The York Expo Center was converted into one big used-car lot this weekend.
By “used cars,” of course, I mean street rods.
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Ozzie Payne, of Pontaic, Mich., fills out his personal and vehicle information on the safety inspection form for his 1935 Chevrolet Master 51 Coup on Saturday, June 4, 2011, at the York Expo Center. The 38th annual Street Rod Nationals East Plus show, hosted by the National Street Rod Association, has taken over the entirety of the York Expo Center grounds June 3-5, 2011. About 3,500 cars were registered to display, and all were originally made before 1981.
I had two challenges going into this assignment (besides my not applying sunscreen). First, my editor asked me to turn in at least eight themed photos from the street rods that would be an easy visual in print and easily click-through-able in a slideshow on-line. I thought about focusing on grills or fenders, but quickly realized that these street rodders keep their cars way too polished (reflective).
So, I focused on dashboards. Even some of those were too reflective, but the cool part is, I can now say I’ve been behind the wheel of 11 cars whose individual values exceed at least three years of my annual salary.
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. (Click on the image above to view more dashboards.) The dashboard of Dan Watson's 1938 Dodge Sedan. Watson is from Shiloh, Pa.
The second challenge was finding something to cover. As I wrote in my first graf, the show was basically one big used-car lot, with the street rodders hanging out in lawn chairs next to their cars as attendees strolled and looked around. Not a lot of action.
Fortunately, I found some action: Vehicle safety inspections.
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. New York state safety inspector Bob Warner and Florida state safety inspector Rick Leary check over the 1932 Ford Coupe of Don and Linda Elliott, of Chalfont in Bucks County, Pa. About a dozen volunteer members of various states' National Street Rod Association Vehicle Safety Inspection crews performed 23-point inspections for the street rods. The service was free of charge at the show, and strictly voluntary for the drivers.
Bam. Done.
Words and Light 
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