Please Recommend Car Shows/Event for the new guy to Attend

msuguydon · January 25, 2007, 12:04:57 PM

Last evening during the CHAT session I was asking the folks in the chat room to give me some recommendations on what Car Shows / Events to attend and which ones to avoid. I think Denise suggested that I ask the same question in this forum to get a broader response.

Some background. I live in Terre Haute, Indiana about an hour due west of Indy. My auto is a 1958 Chevy More Door C-Dan that I am working hard to be complete or as complete as its gonna get by April.. See Pic. SO take in consideration that I cannot attend pre-49 shows. My car has "shiny" paint but no Billet.

This is my first car/project so where should I go. The car has never been in a "show". I am not real interested at this point in driving 12 hours to get someplace. One other thing, 15 minutes of sitting in a lawn chair and I am ready to GO !

Maybe another question is should I even do the show thing, or just drive it to the DQ with my kids.

HAMB Drags? Good Guys? Peotone? Dream Cruise. "Your car is a 4-dr, stay home"

What Say YOU!

Dave · January 25, 2007, 12:15:19 PM

Don you gotta get hooked up with some locals that know the shows in your area.. Good guys indy is one you can go to and its a nice show. There should be plenty of small local stuff thru the summer thaat you can attend also.. Do a search and see if they still have the MuddyRiver run in ft wayne I used to go to that one years ago and it was a nice show. Were gonna try good guys nashville again this summer. We had it set up last year but the heart attack kinda messed that up..
Dave

Carnut · January 25, 2007, 01:02:26 PM

How about any GoodGuys show you can get to.

James Dean, Ducktail run, back to the 50's.

Any Super Chevy show you can get to.

I'm an NSRA guy and there are some NSRA shows now open to later models, any within your distance acceptablility limits would be good.

Nothing wrong with driving the late model to pre 49 events and finding a prominent parking spot.

msuguydon · January 25, 2007, 02:02:51 PM

It appears that Ducktail and James Dean are the same weekend, in the same general area.

Do folks do both, one on Sat, the other on Sun?

Carnut · January 25, 2007, 02:04:24 PM

Quote from: "msuguydon"It appears that Ducktail and James Dean are the same weekend, in the same general area.

Do folks do both, one on Sat, the other on Sun?

Yep.

58 Yeoman · January 25, 2007, 02:11:33 PM

Don, keep your eyes open for local small shows. You can go there, and many times find papers for other shows. My local shows usually have the same DJ outfit, and it has a table by the main sound van with all the paperwork on it.

msuguydon · January 25, 2007, 02:20:50 PM

Quote from: "58 Yeoman"Don, keep your eyes open for local small shows. You can go there, and many times find papers for other shows. My local shows usually have the same DJ outfit, and it has a table by the main sound van with all the paperwork on it.

Something tells me I am in for a steady diet of BAD 50's music.

.. ugg, better pack the kids I-POD ~:)

phat rat · January 25, 2007, 02:21:32 PM

My .02 I'm with you on 15 min and it's time to go. I've found when I go to little local shows or cruise nights that's exactly how I feel. Therefore I go to the larger (NSRA or Goodguys) shows. There are more cars there, manufacturers displays and usually a swap meet. If there's a swap meet I can be content. Back To The Fifties in Minneapolis would be another good one from what I've heard. Also did you get your car to show or to drive and enjoy? I prefer driving the car all over the country more than spending all my time at a show.

msuguydon · January 25, 2007, 02:40:19 PM

Quote from: "phat rat"My .02 I'm with you on 15 min and it's time to go. I've found when I go to little local shows or cruise nights that's exactly how I feel. Therefore I go to the larger (NSRA or Goodguys) shows. There are more cars there, manufacturers displays and usually a swap meet. If there's a swap meet I can be content. Back To The Fifties in Minneapolis would be another good one from what I've heard. Also did you get your car to show or to drive and enjoy? I prefer driving the car all over the country more than spending all my time at a show.

I got the car to drive it, but I do like to have a destination other than the DQ, although I do like Ice Cream.

I wil add, now that I have a car and have been working on it, I know more what to look for, and want to talk to other "car" guys to get ideas on how to correct things or customize stuff.

Not news to anyone here, but I have gone to shows for years.. but now that its my WALLET buying parts and trying to figure out how these aquired parts go together.. I look at Cars with a WHOLE different set of eyes.

alchevy · January 25, 2007, 03:02:49 PM

Not knowing the area, I did a Google search for "Indiana" and then searched within results for "car clubs" and came up with some. You may want to do the same or have you? Many times you can find car club websites and get a list of events to attend in your area.
AL

Leon · January 25, 2007, 03:36:34 PM

If you like the driving part, you'll like Hot Rod Power Tour. It's in your part of the country and is great for the family.

kb426 · January 25, 2007, 06:14:56 PM

Different strokes for different folks. I spend the summer going to as many shows as I can. That said, I'm usually on the cycle and walk through everything and go home. In my area, the small shows have been dying the last 2 years. The larger shows are doing fine. If you enjoy talking to people, you may find that going to shows where the blank off main street and park cars is your place to be. If you're a loner and don't talk to "strangers", I think you'll find that being a spectator and leaving is better than being a participant. If you have a budget in mind for the whole summer and calculate your travel radius, you'll be have way finished with your decision.

n.c.rodder · January 25, 2007, 08:47:29 PM

Bring that 4 door TUNA boat to Milwaukee in July

- We'ld be glad to have you.

Mike

40 · January 25, 2007, 10:29:59 PM

If I could only do one show each year.....It would be "Back To The 50's" in St. Paul,Minnesota.Open to pre-64 with about 10,000 cars in attendance.A good selection of vendors,a pretty fair swap meet on Sunday but most of all......Tons of shade! It is one of the nicest fairgrounds in the country,all but a bit crowded with 10K cars.Another really nice smaller show is the GoodGuys Heartland Nats in Des Moines Iowa....about 3500 cars and growing steadily.It's the weekend after the 4th of July this year......They have an AWESOME fireworks display on Saturday Night.The Frog Follies in Evansville is also a pretty cool show but I am not sure of the year cut-off...it may be 48?Columbus GoodGuys would also be fairly close for you.Wherever you decide to go.....Perhaps our paths will cross somewhere down the road this year!

reborn55 · January 26, 2007, 11:08:54 PM

Along with all shows mentioned, there is a great cruise--show in Washington Indiana in September