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36th MSRA Car Show - Land of 11,510 CarsBack To The 50's In St. Paul, Minnesota From the December, 2009 issue of Rod & Custom By Tim Bernsau
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A month later and the feeling still keeps coming back-that combination of awe, excitement, and sensory overload. It comes back whenever I catch the scent of deep-fried cheese curds or pork chops on a stick. It comes back whenever I hear the sound of 11,000-plus '64-and-earlier rods, customs, classics, and trucks in one place at one time. It came back this week as I sifted through my photos from the Minnesota Street Rod Association's (MSRA) huge annual event at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul. Suddenly, in my imagination, I was back at Back to the 50's, probably the biggest rod and custom event I've ever been to in my life. This year was the 36th time the MSRA has hosted this event, and it was my first time attending. I hope it's not the last. The shade tree-filled fairgrounds is a fantastic place for a gathering of 11,510 cars and trucks (this year's total). Despite its size, Back to the 50's has the feel of a regional car club event-which, come to think of it, it is. The MSRA is a non-profit group of volunteers who just happen to know how to put on a car show. Of course, Back to the 50's has all the extra stuff we like about big car shows-an extensive manufacturers midway, a great swap meet, live bands, oldies music from announcer Wings Kalahan, plus the Dana Mecum Hot Rod Auction. And we like what it doesn't have-namely, trophies. Can you believe that 11,510 show cars will show up even if they can't go home with an award? They sure will! What we liked the best was the variety-from freshly finished rides to in-the-works projects to survivors that folks have owned for 20, 30, even 50 years. We found high-tech and traditional cars, and big-buck and low-budget cars. On these pages, you'll notice an emphasis on the traditionally inspired iron, on owner-builds, and on a few of those survivors, but we tried to present an assortment to show the diversity of the event. We've already been to www.msra.com for information on the 37th Back to the 50's for 2010. We'll look for you there. We might not find you, but we'll sure look for you. The Show on the Road
We love car shows and we love show cars; but we really love hearing about enthusiasts getting out and driving their rods and customs. Back to the 50's was just one of many stops on a 4,200-mile road trip for these four couples from British Columbia, Canada. When we met them in St. Paul, they had already driven these cars from their hometown of Kelowna to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, then back into Canada, through Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and down into Minnesota. From St. Paul, they were heading to the Speedway Motors Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, then onto Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone, followed by Great Falls, Montana, and Calgary, Alberta, and, finally, home to Kelowna. They promised to send us photos and stories from their road trip. We'll post those, along with more photos of these cars, on the R&C website at www.rodandcustommagazine.com. From left to right are Chuck and Kim Wilsone with their Hemi-powered '41 DeSoto, Jim and Jackie Radloff and their '54 Ford, Steve and Liz Foster and their '56 Ford wagon, and Ralph and Barb Carlaw with their '63 Buick.  This former four-door '34...  This former four-door '34 Dodge sedan is channeled over a handbuilt frame and runs a '55 Dodge 270 Hemi with a three-speed OD trans and a banjo rearend with a homemade quick-change poking through the rear sheetmetal. Twenty-inch rear wheels were custom machined to resemble the 17-inch artillery wheels in front. The buckets are high school auditorium seats. Owner Darrell Bernloehr says some flat brown paint is in the future.  This is the second season...  This is the second season for John Pazik's stunning contemporary custom, which is modified all over without disguising its '56 Chevy identity. Modified Saab seats are separated by a floating arm rest and custom console. A dressed-up small-block fills the engine compartment.  Not finished, but already...  Not finished, but already cool, Russ Pooler's '26 tub was a four-door when work started. The dash is from a '50 Pontiac Silver Streak; the bomber buckets will eventually be covered in rawhide. The homebuilt grille combines a swap meet-bought Dodge pickup shell and '48 Buick grille bars cut in half and turned sideways.  This former four-door '34...  This former four-door '34 Dodge sedan is channeled over a handbuilt frame and runs a '55 Dodge 270 Hemi with a three-speed OD trans and a banjo rearend with a homemade quick-change poking through the rear sheetmetal. Twenty-inch rear wheels were custom machined to resemble the 17-inch artillery wheels in front. The buckets are high school auditorium seats. Owner Darrell Bernloehr says some flat brown paint is in the future.  