year, the Goodguys Nashville Nationals at the Tennessee Titans Stadium is probably going to be it. Beneath the backdrop of downtown Music City you’ll find a diverse selection of 1,200+ hot rods, customs, and muscle cars. 2017 marked the 12th year for this event, and once again, it did not disappoint. Even the weather cooperated for the most part, although there was a big old toad-strangler late Saturday afternoon that slowed things down a bit. Naturally, with that many cars, there were lots of good ones. I had a hard time choosing which ones to feature!

Cars on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

A new president takes office this week in our nation’s capital. And it so happens that we were recently in Washington, D.C., so I’m using this as a tie-in for a car-related story. The Smithsonian’s Museum of Transportation is usually included on lists of car museums, so naturally we had to go here. Truth be told, there weren’t many cars to look at, though. Cars are presented as appliances here. They have a collection of cool cars hidden in their catacombs, but they aren’t available for public viewing. Really, all of Washington, D.C. comes across as anti-car culture. The streets are jammed with hideous red and silver taxicabs, police cars, and black SUVs. Personal cars are typically rough, beat-up hoopties that reflect the harsh traffic and parking issues that clog the streets. I snapped a few pictures, though, and there are a few interesting things if you squint hard enough.

Street Rod extravaganza at the 42nd-Annual Frog Follies

Here’s the basic recipe for building a typical modern street rod. Take a pre-1949 car. Under the hood you’ll have an aluminum radiator, electric fan, fuel-injected Chevy crate engine, Vintage Air compressor, modern master cylinder, and an Optima battery. This will all be sitting on a sub-frame with modern suspension components, power disc brakes, and a set of aluminum-finish American Racing Torque Thrust wheels or something similar. Inside, look for a modern seat recovered in tweed or leather, molded door panels, new gauges in a billet aluminum bezel, an aftermarket steering wheel, modern stereo, and an automatic transmission shifter coming out of the floor. Outside, expect to see shiny paint, less chrome, some kind of painted or air brushed graphics, Halogen headlights, and LED taillights. Why is this combination of components so popular? It’s the same reason there were 3,500 (!) of them at the 42nd-annual Frog Follies Car Show in Evansville, Indiana. They’re enjoyable, they’re reliable, and they allow you to ride in new-car-comfort with old-car-style.

10th-Annual 2015 Goodguys Nashville Nationals at LP Field

Goodguys celebrated their 10th anniversary in Nashville at LP Field over the weekend. Unfortunately, on-and-off rain showers put a damper on what is normally the biggest car show of the year. That didn’t prevent many people from bringing their cars anyway, as there were still hundreds of cars on the show field. I went out on Sunday, which is typically not as busy as Saturday, but there was less rain, and they allowed newer cars to share the spotlight. So there were still plenty of nice rides beneath the shadows of downtown Music City. Let’s check a few of them out!

2015 NSRA Appreciation Day at T&M Steering Column Repair

Saturday was sort of a strange day for our car show adventures. We got a late start, but we set out to the event at Lincoln Technical College. It was supposed to end at 2:00, but when we got there right at 1:00, everyone was making a mass exodus. So then I called ahead to the NSRA Appreciation Day Show, which was taking place at T&M Steering Column repair. We were told they would be there until 3:00, but about the time we started taking pictures, things were wrapping up and everyone started bugging out at about 2:00. Let’s just say, we had to click fast.

Inside the Coker Tire/Honest Charley Museum

We recently went on a little Spring Break trip to Chattanooga, Tenn. There are lots of fun things to check out there, including restaurants, caves, trains, and scenic mountain views. But for me, one of the highlights was the Coker Tire Museum, which houses the private car collection of vintage tire mogul Corky Coker. This is a pretty serious collection of mostly rare and unusual vehicles on display in an old factory. Oh, and no off-ball tires purchased at the local farm implements store here—everything sits on the perfect-style tire. Former Hot Rod Magazine writer Steve Anderson gave us the grand tour.

54th-Annual Kansas City World of Wheels. The cars were clean in 2014

Valentine’s Day was last Friday, and Kansas City car folks had a lot to love when the 54th-Annual World of Wheels rolled into Bartle Hall over the weekend.  Around here, this is the first big car show of the year, and it was just what the doctor prescribed for cabin fever.  From a live appearance by Richard and Kyle Petty, to a top chop by old time customizer Gene Winfield, to hundreds of cars and motorcycles of all kinds, this was the place to be in K.C.  As you may have guessed, I had my camera with me.  Let’s check out some of the fun stuff that made the show.

