At the very tip of Northern California's central valley and about 10 miles south of Lake Shasta lies the city of Redding, California. With beginnings, dating back to the 1840s, the surrounding area is packed with early Americana and a populace friendly to 20th century automobilia. Proof positive is that Redding has had a dragstrip since 1948, converted from the old Redding Airport and the strip has been NHRA sanctioned since 1955. In association with Kool April Nights, Kool April Drags celebrates the drag racing portion of the weeklong event so participants can bring home the bacon, or get shut down trying. Held on the grounds of the Redding Convention Center, Kool April Nights celebrated its 20th anniversary in '09 and the dates for 2010 are April 14-19, when the event celebrates its 21st year.
Udder-or should we say utterly-custom,...
Udder-or should we say utterly-custom, Westbrook Dairy rolled in their Divco Twin Model U from Smith River, CA, powered by a Corvette LS motor. The cow's name is Bessie.
Looking from this angle the...
Looking from this angle the short "wrongbed" on this '63 Ford F-100 looks pretty darn good. Under the hood it's running a Ford FE big-block motor.
With Redding not far from...
With Redding not far from the Oregon border there were a lot of really nice trucks such as this "sano" GMC that came down from the Portland area.
If we had to come up with...
If we had to come up with a name for this bright-yellow '55 Ford...
...with a split-windshield...
...with a split-windshield and split rear-window added, we'd say "Banana Split."
This beautiful Advance Design...
This beautiful Advance Design Chevy is just one of many classic trucks that showed up with a big ol' huffer under its hood.
"See this hat? It means if...
"See this hat? It means if a '54 Chevy is bright yellow with a flock of flames all over its front end you better hang on some Crager SS wheels to finish it off in style."
As nice as this old Dodge...
As nice as this old Dodge Power Wagon is, we'll bet the owner still makes it earn its keep.
Don't look now, but there's...
Don't look now, but there's a '59 (or late '58) Fleetside shortbed on the rear of this '57 Chevy.
Nick Vanderstaay of Port Orchard,...
Nick Vanderstaay of Port Orchard, WA, definitely dared to be different with his radical '77 Ford F-150 Wet & Wild Styleside longbed.