Nick, of Rizza Ford, singing Frank Sinatra
Joe Rizza Ford in North Riverside cleared out the used car lot for 50 to 60 cars on a terrific Sunday afternoon for a dandy car show! The clouds add a touch to my photos. DJ Tom (familiar to all who attend Westchester Cruise Nights) provided entertainment with a great mix of oldies. My music section is here and this link takes you to my ‘teaser’ photo gallery.
Flashback 50s DJ Tony
This event was rained out the week before and somehow Fil found sponsors to permit one last car show. At least 50 cars attended and Flashback 50s DJ Tony played 50s & 60s oldies until 8PM. Listen to a few of them here.
In the header image (when you click on the post title) notice a ’66 Chevy Super Sport, a ’72 ’73 BMW Targa, a’55 Chevy Bel Aire, a ’57 Corvette, a ’47 Cadillac, a’68 Buick Wildcat, a ’37 Packard and an ’87 Mercury.
1970 Olds Cutlass 4-4-2
Even though the car show is winding down and sunset gets earlier and earlier, Bensenville had a great event with almost 100 cars and the band, Caliente “playing the Soulful Sounds of Old School with a Latin Groove“; YouTube videos of some of the songs they covered are at this link. And here is my teaser gallery.
Winston Plaza had a terrific car show event today with hundreds of cars and large crowd. There were a few cars from the 1920s and the 1940s; and a quite a lot from the ’50s and ’60s with which I have a strong personal bond. Too bad it’s only once a year! Many of the cars I’ve featured attended and I hope I shot them all. A DJ spun oldies which included these tracks.
1959 Pontiac Bonneville
I took several photos of Ron’s incredible white ’59 Pontiac Bonneville as it was cruisin’ East and West on St. Charles Road in Lombard at the July 28th Cruise Night but never had a chance to shoot up close until today and it is one very gorgeous automobile.
Duke’s
My first visit to Duke’s was a great experience; it’s the same night as one of my favorites (Lombard) but has a longer season so I plan to return. This event had some great classics (OMG, I’m calling Fords & Chevys, that flourished in my lifetime,’classic’), muscle cars and many drag race cars. There was a helluva lot of noise from cars arriving, leaving and just revving. This event was ‘drag night’ and was dedicated to Marty Bilecki, Jr.
Oldies music (and loud engines) ‘filled the air waves’ and the selections were eclectic; listen here to YouTube videos of the original artists performing some of the tracks heard at Duke’s.
Terry & Marty Sr. with award chosen by Marty
Terry’s green and white 1956 Ford Victoria hardtop caught my eye the moment it arrived and he’s owned it since 1970 so he will place high on my “Rogue’s gallery” of long time owners. This car, with a 292 V-8 is restored original except for a few performance (tri-power) and creature comforts (A/C and sound system). Continue reading
Gary
This small show started with just a few cars and the lot filled more as it got darker, much to my chagrin as I was trying to take pictures. Many people I’ve met this year brought their cars from antiques to muscle cars.Jazz and blues music was provided by the Bungle Boys but I couldn’t identify song titles so I’ll post some old time blues here; and my teaser photo gallery is at this link. Of a small number of cars, three were the 1965 model year.
1962 Olds Starfire
I arrived shortly after the 6 PM start and the show was already packed; I made a beeline to the small lot on the West end of the event because I most often don’t get a chance to shoot those cars until it gets too dark. Bag Shot Row was the band and they sang oldies from the ’50s & ’60s; this group has been together since ‘the lads were 13’. Here they are on YouTube and on YouTube you’ll find original performances of songs they covered at this link. Check out my ‘teaser’ photo gallery for Bensenville.
Jeff ‘introduced’ me to his gorgeous ’62 Oldsmobile Starfire (more here).
1969 Olds Toronado
Finally I have a little more info about the cars of two familiar guys who attend these shows. Allen recently purchased this 1969 W34 Oldsmobile Toronado, front wheel drive He took two trips to Dubuque to check it out and bought it on the third one. The motor is a 455 rated at 400 horsepower/510 ft. lbs. of torque. Only a third of the 28,494 Toronados built in ’69 were equipped with the W34 package. He also owns a Mercury Marauder and a 1969 Shelby Cobra which I saw at Bud & Anna’s show in Hodgkins.
1940 Ford Deluxe
Joe’s 1940 Ford Deluxe, Business Coupe has a fuel injected Corvette motor; he garages this vehicle at home so it’s easiest to bring to the car shows. Joe also owns a midnight blue Ford Galaxy, which is part of my teaser gallery for the 9-10-2012 Westchester show.
“The iconic 1940 Ford Coupe was recently added to our growing stable of officially licensed all-steel reproduction car bodies. “
1964 Olds Ninety Eight
Thirteen cars lined up in the inner drive at Cantata Retirement Home (on 31st street) on a sunny, warm September afternoon. Music of the 50s-60s was played softly and car owners had box lunches and talked about cars. My teaser photo gallery is at this link and listen to some of the music here.
Paul & Andrea
This was one helluva event because of the great cars, Joe ‘Elvis’ Tirrito performing and Paul Gattuso being truly surprised by an appreciation plaque and a photo album from prior Westchester Cruise Nights. I was so busy shooting the concert and the ceremony, I didn’t have time to shoot as many cars as I’d have liked before that blasted sun dipped below the horizon.
I have posted teaser galleries for the ceremony here; the concert here and oh yeah the car show here. You can find my music section at this link.
Continue reading
Allen, his ’69 Shelby Cobra and Route 66 Show award
This annual event was held at Hodgkins on Saturday September 8th and 110 cars participated. Music was CDs and the band Hillbilly Rock Starz performed a concert (my coverage at this link) just a few hundred yards away in Hodgkins Park. Here are some of the tunes we heard from the DJ. Regular blog readers will see four familiar cars in my teaser gallery. Allen brought his 1969 Shelby Cobra, which had won the Mighty Mustang award at the Berwyn Route 66 Car Show earlier in the day (but I didn’t see him earlier because the show was so big).
