What was the first car you drove? What kind of car did your parents have when you were a little child? Chances are pretty good you can name the year, make, model and color scheme of those cars. You probably remember what the dash was like, how the radio sounded, what color the upholstery was and how the door handles looked inside and out. If you paid a little more attention, you might know what type of engine--at least how many cylinders--it had, and if you're something of a car fan, you can probably recite the displacement.

In our motorized culture, cars convey powerful images and trigger vivid memories. Seeing a particular older car can make you remember a person, a conversation, a particular period in your life you may not have thought of for years. How nice it would be to own such a car--to own a piece of an earlier, simpler, more carefree time.

Perhaps you've thought about buying an older car and dismissed the idea. "How much would I use it?"... "How safe would it be?"... "If I spend a lot on a car, I want to be able to drive it anywhere. How could I hit the highways with piece of mind in a vehicle decades old?..."

Your answers await at the state fairgrounds this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 21-23. The Back to the '50s Weekend celebrates street rods, which combine the unique lines and styles of older cars with modern drivetrains, brakes, safety and convenience features. Organizers expect some 10,000 vehicles to be on hand, and a good variety of other events offer plenty of family fun.

What is Back to the '50s?

The Minnesota Street Rod Association has been sponsoring this event for almost 30 years--this is the 29th annual Back to the '50s celebration. It showcases street rods and custom cars--the former being modified vehicles from 1948 and before; the latter covering 1949-1964 models. The vast majority of the vehicles will be driven to the event by their owners, which is one of the defining characteristics of a street rod.

Street rod (and custom) owners build these cars to drive them, incorporating modern power, safety and convenience features, and whatever further unique touches strike their fancy, such as custom body styling, chrome, paint, glass, upholstery or woodwork.

As MSRA member, George Dege, explains, with a street rod "you're driving something you created." The car embodies the owner's ideas, visions and dreams. They're works of art, but they're also meant to be enjoyed on the road.

Dege has two old cars, a '37 Chevy coupe, and a 1934 Brewster. The cars are modified to different degrees. His '37 Chevy has a balanced, blueprinted 350 V8 with turbo 400 transmission and '57 Chevy rear end. He found that car in Hemmings Motor News, the old car hobby's bible. A guy in Connecticut was selling it, the price sounded OK, it was a model he was interested in, so Dege flew out and had a look.

The owner had done a lot of work on it already and overall, the car was in pretty good shape. Dege bought it and drove it home with his son, taking advantage of the vehicle's CB radio to talk with truckers along the way. They asked his "handle," and when Dege said he didn't have one, they came up with Mr. Greenthumb, which became the name of the car. And how appropriate--not only was the car green, but Dege is the owner of a garden center in St. Paul. Today, the car's many custom touches include a handtooled leather dash, an eagle-head shift knob carved from a 3-1/2 pound whale's tooth and cut-glass windows with a garden motif. The hood ornament is a common garden insect--a dragonfly, with cast bronze wings, plated in gold to keep it shiny. It's based on a crystal design by famous 1920s hood ornament artist, Rene Lalique.

His Brewster Town Car is much rarer and is modified only to make it safer for modern travel. Brewster was an auto body fabricator out of New York that made custom bodies for Rolls Royce until 1929. They teamed up with Ford and made 120 town cars from 1934-36. Dege's has an all-aluminum body, heart-shaped grille and an open chauffeur's compartment. He estimates that only 5-7 of the cars are left in existence. His has a '53 motor, 12-volt electrics, and more recent hydraulic Ford brakes. The car's original brakes were poorly suited to modern traffic.

The Back to the '50s celebration brings thousands of car owners like Dege to the state fairgrounds and is the centerpiece of the MSRA calendar. Not only will virtually all of the club's Minnesota members be there, but also street rods and custom cars from around the country, and some from other countries too. The celebration occupies the entire fairgrounds, not just a portion of it, and is the second largest event of its kind in the nation.

Yet despite its size, it's a very accessible show. The cars line the streets, providing a close look at all the details. If you're lucky, the owner will be on hand to answer questions about where the car and its many components came from, how they went together, and how he or she accomplished the custom details that characterize these cars. MSRA President Jim Harvey says close to 10,000 cars pre-registered for the weekend--and late registration is available too--making this the largest Back to the '50s weekend yet.

Other Highlights

In addition to the huge assortment of cars on display, the event features many other exhibits and activities. These include an auction, Friday and Saturday, of over 300 cars, a huge swap meet Sunday, the Cruise-N-Arts Craft Fair, a model car contest, and live music Friday night (Power of Ten; Lamont Cranston) and Saturday night (Sh-Boom; Elvis Impersonator, Jamie Aaron Kelley). There are other activities and games for adults and children, and ample food from over 50 vendors.

Tickets are $8; children 12 and under are free with a parent.

Orginally published June 16, 2002