The nearby town of Clinton,...
The nearby town of Clinton, Illinois, closed off their historic town square for a good old-fashioned cruise. Modern cars were kept out while vintage rides filled every available parking space and made several more of their own. Nobody got rowdy, and the cops seemed to be enjoying the turnout as much as the participants. One of the bars along the square had a chicken dinner early in the evening and live bands after 9 p.m. Ask the graybeards; there was a time when the show was the reason to go that weekend, but the after-hours stuff at the local cruise-ins, bars, and hotel parking lots was as much of a reason to go as the main event. It's great to see that tradition reviving with shows like The Hunnert Car Pileup.
The Hunnert Car Pileup, put on by the Chrome Czars motor club of Chicago, has been on our list of shows to attend for a couple of years. Held in October, The Pileup is typically considered the end of the show season in the Illinois/Wisconsin area. Tailored to traditionally styled hot rods, customs, and trucks with a 1964 cutoff date, 2010 was its ninth year and saw a few changes that made the show even better: a new venue and tighter entry requirements to curtail a couple of, let's say, "questionable trends" we've seen at a lot of hot rod shows.
First and foremost, all vehicles must have at least two period-correct modifications to enter the show, e.g. pinstripes, paint, interior, stance, wheel/tire combo or custom bodywork. In other words, "It's a hot rod show, so leave grandma's stocker at home!" And the mods must be period correct, so don't show up with 13-inch wires, billet wheels, 19-inch low-profile tires, pastel paint, or tribal-style flames and expect to exit your vehicle anywhere but the parking lot.
The other major rule is "no art cars/shock rods," which we wouldn't mind seeing implemented at every other show we attend. Tractor grilles, argon bottles for fuel tanks, PBR can velocity stacks, spider webs, skulls, and iron crosses have just about run their course, haven't they? Please? Other than those hard/fast rules, the rest of the period look is pretty much subjective, at the discretion of the gatekeepers when you roll up. This no doubt made for some hard feelings, but it's not like the rules aren't posted all over the show's website (www.hunnertcarpileup.com).
The Pileup moved a couple of hours south to Decatur, Illinois, for 2010, and from what we can see this new location is going to make the show even better in the years to come. As the show got bigger each of the previous eight years, the venue wasn't able to handle the traffic, and the police and town fathers decided the economic stimulus of 2,000-plus hot rodders wasn't to their liking. The Czars contacted the city of Decatur and were welcomed with open arms. The venue has ample room to grow, and the nearby town of Clinton opened up their historic town square for a cruise-in on Friday and Saturday night. All indications are that the towns and attendees were equally happy with the new digs.
For our part, we knocked 4 inches out of the ride height of our beater '61 Suburban, swapped the stock 15x6 steelies for a set of six-lug Ansen five-slots, and headed up for one of the better one-day events we've been to. There were about 2,000 vehicles inside the show venue, a swap meet, and live bands on a stage throughout the day-an aspect that can't be emphasized enough when it comes to setting the tone for a good show. Live music is so much better than canned oldies over a PA system that it seems a shame to even mention them together in the same sentence. We cruised 13 hours up Friday, enjoyed the show Saturday, and headed back to Atlanta on Sunday-a trip we've already scribbled on our 2011 calendar.
This '41 International Harvester...
This '41 International Harvester looked barn fresh-and apparently hauled nothing more strenuous than hay bales its whole life, judging by the near pristine condition of the body. Lowered with spinner hubcaps met the "two-mod" criteria for entry.
The owner of this rig pulled...
The owner of this rig pulled out before we could get the specs ... on the Sweptline or the tow rig. The Sweptline seems to be inspired by Dick Boynton's "Flying Barn Door" '63 D-100 that was a regular on SoCal tracks in '63 and part of '64, racing in the B/Factory eXperimental class with a 413 Max Wedge. It's a cool truck, but it's the ramp-back we really want.
Tom Sendelbeck of Waterloo,...
Tom Sendelbeck of Waterloo, Illinois, made the trip in his '62 Chevy. Factory custom cab trim, chrome front bumper, and factory polished aluminum grille set off the suede black paint.
Jack Hosack rolled in from...
Jack Hosack rolled in from O'Fallon, Missouri, in his '62 Unibody.
One of the Chrome Czars owns...
One of the Chrome Czars owns this Ford Econoline Scooby van. That's a lot of slab-side to do something with, and the unique scallop/panel treatment works great. It took some vision to come up with that design.
Sendelbeck ditched the original...
Sendelbeck ditched the original engine for a turbo'd Cummins diesel. The Cummins doesn't fit this well in a new truck!
This Ford panel was in the...
This Ford panel was in the swap meet area, and was a good collection of bits the owner had lying around, threw together to make a pretty complete vehicle, and was practically giving it away. It needed work, but was a fantastic starting point.
Dodge A100: Mopar's answer...
Dodge A100: Mopar's answer to the Econoline and Corvan. This long panel works well with the lowered stance and five-spokes. This would make either a great shop/race support truck, or fit a bed in the back and camp across the country in it.
The '54-55 First Series Chevy...
The '54-55 First Series Chevy trucks are some of the best proportioned Suburbans and panels-especially once their altitude is corrected. The vintage shop truck/work truck theme is always popular. This one is newly lettered, and then patina'd.