The Road Kings, one of the oldest hot rod enthusiast clubs in the nation, held its 12th Annual Charity Car Show inside the beautiful Santa Anita Park infield on Sunday, October 12, hosting more than 500 special-interest street rods, street machines, classics, antiques, customs, and musclecars. Based in San Fernando Valley, California, this show happened to be the most cars and trucks ever to congregate for an outdoor show at the historic equestrian thoroughfare.
Proceeds from this event, as well as those from the club's June Johnny Carson Park show, were donated to local San Fernando Valley charities, kept specifically within the confines of the club's official headquarters in Burbank, California.
The show attendees filed through the infield tunnel at precisely 6.30 a.m. on Sunday and parked on the dewy grass along the adjoining rails and fences of the famed horse track. While early risers were putting the final polish on their own version of steeds, they were also given the opportunity to watch real steeds being exercised trackside.
Of course, a feature attraction of this event is that showgoers can win a trophy with their car, plus, they're able to watch and wager trackside, offering the opportunity to have a little fun and perhaps win some bucks.
The Road Kings' Santa Anita Park Show annually draws only the best machines in the area, and this year was no exception. Selected this year to win the Boyd's Pick award, presented by Boyd Coddington, was Eddie and "Moo" Dyke's green and black '37 Ford Standard. Show attendees were also given the opportunity to bid on a set of Boyd Coddington wheels in a silent auction, and the winner this year was Nick Sfetku.
Obviously, custom classic trucks made up a large portion of the event, competing for First through Third Place honors in a total of eight classes. Two vintage trucks especially caught our attention at the event. One such extraordinary truck was Bill Meixner's full custom '55 Vettabaker, from Saticoy, California, which handily won First Place in the Special Interest class. Bill's homebuilt hauler features a '53-'54 Corvette nose, a C5 'Vette tail section, a chopped cab, and a healthy small-block 350, all blended together to make one outstanding truck.
Meixner, who refurbishes interiors of Sears stores for a living, built the truck as a tribute to Corvette's 50th Anniversary. The other especially outstanding vintage hauler at Santa Anita was Mike Chaffer's yellow and orange '53 Ford F-100 smoothie, from Huntington Beach, California. This is the very same truck that we featured in the Nov. '03 issue of Truckin'.
Late-model and mid-year Ford and GM truck enthusiasts also had plenty to see at the show. Andre Reneaux's orange and white '72 Chevrolet Blazer captured Second Place in the '55-'72 truck class, while Ronnie Mongenal's purple with candy-copper and red-flamed Pro Street '65 with a blown GM big-block, earned Third Place. Lynn Guthrie's black and candy-blue tribal-flamed '01 Ford F-150 Lightning not only captured Second Place in the '73-'03 truck class, but it also won the Best Flames award.
Over in the light-duty El Camino and Ranchero classes, Diane Straughn's red and orange-flamed '66 El Camino captured First Place in her truck's class, while Scott Swetnan's '72 Ranchero swept in his class.
Of course, we could go on talking about all the killer truck-ware companies in attendance at the show, but it would be more fun to show them to you. If you haven't attended this event, or the Road King's Johnny Carson Park Show, you should. For further information on either of these events, as well as what's happening on a daily basis with the Road Kings, call (818) 842-KING (5464), or log on at www.roadkingsburbank.com.
Of course, this is just a sample of the photos from the show. For the whole scoop, go pick up the March 2004 issue of CCT at your local newsstand.
It's 6:30 a.m., and Greg and Christy Davie's big-block '56 F-100 Rat motor makes the roll call. The early morning arrival pays off as the Davie's Effie captured the '55-'72 truck class.