photo by Adam Omernik
Howard Bucey has owned his 1954 MG TF for eight years and says it took him about a year to restore. Bucey noted that unlike many of the cars at the Hot Rods and Airplanes Championships, his was one of the few that was not actually a hot rod. The event took place last Saturday at Brackett Field and also featured entertainment such as singers, dancers, food booths and raffles.
Brackett Field was busier than usual Saturday, when the Cal-Rods Car Club of the San Gabriel Valley hosted its annual Hot Rods and Airplanes Championships.
While threatening skies kept some of the scheduled aircrafts from coming, the weather did not seem to have a huge impact on the number of four-wheeled, ground-dwelling vehicles in attendance.
Rows upon rows of 1974 and earlier automobiles of various types sat on the tarmac for all to see.
The massive variety ranged from the relatively pedestrian - like a Depression-era pickup truck once used by a phone company and a museum-ready Studebaker “bullet nose” sedan complete with vintage sales brochures and flyers - to the downright exotic - such as Bob Cutler’s famous Jaguar V12-powered Ford “hiboy” roadster and a classic Ferrari berlinetta (Ferrari speak for “coupe”) dressed in blue racing livery.
Fans of “woodies,” the wood-bodied station wagons built from the 1920s to the early 1950s, also had plenty to celebrate, as these icons of surfing’s golden era had their own special area. Some of the woodies were displayed with surfboards, thatched umbrellas and picnic sets on the open tailgates. The only things really missing were sand and the sound of pounding surf.
Of course not all of the engines on display were in automobiles. A local group of vintage farm machinery enthusiasts was out in force, running its gas and steam-powered pumps, mixers, blowers and powerplants.
Some of the machines dated back to the late 19th century and ranged in size from the size of a shoebox to the size of a refrigerator. The display drew crowds throughout the day and filled the air with the scent of gasoline and the rhythmic sounds of chugging and backfiring.
All of the cars and pieces of farm equipment were neat, but what would an airport be without aircraft? There were more than usual at Brackett Field last weekend, much to the delight of everyone on the property.
Spectators could get an up-close look at examples of typical civilian aircraft from Piper, Beechcraft and Cesna, as well as an odd-looking, single-engined kit plane and an unidentified World War II era fighter wearing a bare metal skin.
Of course, show-goers were not limited to looking at flying machines. They could also go for a ride. For the modest sum of $15 per person, one could catch a ride in either a sleek modern helicopter or a biplane once used as a trainer by the Army Air Corps. Better still, a large share of the earnings went directly to the City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte.
However, there was even more to do in the vendor area. One of the most popular, if not the most popular attraction in the vendor area was the rock-climbing wall that the Army had set up. People of all ages lined up to test their mountaineering skills, and a few even made it to the summit.
Other vendors included an artist selling drawings of cars, a firm selling Hawaiian shirts, a business selling radio-control airplanes and minibikes and Rancho Valley Chevrolet, where the main draw was an example of the more-powerful 2005 SSR roadster-pickup.
There were also plenty of edible goods available, including Louisiana sausages, smoothies and hamburgers. The Cal-Rods themselves even held a bake sale, featuring an abundant selection of tasty treats, and raised $560 for the City of Hope in the process.
So, did the event seem to be a success? Ron Blasington, visiting from Washington, certainly seemed to think so. “It was fabulous,” he said.
As for the gloomy weather, Blasington, who is no doubt accustomed to such conditions, took a philosophical stance on the matter.
“That’s just the way it goes,” he said.
However, Vic Cunnyngham, event director and husband of University of La Verne alumna and Citrus College dean Wanda Cunnyngham, was less optimistic. “The weather just killed us again,” he said.
After dealing with the wildfires in 2003 and damp weather this year, the Hot Rod and Airplane Championships just cannot seem to get a break from Mother Nature. Fortunately for the Cal-Rods and the City of Hope, most loyal motorheads could not seem to care less.
Tom Anderson can be reached at tanderson1@ulv.edu.