Street Rods Coming
I honestly love to watch these cars come in to the city, so I'm glad they are finally coming. Just think of the $$$$ that this event will bring to our city. Now, if the teeny boppers will mind their manners, everybody should have a good time.
Car show rolls into city; police brace
By John Sutter
The Oklahoman
Don't call Andy Danielson's 1938 street rod pink.
The car is 3,400 pounds of pure mauve power.
And don't assume middle-aged street-rodders like Danielson and their tricked-out cars are the reason Oklahoma City police will swarm near a national street rod show that starts today at State Fair Park. The baby boomers who take their cars to the show say they're too old and their cars are too expensive to drive into the rowdy, wheel-spinning crowd that has latched like a virus onto the old-era event.
The National Street Rod Association's Southwest Street Rod Nationals show runs through Sunday at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City. The show will feature about 2,000 street-rod cars. Street rods are cars that have old bodies -- they must be older than a 1949 model -- and often sparkling new insides.
Street-rodders don't want the sweat and money they've put into their cars to be lost amid the swirling out-of-control crowds and high police presence that have become commonplace outside the show in recent years.
They say young people have hijacked their show, swarming to Meridian Avenue when the event is in town and stirring up illegal activity.
"I would drive 50 miles out of the way to stay away from Meridian," said Beverly Riggs, who shows a 1944 Ford. "I think that the local kids come out in Mom or Dad's Corvette, and I think they're out there to show off ... that leaves a really bad taste in a lot of people's mouths."
Police and city government have taken notice of the issue.
Last year, police issued 123 citations at the show. Police also arrested 40 minors for possessing beer, 12 people for being drunk in public and four for drunken driving, according to a police news release.
In an effort to curb those illegal activities and promote a show that brings millions of dollars into Oklahoma City, the city passed a temporary ordinance to outlaw food and drink vendors up and down the street.
Some attendees have said that move is harsh. Councilman Larry McAtee, who proposed the ordinance, said it is necessary to try to reclaim the good nature of the car show.
Police said they will barricade parts of Meridian Avenue to limit drivers to only right turns off the road. Plainclothes officers will scour crowds.
Danielson just wants to meet friendly people and show off his work.
His 1938 Oldsmobile five-window Business Coupe is soft and pink by most accounts but his. Beneath the car's dainty body, a cool chrome-colored Chevy engine and two 10-inch sub-woofers rumble.
Other street-rodders said they go to shows to remember past times.
"I like all the colors ... and I like the noise," said Nelta Montgomery, 61, who drove from Corpus Christi, Texas, with her husband for the show. "It just reminds me of the '50s -- cruisin', drive-in movies, hamburgers."
The old-era sport has taken on a modern flare lately; and it's revving its way into the public consciousness.
Danielson and others said to look for high-tech gadgets and stereos with a kick at this year's auto show. The new trend seems to be the sexier, the more expensive and the more technologically advanced the car, the better it pleases the crowd.
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