(^58) themotorhood.com
from Nelson — seriously impressive for a one-
day event!
The sunny skies with occasional cloud cover
provided perfect conditions for people to wander
the endless rows of cars, and the abundant trees
provided comfortable shade for moments when
the heat got too much — or for those who had
planned a relaxing day out from the get-go.
That laid-back atmosphere is the not-so-secret
secret to the Cambridge Charity Car Show’s
enduring success.
Although Stragglers is a rod and custom club,
the scope of the event is by no means limited to
those vehicles. Moving through the ranks parked
throughout the domain, we saw just about one
of everything, and that doubtless contributes
to the show’s family-friendly vibe — in more
than a few cars heading home afterwards,
families would probably have been listing their
personal favourites.
Just about all ages of the internal-combustion
engine were covered, from an amazing example of
a 1912 Model T saloon up to a seriously imposing
2008 Dodge Viper, finished in attention-grabbing
orange, with its 8.4-litre V10 on display for all
to ogle.
In terms of hot rods, the same could be said,
with traditionally styled all-steel coupes rubbing
shoulders with fibreglass-bodied street rods,
providing eye candy for all tastes — whether
Left: Terry Casey doesn’t
need much excuse to take his
’70 Pontiac Firebird out for a spin,
and what better occasion than this
show? He’s owned the Firebird for
a couple of years, and loves it even
though it wasn’t what he originally
set out to purchase.
“I originally wanted a ’67 Mustang,
but realized [that] they’re getting
quite common, so I decided to act
on my Smokey and the Bandit fetish
with a ’77 Firebird,” he explains of
how he ended up with an earlier-
generation example instead. While
there are things he’d like to do to
the Firebird, he’s being careful not
to get too carried away, knowing all
too well how the simplest of jobs
can turn into a stripped car and
top-to-bottom rebuild
Above: Dale Gerrand, aka ‘Diago’, has been working on his Diagolac project for several years and would
have to have taken the honours for the show’s most unique vehicle. A panel beater, Dale found himself with
’57 Cadillac rear quarters, which were combined with the bonnet and sides off a ’38 Chev truck, widened ’28
Plymouth cowl, and a whole bunch of panel steel to fill in the blanks. The 365ci Cadillac V8, transmission, and
diff have all been mounted within the custom chassis, and we can’t help but wonder how wacky it’s going to
look when Dale finishes the build
Below: One of the coolest car–engine
combinations present belongs to show organizer
Glenn Keen. The ’31 Model A coupe looks every
bit the traditional hot rod, packing a later model
flathead V8 with rare Navarro alloy heads and a
Weiand supercharger
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