This is the second season...  This is the second season for John Pazik's stunning contemporary custom, which is modified all over without disguising its '56 Chevy identity. Modified Saab seats are separated by a floating arm rest and custom console. A dressed-up small-block fills the engine compartment.  Tom Burgeson's '23 T bucket...  Tom Burgeson's '23 T bucket is another survivor. Tom began building it in 1966, inspired by Tommy Ivo's T. He's been driving it since 1973. The Nailhead engine is a 425 Super Wildcat. Wheels are 4-inch American 200S fronts with 10 inchers in back. The Mor-Drop axle and Kellison 'glass body from the '60s are more old-time parts.  Gerald Anderson bought this...  Gerald Anderson bought this '34 Ford pickup, pulled it home, and started collecting parts. That was 50 years ago. Since then, it's been built, rebuilt, raced, and driven all over. Now it's running a throttle body-injected Fire Power Hemi and a "poor man's five-speed" Saginaw four-speed with Borg-Warner OD.  Updated wheels and tires and...  Updated wheels and tires and some nice paint really spice up Dean Osland's '58 Rambler-not to mention the LS6 underood and the fully contemporary interior with leather seats and GM center console. We weren't expecting that.  We could've spent all weekend...  We could've spent all weekend listening to stories from Ken Anderson of North Branch, Minnesota, (brother of Gerald with the '34 pickup) who bought this '32 Tudor in 1961 and hasn't done much with it except drive it-and add those Cragars probably sometime in the '70s. Most of the paint-brown body, black fenders, and gray along the beltline-appears to be original.  Ernie Benjamin's been coming...  Ernie Benjamin's been coming to this event for years, but this was his first time with a hot rod. His chopped-and-channeled '29 has a few old-time East Coast elements and some cool 'striping on the dash. Since he bought it, he's finished the interior and shot a coat of clear to give the suede black paint a little gloss.  This '27 T Tudor is a current...  This '27 T Tudor is a current project at Tin Man Fabrications. The suicide front end hangs in front of the custom frame. The engine is a 396 big-block. Owner Dan Crews chopped the top, channeled the body, and die-hammered a new beltline. His brother Jim's bullet-holed roadster behind it was on R&C's January '07 cover.  A little bit of white paint...  A little bit of white paint on the brake backing plates, axle, and recessed firewall looks great next to the blue on Brian Wick's '31 coupe, riding on Deuce 'rails. We like the drilled I-beam and split 'bones, the Wings gauges, piecrust bias-ply whitewalls, and that custom high-rise manifold with six 94s.  Todd Doyle brought out this...  Todd Doyle brought out this '52 Buick hardtop, painted Metalflake Green with a Champagne top. Like the outside, the interior is primarily stock with some mild mods-such as a LeCarra Mark 10 nostalgic steering wheel on a tilt column.  This clean little '33 Ford...  This clean little '33 Ford pickup belongs to Joe and Jan Wyles, who brought it from Waterloo, Iowa. It's loaded with a lot of eye-appealing traditional elements like the red tuck 'n' roll interior, Moon tank, and Flathead with an Offy manifold and a pair of 94s.  Something compels me to take...  Something compels me to take a photo whenever a Gasser-style straight-axle Willys rolls by. This patina'd '40 belongs to Ben and Cherie Shannon. We didn't catch the name of the owner of the Cinnamon-colored '41, but it looks like those rear fenders are filled a little better for tripping the win light!  This tall T was entered by...  This tall T was entered by Steve Caswell and Judy Perry. The Flathead in the '26 has Offy heads and a Sharp intake manifold. You know that a '32 grille shell on a T probably bothers some traditionalists, but it looks good there, doesn't it?  This was the fourth summer...  This was the fourth summer that this '39 Ford ragtop has been completed, but Bill and Karen Steiner have owned it for 23 years. The door handles are gone but much of the trim remains. There's a 400 small-block inside and a Mustang II front suspension underneath.  Jim and Mary Pittelko's '56...  Jim and Mary Pittelko's '56 Olds 98 has passed from Jim's great-uncle, to his father, and now to Jim. The 37,000-original-mile car still runs the factory 324 Rocket engine, original interior, mostly stock drivetrain, stock sheetmetal, and original chrome trim. The only major changes are the AOD trans and the House of Kolor paint.  Jack DeJoy was hoping for...  Jack DeJoy was hoping for sunshine to enjoy his '47 Cadillac convertible. It was a body-off project, built on a Nova subframe, with a 500ci Cadillac mill, '49 Cadillac dash, and late-model console. Jack's wife, Joyce, drives a '34 Chevy coupe.
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