Vikings of Solvang in their second year of running the town’s annual automobile extravaganza
Coming to the Viking Charities Classic Car Show, one is expected to see a wide variety of cars and other vehicles, mostly of the ‘classic’ variety, but sometimes you come across something a little different.
So it was as this reporter was going down Copenhagen Drive in Solvang shortly after arriving, and someone stopped to ask me where the “rat-rods” were. Not only didn’t I know where they were, I didn’t know what they were and I politely told the person I hadn’t seen them.
However, after walking just half a block, I found three of the so-called “rat-rods” parked right next to each other, and the owner of one of them, Ray Venegas from Chino Hills, was more than happy to enlighten me.
“In the 1940s and ’50s, people were putting together and racing jalopies,” Venegas explained. “But then that died out, and so the ‘rat-rod’ guys came along, the cars with big engines and they put their own stuff on it.”
Venegas used as an example the cars they brought to the show: “If you want to put a cat on [the front bumper] you can. Ifyou want to show off a gold-plated engine [pointing to another rat-rod] you can do it. You can do whatever you want with it.”
Mark Goodacre of Temecula, who along with Venegas belongs to a Southern California car club called the 5150s, elaborated on the rat-rod concept.
“It’s just everyone doing something a little different with their car; with rat-rods there are no two completely alike,” Goodacre said. “And there are no big rules to follow; in fact, I call my car ‘Defiance,’ because I’m defying the rules.”
And so it was on this October day as everyone seemed to have a story about their car, and enjoyed hearing others.
This was the second year, the annual car show in Solvang was put on by the Vikings of Solvang, a noted community group, who took it over after the organizers of the Wheels ‘n’ Windmills decided to retire that particular event.
All money raised from the show and the gala dinner the night before goes to the Vikings of Solvang Endowment Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization which provides funding for the medically related needs of qualified individuals and health care organizations in the Santa Ynez Valley and throughout Santa Barbara County. Some of the money also goes toward the Vikings’ annual Christmas party for underpriviledged kids, coming in December.
Anyone walked through the streets of downtown Solvang got to see a eclectic mix of vehicles.
Dave Lazarro of Buellton had on display his white 1999 Pontiac Trans Am, with a Daytona 500 logo on the door.
“I found this one in Pennsylvania,” said Lazarro, who said he usually likes to buy Trans Ams. “It was built as a pace car, but it’s not the pace car for NASCAR races — there’s only two of those.”
“I like to show this off all over the area, from Paso to Carpinteria,” he said.
A little farther down the street was a pink 1957 Ford Thunderbird owned by Holly Foley of Fremont, who had the backseat and rear decked out in all sorts of artifacts of the time, like Barbie dolls, lunch pails, and Coca-Cola souvenirs.
“Some people use props on their cars for these things, and I just wanted to put some stuff up there that represents the car’s year,” Foley said. “The only problem is people see that there and they think the stuff’s on sale, and I have to tell them ‘no, it’s just for show.'”
Foley estimated she goes to about 80 car shows a year, but this was her first time at the Solvang one.
“I found out about it on a car website somewhere,” she said. “I’m really liking it here. Hey, you got the best pastries.”
The entries were rated by a panel of judges in several categories and awards were handed out in an afternoon ceremony at Solvang Park. The winners included:
Class AA – Modified – T-Bucket/Hot Rod (Open) to 1948: Winner – Victor Velasco – Yellow 1923 Ford T Bucket; Runner Up – Mary Jones – Red 1927 Ford T Bucket
B – Stock – 1955-1957 Chevy: Winner – Hank Baier – 1955 Chevrolet 210
BB – Modified – Hot Rod (Coupe/Sedan) to 1932: Winner – Tildon Courson – Red 1930 Studebaker Dictator Club Sedan
C – Stock – 1960-1999 GM (Excl. Class F): Winner – Mel Tomlinson – Blue 1969 Chevy Impala SS
CC1 – Modified – Hot Rod Coupe 1933-1948: Winner – Mike Zapata – Sunset Orange Pearl 1948 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible
CC2 – Modified – Hot Rod Sedan 1933-1948: Winner – Byron Beaver – Green 1937 Ford Tudor Humpback Sedan
CG – Modified – Mercury Cougar ( to 1999): Winner – Georgina May – Blue 1967 Mercury Cougar
D – Stock – 1960-1999 Ford/Mopar/Other (Excl. Class F): Winner – James Mintie – Blue 1969 Mercedes 280SE
DD – Modified – 1949-1959 All Makes (Excl. Class FF): Winner – Tina Almazan – Blue 1951 Ford Shoebox
EE – Modified – 1960-1999 All Makes: Winner – Merle Heggen – Blue 1969 Chevy Nova
F – Stock – 1964-1999 Camaro/Challenger/Cuda/Firebird/Mustang: Winner – Neal McCarter – Turquoise 1965 Ford Mustang Convertible
FF – Modified – 1955-1957 Chevy: Winner – Jerry Fults – Blue 1957 Chevy 210
G – Stock – Corvettes to 1999: Tom Jordan – Nassau Blue 1966 Chevy Corvette Stingray
GG – Modified – Camaro/Challenger/Cuda/Firebird/Mustang to 1999: Winner – Dan Lazzaro – White 1999 Pontiac Trans Am
H – Stock – Trucks, El Camino, Ranchero to 1999: Winner – Steve Donovan – Turquoise 1962 Ford F-100
HH1 – Modified – Trucks to 1949: Winner – Mike Murphy – Tan 1934 Ford Pickup
HH2 – Modified – Trucks, El Camino, Ranchero to 1950-1999: Mike Buckels – Winner – Aqua 1965 Chevy El Camino
I – Stock – Sports Car (Foreign or Domestic) to 1999: Winner – Daniel Redmon – Gray/Blue 1957 Mercedes 190SL
II – Modified – Sports Car (Foreign or Domestic) to 1999: Winner – A.C. D’Augustine – Red 1965 Ford Cobra
MS – Modified – Military Vehicles to 1999: Winner -Dennis Beebe – Tan 1942 Ford GPW (Jeep)
RS – Modified – Rat Rods (any year): Winner – Robert Wong – Copper 1936 Ford Pickup Rat Rod
Feature image: A row of rat-rods is shown on Copenhagen Drive in Solvang during the Viking Charities Car Show in Solvang on Oct. 19.
