Here are some photos from recent car shows. The first are from the 2nd Annual Sioux Falls Automaina. The last two years it’s been held on the Wednesday night before the Back to the 50’s in St Paul. You’d be hard pressed to find a better show. This page may take a while to load.

This has always been one of my favorite cars. It’s a `32 Chevy that was build by Larry Erickson. The crank-driven blower peeking out from behind the grille is too cool. I had a laugh at the Back to the 50’s as one gentleman was explaining to his less knowledgeable friend that the car was front wheel drive and that the blower was the transaxle. Hopefully he’s not a sex education instructor.

The car is a mechanical masterpiece. The builder’s vision and mechanical abilities make me so envious!

There were several Ferraris and an Aston Martin DB9. I think Aston Martin has some of the best styling on the road. If someone wants to trade one of these even-up for Project33, you're on!

Nice cars came out of the woodwork for the event. This little `32 roadster was a prime example.

The streets were blocked off in historic Downtown Sioux Falls to hold the huge event. It was so large that it was difficult to see all the vehicles. They spanned several city blocks, taking up all the available real estate.

This clean little 5-window `32 coupe was also at the Back to the 50’s. It’s very well built and reeked of fresh red leather as you walked by.

Talk about a clean engine compartment. The hemi is this older Barracuda had almost no clearance between the shock tower and the right valve cover. Good thing it was solid mounted.

The old Taboo Gasser was at the party. It’s nice to see it on the road, still standing tall in all its glory. It was once pale yellow and used to occasionally sit next door when I was a kid.

I helped restore a 1914 Excelsior once, so this modern adaptation of a vintage Harley look, was too cool. The following bikes were all built by Klockwerks Cycles. Watch for their biker build-off on the Discovery Channel. They were filming at the show.

Here’s Dakota Digital’s bike. It’s loud, fast and high-tech, with a retro feel. Pretty cool.

Here’s another picture of the “Cherry Bomb”. I love this bike!

Norm Fey had his latest creation at the show. It was hard to get through the crowds to see it! The last time I saw the car was at the garage tour in Watertown. It was in the mock-up stage at that time. Wow, they’ve done a lot of work since last Labor Day!

Two days after Automainia we were headed for St Paul, MN and the Back to the 50’s Weekend where we met up with one of my EtechGlobal clients, Fred from Gene Smith Parts, a tri-five Chevy parts manufacturer.

He and his wife drove their little `38 pickup all the way from California to take part in the event.

Fred pointed out several cool little tricks on his truck, like the use of aircraft tie-downs in the bed and the hidden tailgate latches he made from scratch.

This looks like something that Walt Disney’s Goofy would drive. Some guys go to a heck of a lot of work to look stupid. I don’t have to try nearly as hard.

I love the retro patina paint jobs. They look like old racers that have been resurrected from a barn.

This was my wife’s favorite car. It had stringers of old wooden fish in the windows and a vintage Ham’s beer can in the holder on the dash. The sign was a fun touch.

They clear-coated right over the original patina and everyone we overheard commenting on it loved the look.

This little Morris Minor was powered by a Big Block Chevy. Overkill? Nah!

I couldn’t believe how nicely the big rat fit with room to spare.

In front of the Morris sat another car whose owner believes in high HP to weight ratios. This VW beetle was also big block powered!

That’s about all I have for pictures from this year’s event event. The rest of my time was spent sitting by our car or dodging rain drops. It rained part of the day both Saturday and Sunday.