| British motocars were represented by a
trio of Jaguars. This class was one of several added this year by the
Knights car show, courtesy the generous sponsorship of Clifton Hill. |
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| Ron's Chevy street rod is a .. a... let's see now... oh yeah, it's a '39! |
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| Hard to beat a classic Deuce. |
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| One of the rare Muntz sports cars,
shown by Clifton Hill. Based on a Kurtis chassis and powered by
Cadillac or Lincoln engines, Muntzes were built in the early 50's. They
weren't cheap, but "Madman" Muntz supposedly lost money on every one. |
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| There's quite a bustle on this Model T two-door sedan. |
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| Model T's were short but tall. Abe Lincoln could have worn a stovepipe hat in this sedan. |
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| And contrary to myth, lots of Model T's
left the factory in a color other than black. (I don't know if this
green was a factory color, however.) |
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Pop Quiz! Which one is the gas pedal?
OK, trick question. The Model T had no gas pedal, just a throttle lever
by the steering wheel. Left: Gear Selector (all the way down, low
gear of its two-speed planetary transmission; half-way up, neutral; all
the way up, high gear). Middle pedal: push for reverse gear. Right
pedal: brake. |
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| Hollywood crashed up so many Model T
touring cars in those great old comedies of the Keystone Kops and
Laurel & Hardy era, it's a wonder any of them survived. |
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| Watch out kid, don't back up! Those things are sharp. |
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| Leland Laws and his '54 Packard Clipper
Panama with many special-order features. His car snagged Second Place
in the Orphan category. That little feller next to Leland seems to be
kinda bashful about having his picture taken. |
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| Bobby Butler poses beside his distinctive bullet-nose '50 Studebaker. Bobby took home the Second Place award. |
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| Jim Hock's splendid '58 Golden Hawk won First Place in the Studebaker class. |
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| This sane-and-sensible '60 Lark was
shown by Jerry Starr. The Lark was introduced as a '59 model, so its
50th anniversary is being celebrated this year. |
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| A nice '22 Studebaker touring car that is in good driving condition. It is owned by Raymond Utter of Shawnee. |
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| Curt Bonser's '55 Studebaker President. Note even the rear doors have swivel-out vent windows. Nowadays, you can't even find those on front doors. |
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| Side spear, portholes and little "finlets" make it easy to identify this '54 Buick. |
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| Henry J. Kaiser made tons of money
during the war, making aluminum and building ships. He decided to give
car-making a whirl, too. The short-lived Henry J was a compact before
its time. (That, and the fact it was a really stripped down car. Some
models didn't even have trunk lids.) For a time, Sears sold Henry J's
under its Allstate brand. |
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| Johnny Gentry's fine green-and-black Town Sedan won First Place in the Model A class. |
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| And Jerry Starr's green-and-black Town Sedan got Second Place. Jerry's car wants to be just like Johnny's when it grows up. |
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| This time-worn but sturdy Model A, exhibited on a not-for-judging basis, has quite a story to tell .... |
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And here's the story:
The car is now in the Clifton Hill collection. Clifton sponsored the Model A and Model T classes. |
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| A sharp "conservative custom" is
this '50 Oldsmobile 88. It was the second year for the famous
"Rocket" overhead valve, high compression V-8. With the trimmer and
lighter body that was shared with Chevrolet and Pontiac, an 88 could
humble most of the competition. |
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| Updated drive train and a tidy under-dash air conditioner installation. Sweet ride. |
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The Christian Motorcyclists Association
exhibited a varied assortment of bikes. I had a nice chat with the
fellow who built this radical custom motorcycle.
The CMA are good folks. Their mission is to share the Gospel,
especially with people such as bikers whose lifestyle may be outside
the usual template for churchgoers.
The temperature in Shawnee that afternoon was a hundred in the shade,
so I was delighted to find the CMA was providing free ice water. Later,
I realized it wasn't just good PR; they were also heeding the
spirit of Matthew 25:35. |
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| Check out that Buck Rogers style air cleaner housing. Better not stand too close to this bike when it zooms by |
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| Well, this is different. Somehow,
somewhere, someone acquired an old Chinese military-style motorcycle
with sidecar. This would have been a good prop for the MASH television
series. |
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| "Host" cars. They are owned by members
of the Knights Auto Club, so are not eligible for the awards
competition. If they were in the running, I bet they'd take home their
share of trophies. I sure like that "Squarebird." |
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| More Host cars: a hot rod that started out as a Model T, and a Ford Crown Vic from the fabulous fifties. |
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| And finally: The Car of the Future!
(That is, if the government has its way.) Bold styling, and zero
pollution except sweat and B.O. |
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