Just got back from the car show in Calistoga. Amazing event for a small
town; mainly hot rods, some preserved old US cars, a few restored ones,
very few foreign cars. Apparently, a handful of European cars were able to
squeek by the entry people. Oriental cars are not welcome, probably
because the steel used in them is from the dead bodies of Chevys and Fords.
There was an early red MGB roadster on display that looked fantastic (but I
have a love affair with early MGBs), a Morgan +8, a TR4A, couple of Volvo
P1800s, and a 356C that was concours quality. In general, the build
quality of the cars at the show and the number of them there is quite
astounding, but most of the cars are not my cup of tea. Too big, too
thirsty, and not in the best of taste. There was one US car I always
liked, a '64 Chevelle convertible. Actually there were two of those
Chevelles there.
One car at the show I had seen before, a black '32 Ford coupe which the
owner bought in 1951 when he was 17. He built it into a hotrod in his
youth in southern California. He now lives in St. Helena. When I last saw
it on display at a car show, he had a hot rod magazine from 1957 laying on
the seat with his car featured. The car has some concessions to modernity,
but is basically the same period hot rod from the 1950s.
A guy came up to me and asked, "Are you Don Scott?" I didn't recognize
him, but I sold him a '71 Chevy Monte Carlo 15 years ago. It was a time
capsule car then, and apparently still is. White, black bucket seats,
350/350, 36k miles, and looked new when I had it. He said he has only
driven it 4,000 miles since he got it from me.
I saw a 1950 Ford F-1 pickup at the show that was hotrodded with a small
block Chevy and other modern pieces. I wondered if that was the truck I
once owned, and inherited from my dad. When I had it, it was a stock 1/2
ton truck with flathead V8 and 3-speed floorshift. I remember when I sold
it, that the buyer of my truck lived in Sonoma County and was planning to
make it into a hot rod. Sad fate for a loyal old friend.
I think I was the oddball at the event. I rode my bicycle to the show (2
miles) and wore a t-shirt with the image of a bicycle on it with the words
"A quiet statement against oil wars" printed on it. I met a friend at the
show who had his restored '53 Chevy pickup at the show. He didn't know
what the shirt's message meant. I had to explain it to him.
Don Scott
1962 MGA
1973 MGB GT (for sale)
2001 Miata SE BRG
1966 TR4A
misc. Japanese cars
.
_______________________________________________
Nobbc mailing list
Nobbc@autox.team.net
http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/nobbc
|