License Plates, MSRA Back to the 50's, 2012

I have attended the Minnesota Street Rod Association's Back to the Fifties Car Show for many years. So many that just taking photos of cars is no longer a thrill for me. Now, my photo focus is on a "theme" or photos that I use for ideas in restoring one of my cars. This year's theme is LICENSE PLATES. Check it out:

 Aloha from Hawaii....

 To see how tiny this mini is, check out my next blog on Interesting Old Cars

 1959 restored ElCamino. 1959 was the first year this vehicle was made.....

 Hard to see, but the front license is a photo of the owner's 3 grandchildren...so cute!

 Hmmm, not longer rusty would be a better description...

 Ah yes, the flamethrower....

 Many cars have traditional license plates from the era.

 The driver was not.

It is the MNSRA, Minnesota Street Rod Association's Big weekend car show this weekend, the 39th Back to the Fifties Car Show at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, June 22-24. As you can see, my 52 is not road worthy...or any kind of worthy at this point. The frame, however is looking pretty good. It is a beginning. Will she be ready to show in 2013? Time will tell. It is a challenge to get a car like this together for show quality when one has a full time job and volunteer obligations. I will be spending the next 3 days at Back to the Fifties in our 1959 Elcamino. I hope to see you there!

It's all about my adoration for Classic and Hot Cars.

This is a 1959 Chevrolet ElCamino. The photo was taken in South Dakota where this once magnificent automobile was not rotting away in a farmer's field. What a waste. In the late 1950's, the automotive industry started getting "creative". The space war was beginning and cars took on "wings" The 1959 Elcamino was known for its flamboyant "cats eye" taillights, and its "fins". This vehicle was part car, part truck. It had no back seat, so only two to three persons could safely ride inside the car. But back in the Fifties, there were fewer, far fewer, safety restrictions. You could see people riding in the bed of the ElCamino, heading into town on a Saturday night. Speeding down the highway...and there were no seatbelts.  Unfortunately, when a car or truck did crash, lives were lost. Today, our standards are higher. It seems we have a greater respect for safety, and it is enforced, or you pay the fine.

Needless to say, this 1959 ElCamino was rescued. But before I say more about that, here are some other photos of her before restoration.

Here Elky sits, showing off her beautiful Cats Eye tailights. You can see the fin tops from the back. This car was in a factory green color. I found this color to be very unattractive for this style of automobile.
By the way, the restoration process would take 16 years of elbow grease.......

The original engine had been expose to the elements for too many years. It was 'froze up' and sent off to the scrap yard. Fortunately, we had a newer 350 just sitting around......

Front end shows the lovely 'bullet' grille, twin headlights, and the chrome fender ornaments.

Lovely rotted interior...... but the gauges were there! That's a plus in my book. Did they work... NO. Had to have them redone.....

The bed. Well, I wouldn't get in there. Too much rust and critter pooh for me.

Oh, did I mention the seats were chewed away to nothingness? We actually kept the wirework frame of the seat and of course, restored it.....

 Our daughter was married June 2008. Elky was invited to the wedding. Finally, driveable and looking mighty fine for a fifty nine!

New wheels

Horkey's Oak (wood) and stainless 'showdeck' . This deck comes out when it rains displaying just the yellow metal bed underneath.
I will post more photos later. I am having some downloading issues at this time.....

350/350
Custom exhaust                                605 powersteering                                 roller cam
Custom tube grille                             17" chrome wheels                                Custom interior
aluminum radiator                              custom pint; white pearl / yellow

Now it is all about enjoying this beauty. She is a "driver". (Not a trailer queen). We drive to car shows during the good months (May through mid-October) in Minnesota. The enjoyment we get from this car is the smiles on the faces and the comments we get about Elky. My husband brought this car back to life. We are having a lot of fun! We have one problem though...... no seat belts. So, now that we have two grandchildren, a 1952 Chevy 2 door Sedan is in My Garage. And guess what, we have leftover paint.......