I love going to the Hot Rod Reunion. Famoso Raceway is smelly, dusty, and in the middle of nowhere, but for three days every fall there's nowhere else I'd rather be. And judging by the increased crowds every year, I'm not the only one! In 2010 we celebrated the 19th Hot Rod Reunion, and also marked the 50th anniversary of the famed Winged Express AA/Fuel Altered, which made passes up the quarter in celebration.
Steve Hudson ran this '55...
Steve Hudson ran this '55 Chevy back in the early '70s in Southern California. It changed owners and colors and disappeared into storage for 25 years before Ron Malmsten bought it. It's now restored and back in Hudson's ownership.
In those 19 years, the event has evolved from a small affair recalling the glory days of drag racing to a huge showing of all manner of restored and retro race machinery. At this event we also witnessed 16 Top Fuelers, and almost 40 Funny Cars vying for places in the 16-car field, which incidentally boasted a 5.95-second bump spot! This latter class has exploded in popularity in the past three years alone.
But the Reunion is so much more than nostalgia drag races. The Grove, behind the bleachers is, for an all-too-brief few days, home to vintage Fuelers, Altereds, and Gassers, as well as hot rods and customs. The pits are a show in themselves and a must-attend for old race car fans, while the swap meet area seems to expand annually, and offers up race-orientated parts that never appear at regular swap meets.
Then there's Friday night's party at the host Doubletree Hotel in Bakersfield, California. Here you can stand right next to race cars firing up on fuel during the evening and talk firsthand with many of your heroes. Saturday (and this year Sunday too) sees the famous Cackle Fest, when scores of cars are fired up, driven up the return road, and out onto the track. They used to all run together, but there are so many these days that by the time the last car is on the strip, the first is already shut off and cooling. Once all the engines are killed, the bleachers empty onto the track, allowing fans to get as close as they wish to the cars. Just don't burn your legs on the still-warm headers!
There were not one, but two,...
There were not one, but two, "Jungle Jim" Liberman '69 Novas on hand, one on display and this one that saw track action. If you dig drag racing from the '60s, you need to be at the Reunion this year.
Nick Ozanne's '48 Plymouth...
Nick Ozanne's '48 Plymouth coupe runs a straight axle and a twin AFB-fed tunnel-rammed 327 with a four-speed. A Lakewood scattershield and Ansen pedals are just a couple of the period parts on this new build.
From 1960-62, the Perrenot...
From 1960-62, the Perrenot family ran a AA/Fuel Comp Coupe until it met its demise on the strip. This is a re-creation of that car, the Gizzle Hopper, and Brian and Vicky Perrenot chose this of all the family's ex-race cars to re-create, as it was Perrenot's late-brother Travis' favorite. A much-altered '31 bantam body sits aft of the blown 430ci Lincoln engine.
Too often coupes-turned-roadsters...
Too often coupes-turned-roadsters can look out of proportion, especially when stuffed with a huge engine, but this example sits right and looks right and always draws us in whenever we see it.
Shorty bed pickup looked like...
Shorty bed pickup looked like an older build with coil springs supporting the rearend. If we asked you to picture a '32 cab on a '34 frame with a Model A bed, would you envision it looking this good?
With Mexican blanket upholstery...
With Mexican blanket upholstery to match the orange paint, and a tooth grille in the stock surround, this smoothed '58 four-door longroof was proof that mild customs-even wagons-can be eye catching. Or is it simply that Loco Banditos Bakersfield style again?
Though local Bakersfield car...
Though local Bakersfield car club Loco Banditos have become known for '50s and '60s brightly painted in-yer-face customs, there are a few hot rods amongst their number, including this sweet A roadster on Radirs.
The Cackle Fest is one of...
The Cackle Fest is one of the Reunion's biggest experiences, and this year all the "push start" cars were pushed down track by period vehicles and then fired up, driven back up the return road in front of the bleachers, and parked one by one diagonally across the strip. There were always two or three running at one time, and as another pulled up, the first would kill the engine. That's a lot of nitro in the air, believe us!
Tri-powered A-V8 with raked...
Tri-powered A-V8 with raked windshield and louvered decklid was out of Oregon. Sitting very low the split 'bones mount through the frame, while there's a quick-change under the kicked up rear.
This survivor '34 coupe features...
This survivor '34 coupe features an aluminum headed tri-power Flathead, '40 Ford steering wheel, and a white tuck 'n' roll interior that had seen better days. Offered at $38,000, it was snapped up by an English buyer and is headed across the pond.
Joaquin Arnett was the mastermind...
Joaquin Arnett was the mastermind behind the original Bean Bandits, designing, building, and driving various cars and taking many records under the club colors. Sadly Arnett passed away a couple of weeks before the Reunion, and the club made an exhibition pass in his honor in his recreation of his old nitro-burning Flathead dragster.
Looking for all the world...
Looking for all the world like a full-size Muscle Machine with that blown Hemi poking through the hood, heads 'n' all, we'll bet this '65 Valiant wagon corners like a pregnant elephant on ice, but what a blast in a straight line!
It could be mistaken for Keith...
It could be mistaken for Keith Weesner's roadster with a coat of paint, but this milk truck rear-wheel shod A drove down to Bakersfield from the Pacific Northwest.