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.

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.

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.

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.