Thread: Last trip to nats?

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The Richmond Nats will be here on August 28 and I am looking forward to it since I am only a few miles from the RIR complex. In past years it has been neat to see a bunch of cars drive in from all over and hear some modified exhaust systems and see cars with blowers running on the street. I am of course one of those dastardly folks with a SBC in a 'glass car but the basic reason is that metal cars started to get really rare until Brookville production got going. Anyway there are enough local Friday night meets for drivers that I can just enjoy the car and go to an occasional meet where often the parking lot is as interesting as the cars in the meet. I am attaching a very nice local car that is a repaired roll-over wreck of a Shay model A and it is in the parking lot of last year's Richmond NSRA Nats. It is a 'glass replica with a Pinto engine but still a mighty fine car. If you have a real steel car that is great but I like any early replica with nice paint and an inspection sticker. It will be interesting to see what modern cars show up this year. It may be worth mentioning that about ten years ago I did find a metal '29 Ford roadster body and a rusty Model A frame but the body was total archaeology and after sand blastingl the frame I ended up with metal lace! To me my Brookville frame looks VERY GOOD! The Brookville cars are now available for even a very nice Three-window '32 but once again my pocket book limited my project. I once lost out buying a running '30 Ford roadster for a mere $700 because I did not have the money. The roadster goal always seemed beyond my means so when I got a little ahead by paying off the house finally I chose the Bebops 'glass body as cheaper than the Brookville. It is a catch-22 thing, my wife asked me whether I did not want an all steel Brookville roadster (like IC2 has) on the one hand but then everytime she sees a bill for parts on the cheaper Bebops-based option she asks why it is so expensive! So we have these mental obsessions and the Nats renew our images but time moves on and when you talk to some of the younger folks a Dodge sedan with a 440 engine is the ultimate and they never had a ride in a '30s car because those cars were few when the kids of today were not even born. I am still waiting for a show car Prius with a bigger motor, more batteries and flames, but it may come yet! So the whole hobby is based on nostalgia. If I had my wish I would want a 1940 Ford convertible with a flathead Merc engine but how many of those have you seen lately? Maybe there will be one at the Richmond Nats? So check out the Parked Cars for the modern stuff but maybe this year they will be inside?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/Teen Rodder

The Golden State Nats last year was the first time for the new 30 year cut-off and I thought to myself "Oh Crap, there goes the neighborhood" But I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. There were a few really hot Camaro's and such but I was really pleased to NOT see anything out of order. Now the Goodguys get-togethers on the other hand, is a completely different story. I couldn't believe the number of soccer moms station wagons (complete with soccer junk and other crap) that were allowed in. Some people actually paid to park there daily driver inside the show rather than to walk from the spectator parking lot. I really hope that the NSRA events don't go that far adrift because it WILL destroy their events.

So far it's been OK but we will just have to wait and see.

Originally Posted by volksrod

The Golden State Nats last year was the first time for the new 30 year cut-off and I thought to myself "Oh Crap, there goes the neighborhood" But I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. There were a few really hot Camaro's and such but I was really pleased to NOT see anything out of order. Now the Goodguys get-togethers on the other hand, is a completely different story. I couldn't believe the number of soccer moms station wagons (complete with soccer junk and other crap) that were allowed in. Some people actually paid to park there daily driver inside the show rather than to walk from the spectator parking lot. I really hope that the NSRA events don't go that far adrift because it WILL destroy their events.

So far it's been OK but we will just have to wait and see.

Its cheaper to be a participant than it is to be a spectator...especially if you factor in the fact that you can bring an ice chest and not have to pay $5 for a beer and $6 for a brat. Not to mention the fact that you don't have to hike a mile to get from spectator parking TO the show.

If you open the door for anything to get in...everything WILL get in. There is somebody out there that thinks a low mileage 1976 Chevette is "show worthy" ....because I saw it displayed at the Delta River Cruise-In last year.

Believe it or not, the Street Rod Nats are a thing of the past.

Originally Posted by Flipper_1938

Its cheaper to be a participant than it is to be a spectator...especially if you factor in the fact that you can bring an ice chest and not have to pay $5 for a beer and $6 for a brat. Not to mention the fact that you don't have to hike a mile to get from spectator parking TO the show.

If you open the door for anything to get in...everything WILL get in. There is somebody out there that thinks a low mileage 1976 Chevette is "show worthy" ....because I saw it displayed at the Delta River Cruise-In last year.