27th-Annual Old Marais River Run. The place where the entire Kansas City car scene comes together

As we have proven here time and again, there are tons of car shows and cruises in the Kansas City area.  We look at quite a few of them here, and have the chance to check out cars all over town.  You tend to see different cars in North Kansas City than you do in, say, Gardner.  But regardless of which part of town they are from, it seems like all of them headed straight for Ottawa, Kan., over the weekend for the 27th-Annual Old Marais River Run.  This is, without a doubt, the biggest show in this area.  With nearly 2,000 pre-1972 cars and trucks, this is the who’s who of the Kansas City, Topeka, and Wichita car scene. 

Greaserama 2013

The Greaserama is one of the most interesting car shows of the year.  Now, you aren’t going to see too many high-dollar show cars (although there are a few).  Some of the things there are downright scary.  But that’s actually what many of these owners are going for.  This event oozes personality.  Look for rust.  Look for tattoos.  But most of all, look for fun; because that’s the point of this show.  This year, the event was moved from the old Boulevard Drive-In location to the Platte County Fairgrounds.  Some people were concerned with that.  But they didn’t need to be.  I think this was the best Greaserama the Los Punk Rods Car Club has ever hosted.

Biggest Parkville Cruise so far this year

Several years ago, if you wanted to go to the monthly Parkville Cruise, you needed to get there early if you actually wanted to park your car.  But lately, it hasn’t been that tough.  Oh, the turnout is usually pretty good, but you can usually end up with a good spot relatively easily.  But that wasn’t the way things went on the first Saturday in August.  When I got there at about a quarter-to-five, there was virtually no place to park.  We ended up circling the lot several times before settling on a place that we probably shouldn’t have been.  This turnout was huge, even with the threat of rain in the area.

Cool dusty classics hidden in a warehouse at Koury Investments

The Kansas City area is full of cool secret car stuff, if you know where to look.  This week I had the opportunity to visit one of those hidden gems, when we made a stop at Rich’s Classic Cars in Grain Valley, Mo.  When you look at this place on the outside, you’d never guess you’d find all the great cars inside.

Owner Rich Koury has been buying and selling cars for 40 years, and when you visit with him, you realize that he really enjoys the hobby.  As we toured his inventory, he was ready with a story on each and every car.  He’d tell you how long the guy owned it before him, where it came from, and sometimes even the dealership at which it was originally sold.

19th Annual Vintage Fabrication car show reveals a serious shop hidden in a vintage Mobil station

I was in time-killing mode Saturday afternoon, so I looked at the old HMC weekly calendar and found out that the Vintage Fabrication open house was taking place in Independence. I wasn’t really expecting that much, but I jumped in the Impala and headed east.

As it turns out, I’m glad I went. Vintage Fabrication is actually a pretty cool place, and the turnout was surprisingly robust. This was the 19th year for this event, and obviously word has spread during that time.

The North Kansas City Centennial Car Show was hot

Let's face it.  If you have a car show during one of the hottest days in the history of June, schedule it during the absolute hottest part of the day, and locate it in the middle of an un-shaded asphalt parking lot, you're not going to get much of a car count.

To wit: the Centennial Car Show hosted by the North Kansas City Rotary Club.  This thing was Saturday from noon to 4:00.  I almost can't think of a more miserable scenario.

Fancy flames - putting the "hot" in hot rodding

When you decide to go all-out custom, there are few things that put an exclamation point on your statement as loudly as a flamed paint scheme. They can make or break whatever style you’re going for, and unlike changing a set of wheels, they can be pretty permanent. So if you’re looking to get in on this, it isn’t a bad idea to see what other people have already done.

A relaxing day at Hotrodtoberfest

“A little get-together of all people interested in custom cars, trucks, and bikes, original muscle cars, or anything with a motor.”

That was printed on the glossy, color promotional card for the 2011 Hotrodtoberfest, held in the White Oak Commercial Center parking lot in Gladstone over the weekend. That seems like a pretty decent description. This isn’t going to go down as one of the most epic gatherings in the history of car shows, but there were enough things around there to hold your attention.

Perfect weather draws another huge turnout to the 2011 Basehor-Linwood Project Grad Car Show

When you think of big car shows around Kansas City, events like the World of Wheels, Goodguys, or Ol' Marais may be what come to mind. A small-town high school fundraiser usually isn't where you'd expect to see several hundred nice cars. Which is why the Basehor-Linwood High School Project Grad Car Show is such a surprise.

It certainly didn't hurt that the 2011 event was blessed with breathtakingly perfect weather. I don't know the official car count, but I'd guess it was north of 400. That's like 1,600 tires on the ground, and close to 2,000 if you count the spares.