Car Show Coverage: The May 2022 Mid-Missouri Old Car Club Cruise-In – Follow The Yellow Brick Road

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– Posted on June 3, 2022

The other day I realized, not even accounting for that little viral thing, it had been several years since I had been to a car show.  While that isn’t always a bad thing, yesterday was the fourth Saturday of the month, meaning there was a cruise-in at the local mall.  Given I could spend my evening going to the show or continuing to build a retaining wall, the choice was simple.

So let’s take a look at what was on offer.  There is so much more than just a yellow Studebaker.

This Lark VI is a 1960 model, as evidenced by its license plate.  Missouri allows use of old plates, providing they are legible and from the year of manufacture.  It’s a boon for model year identification.

This convertible is one of 3,107 built that year.  The smudge between the left tail light and the license plate is the remnants of a dealer sticker.  This Studebaker was purchased locally.

This show allowed multiple opportunities to see and photograph a number of cars and trucks I have seen, but never captured.  This yellow Mustang falls in that category.

A week ago I had taken the day off and was running a few errands.  There was a yard sale at a house along the way and this Mustang was sitting out front with a “For Sale” sign.  The quoted price was $12,500.  Okay, whatever.  There is an automatic transmission behind the 302 in this Pony.

Something more to my liking was this 1964 Mercury Park Lane convertible.  There were 1,967 Park Lane convertibles built that year.

Have I covered this Mercury before?  Who cares?  It’s a full-size Mercury so I am ethically obligated to share it.

This Javelin is a fixture at this show.  However, it is yellow and being photobombed by a yellow Dodge, so it has to be included.  I believe this Javelin is a six-cylinder unit; there are a couple of Javelin’s around so if this one isn’t, another local one definitely is.

Here’s that yellow Dodge, a 1937 model.  The grille still said “Dodge Brothers” for 1937.

There’s a yellow Chevrolet Blazer photobombing the photobomber.  Let’s hold the thought about that vintage of Chevrolet…

In keeping with the yellow them, here’s a Dodge pickup from Wisconsin.

This pickup has obviously been transplanted onto the four-wheel drive chassis of a 1980s model Dodge pickup, but that’s okay.  It was good to see this old girl still doing her thing.  How so?

She’s pulling a white and yellow (!!!) travel trailer.

There was even a yellow Corvair in the parking lot.

This yellow-ish 1969 Ford captivated my fancy.  Other than being a year older, it is the same color, with the same 240 straight six, three-speed on the column drivetrain as the 1970 Ford F-100 my father owned, the very first vehicle I ever drove.  This ’69 even has the same rust behind the wheels on the front fenders as his ’70 did.  This was a fun-looking old pickup.

In keeping with yellow (or maybe something like “goldenrod” for this example) is this 3/4 ton Chevrolet pickup.  It was odd; he pulled in and parked.  Then he immediately restarted the 400 cubic inch V8 under the hood, threw it in reverse, and took off.

He’s backing up here.  I have seen this very pickup all over town, always in motion, and occasionally pulling a trailer.

These early 1970s Chevrolet pickups are continuing to gather their fans.  It’s not hard to see why.

Geesh, I just noticed the yellow Nova dragster in the background while editing this piece.

This step-side, parked two vehicles away, had a sign on it about a local couple and their “Chevy Truck Farm”, where they resurrect old Chevrolet pickups from the dead.  Resurrecting any old car or pickup is always a worthy endeavor.

Speaking of resurrection from the dead is this 1946 Ford ambulance.  This Ford was quite long and had immense presence.  The owner is obviously having fun with a vehicle that has non-mainstream appeal.

Let’s take a detour from North America.  This detour will be accompanied by some observations and possibly unpopular thoughts.  But it’s not about what you might think.

Other than this being from the earlier part of the 1980s, I have no clue what model year this Celica Supra is; however, that naming convention alone may pinpoint the year.  But here is where the observations start.

This is a good looking car.  Sure, these had zero appeal to me back in the day but there is usually a bit of change in one’s perspective between the ages of 10 and 49.  I can now vividly see the appeal of these, and have been able to for quite some time.  The right color no doubt aids in seeing the appeal.

This Supra was not the only Japanese car there, but it was the only one that was not modified.

