Low buck, high fun may have been what Gary Staples had in mind with his '50 GMC. The heavy patina on the outside actually hides a 383 stroker and the suspension mods necessary to get the Jimmy to sit nice and low on the Salt Flat Special wheels. | 
The small swap meet was a place of interest-until you saw the prices! It seemed everything in Des Moines was for sale, including many of the show entrant's vehicles outside the swap meet, but for much more than even West Coast rates. This Cameo bed didn't budge all weekend, like most of the vendor's parts, which may just as well have been part of the show. Don't let all those cable TV shows go to your heads, now. Besides, with as hot as it was, my money was better spent on ice cream. | 
Stepside C-10s have never been as popular as their Fleetside brothers, but after seeing Ernie and Jana Grace's '67 C-10, it might change some minds. The simple front end of the '67-68 Chevys looks to lend itself well to the often overlooked bed style; the polished American Racing wheels don't hurt, either. |
Almost as if they just flew in from some far-off place and did a touch-and-go in the parking lot, this unique pair of a '40 Ford COE roll-back that carried a '34 Ford five-window coupe hot rod with a blown Ardun Flathead in it didn't stay long enough for us to find out who they were or where they were from. Quite a sight, though! With over 3,300 entrants in the show, you might not see every one of them parked throughout the fairgrounds. | 
Did we mention hot rods? This pair made quite a splash and stopped plenty of onlookers in their tracks. Scott Jorpeland from Marshalltown, IA, owns the hot '59 Chevy Apache that received much of the same hot rod touches as the Buick-powered Model A in the foreground, such as the polished Torq-Thrust Ds, molded visors, scoops, chrome grilles, and, of course, the flame job. | 
We didn't stumble onto this sweet F-1 until late in the weekend. The stunning blue paint mixed with a few chrome bits on Randy Lofquist's '49 make for one good-looking truck, not to mention there's a 429-cubic-inch Ford motor shoehorned between the framerails. |
Sitting pretty-low, that is-all weekend was this '56 Chevy piloted by Tom Brogen from Blue Springs, MO. The small-window Chevy was seemingly resting on its rockers and had all its emblems and most extraneous pieces removed. | 
Another eye-catching early pickup was this black full-fendered '32 Ford with love-it-or-hate-it (we loved it) lime green-painted wheels and grille insert. Whatever the consensus is, Carl and Donna Davis have a blast driving the Ford all over the place, and we couldn't blame them! | |