Imagine my excitement, driving to Lee Johnson Chevrolet's 75th Anniversary Car Show, coming around the bend and laying eyes upon a confusing yet rousing and mystical sight. They lined the cars up on the front row by the street?? That's more then I expected! 30's to late 60's Chevys braving the elements (rain in Seattle? NEVER!) and showing off their wax jobs. Not by the usual standard of bling and shine, but here it's a measure of your water beads! There were about 32 cars in all, members of the three North Western chapters of the VCCA (Vintage Chevrolet Club of America).

Most were unhappy about the rain but as a conversation went:
Me: "I'm amazed and excited that the cars are still out! In SoCal, it clouds up and everyone scatters like cockroaches!!"
VCCA member: "Well if we did that, there wouldn't be any cars shows!"

Thanks for the bravery!

Car notes:
Nova 400 Conv. sadly no 400 in it... BOO!! flat 6 with 180HP I believe
75 Caprice had a real 400 with a Malaise 150HP.... HOW was that all the power it had? Sad, but the car looked so cruisable!
53 Vette is number 125 of only 300 made

Editor

Help me out here: I realize the whole Iron Cross thing is kind of trendy right now, thanks in part to the various chopper shows, but to be so committed to WWI-era German military imagery as to build a whole car replete with proto-fascist trappings—is that sketchy at all? And doesn't a giant silver helmet tend to ruin the look of some cars? Sure, it's got a great straight-8 with a row of six Stromberg carbs, and—hell, yeah—any excuse to mount a machine gun on your ride is generally commendable. The cops sure seemed to be into it, and I guess it's cool in a grotesque sort of way, and obviously meant to be tongue-in-cheek as well as (update) a full-sized replica of the quot;Red Baronquot; dragster model kit that Tom Daniel created for Monogram in 1968 (thanks, Adam). But the spectacle kind of reminded me of that kid who built the 1/2-scale Panzer tank—all I remember thinking is, thank God he did that instead of shooting up a school. See the full freakshow after the jump!

While Speed Week at Bonneville may make off with the extra helping of land speed racing media coverage, one must remember that the dry lakebeds of southern California were pivotal in the development of American hot rodding and drag racing. The land speed show only moved to the Bonneville salt flats after the Air Force started testing top sekrit x-planes out at Muroc, now known as Edwards Air Force base. The brass evidently didn't want hot rodding miscreants taking any supersonic ideas or wrecked rocket plane parts back out onto the streets of Los Angeles. While Muroc remains off limits, the SCTA hosts multiple land speed races every year at nearby El Mirage. The last race of the season wrapped up this Sunday and dozens of record setting jalopies clocked some epic action. – Mike Bumbeck

Related:
More Coop from El Mirage; Greasel Dusts El Mirage [internal]

Bonneville Speed Week, now past for 2006, is a photographer's fantasy affair. The dramatic moonscapes of Utah, tinted by low-angled sun and set atop a limitless expanse of cotton white, beats the steaming hell out of an ill-lit convention center for rendering well-turned hardware. Retinal neurophysiology scientist, Dr. Bryan William Jones knows a little something about eyes, and his were behind a lens for this year's salty f te. Don't adjust your neuromodulators, folks, the shots really are that spectacular. – Mike Spinelli

Speed Week 2006 [JonesBlog]

Related:
More Coop from El Mirage [internal]