I was barely back a day but just in time Sunday for the annual car show downtown benefiting the Benicia High School Band…yet more bright and shiny things. Robert Irwin deemed hot rods ‘folk art’, and there’s surely truth in that, but the folk have, over the years, embodied many increasingly sophisticated iterations of style…
Saturday I spotted a recon vehicle down by the jetty, but Sunday morning on H Street gave no indication of what was in store out the back gate and beyond the everpresent ’45…
Morning’s walk turned up a beater wagon by Lucca and Dean’s ’53 offered for sale outside the Capitol…heading down First the plot, or the folk art, thickened, with some classic variations of the long and the low in evidence…
But nothing like the main event, from D Street on;
Resto and ratrod forties Dodge pickups…
Period correct historical ’36 flathead Ford coupe from V-town…
Hysterical pre-war Hudson [12″ chop!] with ghost eagle paint job…then some GM products;
A really cool little ’53 Ford Customline, looking like it came from the showroom but just slightly lowered; definitely one of my favorites out there with the view…
Neo-classicism, with bucks…
Going for baroque;
…or minimalism
…and of course flames of various descriptions
… when I was in Junior High some guys down Verdugo had a bunch of ’40 Fords in black primer behind their fence, one a fastback sedan, but not as clean or low as this;
The weather conspired to be perfect; hope the Band made some Money
…lastly, a true unaltered classic; ’56 Corvette.
M
Love car shows….this one’s luscious.
Wow, was that on Sunday? Dream Machines was happening here at the same time, but I didn’t go ($25 entry fee was a bit rich). I assume the Benicia show was free, yes? Some amazing cars showed up in your backyard (and lots of them!). Maybe you should have parked the ’45 out on the street, so it could feel the love.
I took a ride at 5 PM (when Dream Machines closed) and Hwy 1 was a parking lot northbound from El Granada to Linda Mar and Southbound from Montara to HMB….I probably passed 350 cars on my bike.
Definitely folk art…..looks like fun. My dad had an old Hudson (sans eagle) he used as a commute car to the train station….I’m so old, some of the cars from my childhood are now considered ‘antique’….ouch!
Yep, Sunday, and free…lotsa bright ‘n’ shiny things for sure, but Dream Machines has more variety for sure…and WAY more traffic. We thought about cruising First in the ’45, but got busy…
Oh, I’m sorry I missed it. We were in St. Helena, however, in time to see several California Mille cars roll by.
It’s a nice event, but pretty one-sided; mostly classic but spendy customs…worth walking down the street for, that’s for sure.