Believe it or not, the Street Rod Nats are a thing of the past.

You guys keep slamming poor low horse power chevettes. I happen to like low horse power chevettes (one I use to have three years ago) Plz. pick on something like a ford yugo

Originally Posted by volksrod

I couldn't believe the number of soccer moms station wagons (complete with soccer junk and other crap) that were allowed in. Some people actually paid to park there daily driver inside the show rather than to walk from the spectator parking lot. I really hope that the NSRA events don't go that far adrift because it WILL destroy their events.

So far it's been OK but we will just have to wait and see.

The walk is even further at the NATIONALS ... so I suspect a floor of soccer mom and " back row used car specials " at the NSRA events in the future. I saw many, many 60, 70's and 80's vehicles crusing the road in front of the NATS ... ( Headquarters Hotel ) ... with " SEE YOU NEXT YEAR " shoe polished in the back window.

The Nationals will be more like the Shades of the Past event @ Pigeon Forge TN ... a big old used car sales lot. 4 door Falcons, Mor-Dor ugly mobiles and JUNK ... all dug to the event in hopes of finding a unsuspecting buyer ... for their POS. The streets are lined up the Parkway on both sides ... so bad that a lot of the motels have had to hire security to keep the used car slaesmen from parking their junk as early as Tuesday ... so the motel patrons can have a place to park their cars.

I do understand that not everyone can afford or wants a pre 1949 vehicle ..... that is why there is GoodGuys events and all the local cruise nights.

You cannot show your Chevette at a Corvette event. You have to have a Corvette ...

Pretty SIMPLE concept ... really.
You should have a street rod ... to go to the NSRA Nationals.

Originally Posted by Deuce

The walk is even further at the NATIONALS ... so I suspect a floor of soccer mom and " back row used car specials " at the NSRA events in the future. I saw many, many 60, 70's and 80's vehicles crusing the road in front of the NATS ... ( Headquarters Hotel ) ... with " SEE YOU NEXT YEAR " shoe polished in the back window.

The Nationals will be more like the Shades of the Past event @ Pigeon Forge TN ... a big old used car sales lot. 4 door Falcons, Mor-Dor ugly mobiles and JUNK ... all dug to the event in hopes of finding a unsuspecting buyer ... for their POS. The streets are lined up the Parkway on both sides ... so bad that a lot of the motels have had to hire security to keep the used car slaesmen from parking their junk as early as Tuesday ... so the motel patrons can have a place to park their cars.

I do understand that not everyone can afford or wants a pre 1949 vehicle ..... that is why there is GoodGuys events and all the local cruise nights.

You cannot show your Chevette at a Corvette event. You have to have a Corvette ...

Pretty SIMPLE concept ... really.
You should have a street rod ... to go to the NSRA Nationals.

Well said!

Louisville is a very nice facility............but I guess I'm sick of the sameness of it all.....especialy the drive.......my wife hasn't gone lately, she got sick of the sameness sooner than me.

If it's on the same weekend as Bonneville again (ridiculous), for sure I'm not going there.......some real hot rod guys running the show????..... Bonneville should be #1 on every hot rodders bucket list..........Louisville maybe#5.

Goodguy's Columbus has a 1972 cut off date, (better than 1980), so maybe I'll go there!....it's their Nationals.

Or maybe Back to The 50's.......the fair grounds in St. Paul has lots of shade trees.

I just enjoyed the second day of the 2009 Richmond NSRA Nationals which has the "up to 1979" rule now. There were a lot of amazing high quality cars there, some so amazing one can wonder what amount of work and money went into them. It would be easy to be discouraged after seeing so many fine machines, but I will plug on to do my best with my own build. Here a few of the cars I saw. The first is a 1979 Z28 who a guy bought recently with only 9000 miles on it and he was merely cleaning up an almost new car but would you really deny such a perfect car that is now some 30 years old and in fantastic condition? The second picture is my favorite of a real 1932 Ford Cabriolet, the third is a short row of '32s, still the king of rods(!) and a very interesting '26 T coupe with model A wheels and a neat 17 stud Ford V8-60, a popular conversion in bygone days. In my opinion there were still a LOT of pre-48 cars there and most of the post '48 cars were very well prepared muscle cars including a lot of nice '55-57 Chevies. The last picture is of a very rare Nash "tub" convertible sedan!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Nice pics Don. Nice mix too! Thanks for posting these and post some more if you have em!