A thought / theory came about from this 1983 Mercedes 240D (being photobombed by a yellow Supra!).

These have a certain timeless appeal.  Further, this particular Mercedes has a four-speed; I had never before seen one with a four-speed.  As I am taking it all in, a guy comes up beside me and asks if I noticed it having a manual transmission.  We then struck up a nice conversation where I learned he has owned his Mercedes for a little over a month, it is the best driving car he has experienced, he isn’t put off by its lackadaisical acceleration, and he obviously really loves this car, having shared his plans with it.

The point?  He was in his very early twenties.  His is the demographic that we keep hearing isn’t interested in old cars.  I say think again.  This car is easily fifteen years older than he is.  When I hear about younger people not being interested in the old car hobby, all I can ask to myself is whether there is truly no interest or is there alternate interest in arenas seasoned persons don’t agree with and/or appreciate?

Let’s be honest; a 1983 Mercedes, or 1983 anything, isn’t going to hold the same intrigue to a car show attendee who is, say, 45, 55, or 65 years old.  Don’t different ages generally bring different interests?  As long as interest continues, shouldn’t that be what matters?

Let us continue…

This VW Rabbit, also a 1983, was sitting beside the Mercedes.

A slip of paper on the seat stated this VW is a one-owner car, used as a daily driver for 36 years.  It was recently refurbished and repainted, with the only other deviations being the wheels and aftermarket stereo.  Powered by a 1.7 liter gas engine attached to a four-speed manual, I failed the capture the most captivating part of this VW.

The odometer read 847,000 miles.  That’s 23,000 per year, which is not unreasonable.

Lastly from outside North America is this VW Westphalia.  I chuckled to myself, wondering if it is from Westphalia, a small town about twenty minutes south.  Regardless, VW vans aren’t exactly plentiful around here, so this Westy has more mystique that it would in other areas of the country.

Earlier I mentioned having caught up with a few cars and pickups I had seen earlier.  This 1959 Ford Country Squire is one of them; in fact, I mentioned this very Ford in my last post.  So, now, here it is, 60 miles from where I first saw it.  It was driven those 60 miles to this show.

When I first approached it, the lady of the couple who owns it was explaining the “wood” to a boy who was about five.  He was really trying to figure out the metal that looked like wood and why it was there.  It was fun to watch.

This wagon has a 352 V8 and is very well equipped with air-conditioning, power windows, power brakes, and power steering – some heady stuff for 1959.

Talking with the male half of the couple, he said he has restored everything on the wagon himself, except he did outsource the upholstery.  He said now that he’s finished, he’s bored with it and has a “For Sale” sign at home.  His wife said he won’t be selling it as it goes well with her 1959 Ford two-door sedan.

This 1937 Chevrolet is the most elusive of anything I’ve covered here.  I’ve seen this pickup only rarely, with half the time being at night.  The owner, Tim, is wearing the blue shirt.

Tim is my neighbor who lives directly across the street from me.  No joke, this pickup resides less than 500 hundred feet from me, but it’s in a garage behind his house and is only outside on rare occasion.  It was out yesterday and Tim took off down the street in it as I was building my retaining wall.  Figuring I knew where he was going, it was a great excuse to change activities for the evening.

Tim also owns the red Cougar convertible that is on the edge of this picture.

Now, for one last story.

This 1970 Buick Skylark was one of the most innocuous cars there…but looks can be deceiving.

Despite the dog-dish hubcaps, this Buick is loaded on the inside, with power windows, a tilt wheel, and a variety of other options.  Talking to the owner, this car has a fun history.  Spending a great part of its life in Washington D.C., this car was used for governmental purposes of some variety.  It has also acquired a rather potent 455 cubic inch (7.4 liter) V8.  The owner started the engine and it sounds sublime.

The car left Washington for St. Louis; a man, who along with his wife drove nothing but Buick Skylarks, had purchased the car unbeknownst to his wife and was having it delivered.  He didn’t get a chance to tell her about the Buick before he died unexpectedly; the car was being off-loaded from the delivery truck when she returned home from the funeral.

This guy bought it from the widow.

Did I mention this guy is in his early 20s, also?  That’s him, right above the back window.  These two guys in their early 20s were two of the three friendliest people I encountered the whole evening.  The old car hobby is truly alive and well.

I hope you enjoyed the show.