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A blast from the past

Photo: A high-riding straight-axle Willys gasser rumbles around the Minnesota State Fairgrounds during Back to the ’50s weekend.

The Minnesota Street Rod Association’s 37th annual Back to the ’50s weekend June 18-20 featured nearly 12,000 registered street rods, customs and classics and drew more 100,000 spectators to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.

As if that wasn’t enough, more than 350 vendors and exhibits, live music, loads of fair food, a Mecum-hosted auction and a huge swap meet added to the hoopla.

Here is a tiny sampling of this massive event, which gets bigger and better each year.

Go to msra.com for more information on Back to the ’50s and stay tuned for details on next year’s show!

June 22nd, 2010 | Articles, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Event Articles, Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Pontiac

1 comment

Great photos Jake, looks like it was an amazing show.

Comment by Rett — June 25, 2010 @ 3:11 pm

: Check out the two-tone suede paint job and hood louvers on Randy Rosern's '55 Chevy. Rosern drove from Green Bay to participate in the show.

: Lee Tourtelotte of Minneapolis owns this '35 Auburn Boattail Speedster.

: Check out the bulky siren and single emergency light on this '59 Ford squad car, owned by John Moore of Maplewood, Minn.

: Frank and Lisa Sherman's finny 1960 Buick LeSabre.

: This 1918 rat rod sported a couple coffee cans for air cleaners. It belongs to Rick Haugstad of Payneville, Minn.

: Brian and Jane Nelson of Elk River, Minn., showed this clean little '56 Nash Metropolitan.

: A peek under the hood of the Nash. This one's been souped up a bit.

: Cars seem to pack every available inch of the fairgrounds during Back to the '50s.

: All 1964-and-older vehicles, including trucks, are welcome at Back to the '50s. Here's a mid '50s Chevy, left, next to an early '50s Ford.

: Rusty rides are cool, too. Some of the neatest stuff at the show was covered in patina, like this '55 Chevy wagon.

: This '64 Plymouth Belvedere was super straight and motivated by a 450 hp 413.

: A look at the Plymouth's Max Wedge 413 fitted with the cross-ram intake.

: A big blue '56 Cadillac cruises through the fairgrounds.

: Back to the '50s always attracts stand-out custom builds, like this polished aluminum '30 Ford, owned by Jason MacPherson of Regina, Saskatchewan.

: This wild '23 Model T belongs to Jerry Bernier of Stacy, Minn. Bob Bernren of White Bear Lake, Minn., owns the flamed '30 Ford behind it.

: A close-up of the detailed intake on Jeff Carcy's '33 Willys. Those wipers look a lot like eyebrows, don't they?

: Carcy brought his car from Jet City, Wis.

: A stunning example of a '58 Pontiac Bonneville convertible. Can you imagine parallel parking this beast?