Originally Posted by Don Shillady

The first is a 1979 Z28 who a guy bought recently with only 9000 miles on it and he was merely cleaning up an almost new car but would you really deny such a perfect car that is now some 30 years old and in fantastic condition?

Yes I could deny it ...

Nice enough Camaro but it should be at a Camaro/Chevrolet event ... not a street rod event IMHO.

The place looks like a GoodGuys event

Stovens, I took 26 pictures but wish I had more. In keeping with the idea of a mix and guessing some of the interest on this Forum here are some that might be of interest. There was one car I did not get a picture of that had plates from Hawaii, which made us wonder how it got to the East Coast. Interestingly my wife really likes these events but she ignores all the "modern cars" and looks for the Model A-type which is why we are building an A! My wife offered up a new interpretation of Rat Rods of which there were only a few along with some sporting the black primer look; according to her those cars are "unfinished"! Next to the Nash tub was a nice Stude and you can see the front of the Nash. The Nash did not seem to have any performance enhancements beyond cosmetic chrome acorns on the head bolts but it is nice; the Stude was a full house setup but I did not get a picture of the engine. There were several nice '36 Ford coupes and here is one. The next picture is one of several very smooth shoeboxes with a Pontiac grill and a flathead engine. There seemed to be more flatheads this year than I remembr from other years and here is a very well done '32 with polished Fenton headers. Finally here is one of the most elaborate paint jobs that I saw, although it is "too much" for my taste.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

There is a limit to how much folks here might want to see but I want to add one more picture of an amazing '34 Ford Station Wagon (Woody). Unfortunately this car was given a spot in an almost hidden area well out of the main limelight but it should have been front and center in my opinion. The door panels appear to be of a kind of Birds-Eye-Maple or some such vaneer with a beautiful grain pattern. This is far and away the best woody I have ever seen!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

I will be going to Richmond tomorrow...hopefully the rain holds off! I will reserve my judgement until tomorrow. I do enjoy a mix, but only as long as there are plenty of "street rods" to look over as that is what I am building now and that's what I want to look over. Richmond has been 30 years for the last several years i've been going and i can't say I mind really..

Don- how would you say the turn out was? (although on a rainy sunday i'm sure many cars will leave early...damn work today!)

Well as far as the main controversy on this thread, I have been through a "Dune Buggy and blown-VW era" as well as the "resto-sports car" era where I attended some events just for British Sports cars so I think there are quite a few special events including some just for '32-'48 Fords as well as meets for specific brands. It would appear that as time goes on NSRA has made a calculated decision to bring in a "big tent" array of various street cars and even among the Deuce roadsters there I did dare to touch a few and found some fiberglass fenders. So NSRA is a sort of pot pouri of interesting cars for folks who like cars! There are indeed many other specialized events and probably enough to satisfy a wide range of tastes and pocket books. Frankly for my tastes I offer a picture of my friend Warren's highly innovative roadster which was a VERY RUSTY '31 Ford coupe which he mounted on a Ford Bronco frame with the frame backward! Adding a buggy spring front end and leaf springs in the rear from a small trailer this is an "Econo-Rod" with a Chrysler 360 engine and a seat from a Dodge van. It has a hand made oak dash as well. All-in-all with my past history with an obsession for cars and a small pocketbook, I think Warren's roadster was by far the most innovative car there but he remarked that it would certainly not be an award car. He did the paint himself and all the considerable welding in the adaptation of the Bronco frame but the car is still titled as a 1931 Ford! The most amazing part of Warren's roadster is that he made his own Deuce grill out of metal strips and it rivals any commercial grill I have seen. That is what I like so if we did not have different tastes the world would be much more complicated as all the men would want the same woman!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Well the weather was "iffy". I had planned to go on Saturday but estimated I could see a lot on Friday morning and if it rained later, so be it. Well, sadly about 3 PM it started to drizzle and it was amazing as about half of the cars left so I am glad I got there in the morning. This year the indoor vendor area had more cars inside than I have seen there before so you could always see a few neat cars inside. Sorry I missed you, I wore my Club Hot Rod Tee shirt but saw none other and even then I only saw one H.A.M.B. plaque on the dash of a nice '32 highboy with a Buick V6, in fact that was the only V6 I saw there. I can't recall any '35 Fords but there were quite a few '36s and a lot of '39-'40s.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder