Street-rod builders take steps to keep their hobby alive
Last update: June 18, 2005 at 12:10 AM
Street-rod builders take steps to keep their hobby alive
Star Tribune
June 18, 2005 CARS0618
Back when Tom Vollbrecht was a kid, cars were hot.
His first car was a 1950 Oldsmobile, and he was so fond of it that he bought another years later and is entering it in this weekend's "Back to the '50s" street rod show.
Vollbrecht, 61, knows he'll have plenty of company at the show -- with thousands of other street rods entered -- but most will be from people from his generation. That's why he and others from the Minnesota Street Rod Association (MSRA) are counting on a new generation of street rodders known as the "Ignitors" to keep their beloved hobby from going the way of the classic cars they adore.
"We're a dying breed," Vollbrecht said. "We lived in the '50s. And we're dying. We'd like to see our hobby continue after we're long gone."
Heading back in time.Joey McleisterStar TribuneEnter the Ignitors. Born out of the MSRA's concerns, the club is for people who are age 27 and younger and enjoy collecting, driving and building cars primarily built in 1964 or earlier. From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. today, they'll have their own mini-show on the corner of Carnes Avenue and Chambers Street at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, site of the "Back to the '50s" show.
The National Street Rod Association has started a similar club for people ages 21 and under.
Ask the younger street rod enthusiasts what the sport's future looks like, and they'll say it's as solid as the hunks of steel in which they're cruising.
The Ignitors meet about once a month to trade knowledge and talk cars. "Since we're younger, we don't know a ton about cars," said Travis Fowler, a 25-year-old mechanic who helped start the group six years ago. He's also the proud owner of a '62 Chevy Impala SS and an "ongoing project" -- a '60 Chevy pickup.
Last week, about a dozen of the 35 members met at Porky's in St. Paul to get ready for the show. The retro drive-in restaurant is a popular spot for cruisers and rubberneckers alike. As Katie Kaulfuss, 18, started up her baby blue '54 Chevy Bel Air in the parking lot, a patron stopped and stared.
Kaulfuss is used to that.
"When I stop at a gas station, people stop me and say, 'I used to have a car that looked just like that,' " she said. Like many young street rodders, she grew up in a family that was into the hobby.
Jennie Melgard is another Ignitor who developed a passion for older cars early on. Her grandfather owns seven, her father has four and her uncle has one. "I've been around this stuff my whole life."
She's taking a friend's '50 Chevy hardtop to the fairgrounds this weekend.
Melgard, who is the manager of the National Chevy Association, said she prefers the older cars with their distinctive body lines to the ones from her generation. "There's nothing that separates them from all the others. With older cars, I can look at one and say, 'That's a Nova,' " Melgard said. "With new cars, there isn't that fun."
Dylan Patterson, 19, wasn't alive during the 1950s either, but he looks like someone who has learned how to time travel.
His dark brown hair is greased back in a pompadour. He wears cuffed jeans and white and dark T-shirts, and listens to singer Eddie Cochran. When Patterson was 15, he bought his first car -- a Ford Fairlane.
A former Ignitor, he doesn't come from a street-rodding family. "None of my family was into it," he said. "I started listening to the music. It led me to the hairstyle and then the cars."
Buying and rebuilding street rods can cost thousands of dollars and take years, but street rodders like Patterson take a different approach to their hobby. They prefer to spend much less and drive the car instead of making it look pristine and then parking it at car shows or in the garage.
Patterson drives his '61 Chevy Bel Air to and from work and in all kinds of weather. He's modified the Bel Air to suit his tastes and needs, lowering it by 6 inches and removing its original silver paint. Instead, he gave it a "twelve dollar paint job," using flat black primer.
"For me it's just cheap transportation," he said. "Cheap transportation that looks cool."
Street-rod builders take steps to keep their hobby alive
Star Tribune
June 18, 2005 CARS0618
Back when Tom Vollbrecht was a kid, cars were hot.
His first car was a 1950 Oldsmobile, and he was so fond of it that he bought another years later and is entering it in this weekend's "Back to the '50s" street rod show.
Vollbrecht, 61, knows he'll have plenty of company at the show -- with thousands of other street rods entered -- but most will be from people from his generation. That's why he and others from the Minnesota Street Rod Association (MSRA) are counting on a new generation of street rodders known as the "Ignitors" to keep their beloved hobby from going the way of the classic cars they adore.
"We're a dying breed," Vollbrecht said. "We lived in the '50s. And we're dying. We'd like to see our hobby continue after we're long gone."
Heading back in time.Joey McleisterStar TribuneEnter the Ignitors. Born out of the MSRA's concerns, the club is for people who are age 27 and younger and enjoy collecting, driving and building cars primarily built in 1964 or earlier. From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. today, they'll have their own mini-show on the corner of Carnes Avenue and Chambers Street at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, site of the "Back to the '50s" show.
The National Street Rod Association has started a similar club for people ages 21 and under.
Ask the younger street rod enthusiasts what the sport's future looks like, and they'll say it's as solid as the hunks of steel in which they're cruising.
The Ignitors meet about once a month to trade knowledge and talk cars. "Since we're younger, we don't know a ton about cars," said Travis Fowler, a 25-year-old mechanic who helped start the group six years ago. He's also the proud owner of a '62 Chevy Impala SS and an "ongoing project" -- a '60 Chevy pickup.
Last week, about a dozen of the 35 members met at Porky's in St. Paul to get ready for the show. The retro drive-in restaurant is a popular spot for cruisers and rubberneckers alike. As Katie Kaulfuss, 18, started up her baby blue '54 Chevy Bel Air in the parking lot, a patron stopped and stared.
Kaulfuss is used to that.
"When I stop at a gas station, people stop me and say, 'I used to have a car that looked just like that,' " she said. Like many young street rodders, she grew up in a family that was into the hobby.
Jennie Melgard is another Ignitor who developed a passion for older cars early on. Her grandfather owns seven, her father has four and her uncle has one. "I've been around this stuff my whole life."
She's taking a friend's '50 Chevy hardtop to the fairgrounds this weekend.
Melgard, who is the manager of the National Chevy Association, said she prefers the older cars with their distinctive body lines to the ones from her generation. "There's nothing that separates them from all the others. With older cars, I can look at one and say, 'That's a Nova,' " Melgard said. "With new cars, there isn't that fun."
Dylan Patterson, 19, wasn't alive during the 1950s either, but he looks like someone who has learned how to time travel.
His dark brown hair is greased back in a pompadour. He wears cuffed jeans and white and dark T-shirts, and listens to singer Eddie Cochran. When Patterson was 15, he bought his first car -- a Ford Fairlane.
A former Ignitor, he doesn't come from a street-rodding family. "None of my family was into it," he said. "I started listening to the music. It led me to the hairstyle and then the cars."
Buying and rebuilding street rods can cost thousands of dollars and take years, but street rodders like Patterson take a different approach to their hobby. They prefer to spend much less and drive the car instead of making it look pristine and then parking it at car shows or in the garage.
Patterson drives his '61 Chevy Bel Air to and from work and in all kinds of weather. He's modified the Bel Air to suit his tastes and needs, lowering it by 6 inches and removing its original silver paint. Instead, he gave it a "twelve dollar paint job," using flat black primer.
"For me it's just cheap transportation," he said. "Cheap transportation that looks cool."
posted by josh at 8:42 AM
