Minnesota Motorhead

Massive. Huge. Use whatever adjective you want to describe it, it’s just plain big.

In terms of participants, the Minnesota Street Rod Association’s annual Back to the ‘50s event at the State Fairgrounds in St. Paul is the world’s largest rod, custom and classic car show.

The MSRA’s 35^th take on the event June 21-23 proved to be no exception, attracting 11,712 machines from 42 states and countries as far away as New Zealand. Throw on top of that the show’s annual crowd of more than 100,000 spectators and you’ve got one heck of a weekend. So what’s the big draw?

Well, to hear longtime MSRA board member Tom Vollbrecht tell it, “Minnesota nice” has a lot to do with the show’s success. Plain and simple, it’s a laid back, fun, family-oriented event, he says.

There are no awards; it’s all about the cars and the people who love them. And from first-time show-goers to veterans who were there when only a few thousand cars graced the fairground grass, everyone has a story to tell.

Vollbrecht has been to nearly every Back to the ‘50s show, except for several years in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s that he spent in Texas. His ‘34 Pontiac and ‘50 Oldsmobile are there each year, as are various members of Vollbrecht’s family.

He said the show’s 1964 age cap was set long ago to bring in a good variety of cars, but with space at the sprawling fair grounds running surprisingly short, that rule might change one day.

“We can’t expand,” he said. “So we may eventually have to push it back.”

The age limit might get pushed all the way back to the ‘50s, he said. But that is not a certainty yet, and for now the ‘60s guys can have their fun – guys like Mike Emmons from Hudson, Wisconsin, who showed his Navajo Beige ‘62 Chevy II.

Emmons said he started going to Back to the ‘50s with his dad in 1982.

“Everybody out here I’ve known since I was a little kid,” he said. “It was just a matter of getting old enough to have the kind of money to be able to buy a car (that I could show).”

Emmons’ car, packing a 388ci small block that made 496 hp and nearly 500 lb-ft of torque on an engine dyno, was parked next to his dad’s ‘39 Chevy two-door coupe, which was the MSRA’s street rod of the year in 1997.

Back to the ‘50s participants Roger Lund and step-son Steven Palmer had a similar family story to tell. Palmer, 26, has been going to the show since he was 12 and now shows a ‘54 Chevy custom.

He and Palmer spent six years crafting the blue-suede car, which is chopped, lowered and modified just about everywhere. It was parked next to Lund’s chopped and channeled sparkly gold ‘30 Ford, which was also completely home built.

Palmer said he goes to the show with Lund for a practical reason, too.

“Someone’s gotta carry his lawn chairs,” he said.

Back to the ‘50s regulars Jack and Shirley Karels, of Hopkins, relaxed in their lawn chairs in front of their ‘63 split-window Corvette June 22. Fairgrounds cruisers rumbled slowly by as people stopped to comment on the Corvette’s interesting shade of yellow.

“We meet so many people that just come up and talk about the car, or how they had one, they gave one up, or totaled one out,” Jack said.

He and Shirley said they’ve gone to every Back to the ‘50s. They used to pile the kids in a ‘37 Chevy.

“Once a year we get to see the same people we met years and years ago,” Shirley said.

Aside from the cars and people, Back to the ‘50s also offers a huge assortment of parts vendors and a gigantic swap meet each year.

Next year’s show is already scheduled for June 19-21, and it’s sure to be big. For more information, visit the MSRA website.

June 22nd, 2008 | Articles, Event Articles