Living in the past with a street rod, customized Ford or Chevy, is, well, real cool.
The older they are, the better they can look.
This devotion to the neat 1950s, ’60s and ’70s will be personified April 4 and 5 when more than 2,000 artistic creations are parked around the fairgrounds at the eighth annual Del Mar Goodguys rod, custom and muscle cars show.
Host club again will be San Diego’s Over the Hill Gang, an organization that’s been around since 1973. It has 230-plus members, specializing in pre-’49 cars.
This fad never seems to fade as evidenced by a long list of car clubs in San Diego County. These fond lines of the past make being a member of a car club special.
Touching on a few, there are the Classic Chevys, Christian Rods and Customs, Clairemomt Neighborhood Cruisers, Coastal Cruisers, Early Ford V8 and Little Guys Street Rods.
Of course, others deal with brands such as antiques, BMWs, Panteras, Ferraris, Pontiacs, Studebakers and horseless carriages. Overall, there are close to 100 car clubs in the county.
Recently, Andy Smith of Ramona informed us that the pioneering Road Ramblers have been reformed and hope to carry on in the style of the original 1930s group, founded for Muroc Dry Lakes competition.
Some clubs participate in cruises, but the San Diego Roadster Club, founded in 1941, is more concerned with speed runs at Lake Mirage and Bonneville a couple times a year.
Another club, the Prowlers, is so elite with their Ford rods that membership has decreased since its inception in 1947.
Historian Andy Bekech said, “It started with 33 and worked down from there. It’s been a small group and has never gone over 22 members [in recent years].”
Bekech, with the club for 25 years, explains it’s because of the quality of cars.
“Other clubs don’t go as far as we do,” he said. “For others, it’s hit and miss. The Prowlers’ attractions are roadsters of the early dry lakes era.”
On the weekends you may see them cruising or on display at some car show. In this case, Del Mar.
The fascinating thing about hot rods is they can be designed and built any way you want.
However, most fall into one of two categories: traditional hot rods or street rods.
A street rod resembles a hot rod, but it was built with all new parts. Essentially, you buy all your new parts and put the car together or pay someone to do it. Look inside one and you’ll often see a tilt steering column, modern seat and sometimes digital instruments.
Customizing became prominent in American pop culture in the 1950s and has enjoyed special interest since. It relates to a passenger vehicle modified to improve performance by altering or replacing the engine and transmission and to make it look “unique,” unlike any that might have been factory finished. A personal “styling” statement by the re-styler/rebuilder.
Notable ” The Ferrari Owners Club will hold its eighth annual Bella Italia Car Show at Spanish Landing Park, across from San Diego airport. The club expects more than 175 exotic Italian supercars “¦ The Speed Festival announced Sept. 27 and 28 as the dates for this year’s event at Coronado’s North Island … How time does fly, but do you realize the Ford Model T will celebrate its 100th anniversary in October?
” Look for Johnny McDonald’s “Auto Biography” column each month in the Village News.