Louisville

[Carps]

It's a new day and there's even more cars on the ground to keep my trigger finger busy, like these birds of a feather.....NOT!



Did I mention that Studebaker are becoming more popular?





This one is '32 model which makes it rare and as you can see it's very tastefully modified.



Here's the power plant that usually hides under the closed hood and yes it's also by Studebaker.



And here's what the front of the car looks like.



This Lark two door sedan was just plain sweet.



When my bride got sick and I dropped everything to race home last year, I had commenced negotiating to purchase this '48 Chevy wagon.  Unfortunately, as things got worse my focus moved to matterss more important that acquiring another car.          



It was good to catch up with the car and it's new owners, who were having a ball with it.  They prolly could have held the ball inside it.  



This one would look great in my garage, but I don't have a money tree.



Maybe one of these might fit my wallet better.



V16 Cadillacs are not at all common even in the US of A, nor are they cheap to acquire.  Yet there were three hot rodded versions at the Nat's.



And for those who couldn't quite run to a Caddy, the lower priced La-Salle is a good second choice.



I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but the great thing about hot rodding, there are really no rules and anything goes as the following images will confirm.





















Rare and not what most would consider attractive is this 1942 offering from Oldsmobile.



Did I mention the Willys folks are always out in force at the NSRA Nat's?











When we talk hot rod, we usually think Ford but here in the heartland, the big three all feature strongly and share the limelight equally.











Some even use body parts borrowed from the other brands, like this Ford wearing a Caddy grille.



Some are just, um, different.



The MOPAR guys should know what the license plate represents on this '69 Roadrunner, what looks like the cheap version is packing a factory fitted 426 Race Hemi, four speed and traction lock Dana rear end.



Early Falcons are becoming very popular among the gasser crowd.



And you can't go past light blue paint on a '40 Ford.



Especially when it's metallic .



If you can't find fun at the NSRA Nat's, you should check your pulse.



Of course being a club member means even more fun.





Likewise, if you can't find at least one car you'd want to take home.









And just in case I missed something to interest you, here's a couple of nice ones from Uncle Henry.





My old artistic buddy Daryll Mayabb has shelved his '36 Chevy for something more compact.



Daryll's new Thames gobbles up the highway miles in the same manner as his old '36 Chevy and has even more very clever & unique details.

[Carps]

One thing I'm sure of and that is, variety and individuality is what makes hot rodding fun.





I reckon this little bugger might be as fun as they come.



Neat early model 40 was hidden away at the back of a swap meet site.



This one was impossible to hide.



Genuine COPO big block powered Camaro is both rare and valuable.  Sounds mean and nasty too.  COPO is an interesting story.  The GM dealer, Gibb Chevrolet originally created the COPO 9560 427 Camaro by arranging a deal with Chevrolet and by placing the initial order of fifty units (all identical except for exterior color and transmission). But the unexpected high price at delivery caused Gibb to be able to sell only thirteen units himself.  So the remaining units were redistributed to other dealers. An additional nineteen cars were ordered by other dealers and these varied widely in the additional options ordered with them. Final production total for 1969 COPO 9560 ZL1 Camaro was sixty-nine cars, distributed to forty-one different Chevrolet dealers.



Here's a '41 Willys with matching trailer.



Don't need a trailer if you got one of these.



A pair of Deuces.



Bob and his buddy were having plenty of fun cruising the grounds



And this Bob is big into food, boy is he into it.



I'm often in trouble for not having people in my photographs, here's one that's is typical of many photographs shot across the whole weekend.



Chopped '40 pickup had very shiny and smooth paint.



Remember that Hemi Road runner I showed you earlier?
There's only one way to whip one of those puppies and this is it.



This local St Louis car has a reputation for running hard, fast and straight, there's more than a few videos of it on yoochoob.



Sliced and diced '56 Ford commercial is way cool.

[Carps]

Before we pack our bags and head home from Louisville, here's a neat shot of the rain on the boot lid of Barry's Poncho.  We coulda gone swimming in the puddle in the license plate recess.



Here's my Boston based buddy Skip trying to stay dry as he gets some stuff from his car.



Another rare '32 model, this time a Ford B400 convertible.





And speaking off rare convertibles, how about a '37 Chevy Cabriolet.



Little Crosley wagon is about the size of an original '60s era Fiat 500, like it's bloody small.



However, this one is packing a considerable wallop.



The intersection just inside the main gate, where rods are dispersed into different sections of the fairgrounds.



Everybody is happy at the NSRA Nat's and with well over 11,000 neat cars and maybe three or more times that many friendly car people, what's not to be happy about?



No matter how new or old their ride.



Some of the T buckets are like a '70s time warp.



Ramp trucks are a handy way to haul your trailer queen.







Some hauler tend to be a little over the top.



And if all you have to haul is people, then there's nothing better than an old skoowul bus.



Here's what had to be the oldest Studebaker at Louisville.



And a slightly newer one.



And a super neat one from near the end of the road.



Looks like Henry is the odd man out in this group.



Dunno if that applies to this group.



This Hudson didn't win the Piston Cup.



Where the Wayfarer name was used before it went on an Aussie Valiant Ute.



Another rare Plymouth.



Another attempt at an arty-farty shot.



From memory the price was about US$27k.



The luxury champs from 1939.



Ad yet another attempt at arty-farty.



Different approaches to the same style of car.



Neat tub out in the rain.



Entering the grounds is easy.



Once there, you have plenty of eye candy to check out.







Yet another big Packard.



And a rare Mercury.



From the front this could almost be an Aussie XT Falcon wagon.



But from the other end is very different.



Some cars just looked great in the rain.



And created some opportunities for more arty-farty attempts.



This lady stopped to take a photo as we were shooting our friends of Mikey shot.
I have no idea who pressed the button on my camera but it  sums up the vibe and events of Nat's weekend perfectly.

I'm sure you all recognise me, but most likely not my good friends Skip Readio (Boston, Ma), Ed Wienhardt (StLSRA), Hot Rod Liz (Manitoba, Canadia), Ed Weinhard Jr (StLouis, Mo.)  and Barry Gan (StLSRA, Pres) and that's our late departed budy Mikey in the beer mug (which appears in other pics but is obscured here), which he made himself before departing our world, specifically so he could join us for one last party at the NSRA Nat's, he would have enjoyed it, coz we did.



And then as always happens after jamming so much fun into five long days.  The time arrives to say "hoo-roo" and head back to reality, which we decided to do once the awards and other formalities were completed around four pm on Saturday arvo.





Most folks head home on Sunday, but we figured we'd beat the rush and do the trip in the cool evening air, so we could relax on Sunday.





This neat little truck was in the parking lot at the diner Ed and I stopped at for dinner on Saturday evening, didn't see it at the Nats so figured it was local to the area we were at.



And finally a few minutes after midnight we made it 'home'.



At this point I think I stopped to take a rest, but there's still another four weeks of fun and games to go before I was all done havin' fun.

[416Ford]

Thanks for the pictures Carps.

[Carnut]

Oh man, what delightful and relaxing read.

Thanks a bunch for the pics.

[kb426]

Way cool!

[Rrumbler]

super pics, thanks Carps.  When I got into it, it was like a feature length show, I watched it from beginning to end and even read all of the captions.  I sat here so long that it took me two tries to stand up.

[Carps]

Sorry 'bot that, so I guess I shouldn't post the Pleasanton Goodguys West Coast Nationals stuff I've prepared?      

[sirstude]

Thanks for the great pictures.  I thought the nose on my 41 Olds is ugly, but that 42 takes the cake.  How much was that Vicky, trying to figure out how much overpriced my 34 is.

Thanks
Doug

[Carps]

He wanted US$30k which was about Au$45k at the time.

[sirstude]

Holy Cow!  My 34 is at least that nice and has front suspension, and I would take half that.  I guess I better haul it out there next year.

[UGLY OLDS]

Excellent pictures Carps ...  

It makes me feel like I was there..  

Thank You ..  :!:

Bob...  

[jaybee]

Awesome pics Carps, thanks for sharing! Lot's of cool cars, cool people, and cool times. What a great time.

[purplepickup]

^^^What they said. Thanks for the great pics and narrative.

[Rrumbler]

Sorry 'bot that, so I guess I shouldn't post the Pleasanton Goodguys West Coast Nationals stuff I've prepared?      

Ohhhhh, Noooooo! !!!!    May we have some more?  Please?  You do nice work, artsy fartsy and all.