Old Faithful

The Rally of the Giants is the show for golden oldies – cars that is, not people! – Classic American stepped back in time with the show dedicated to the older American crowd

The Rally of the Giants is one event where you are guaranteed to see vehicles that you won’t see at any other show. The Pre-’50 American Auto Club recognises cars before 1959 and these are the cars which dominate the proceedings. Cars are lined up in rows according to age (named after the relevant presidents, i.e. there are Truman and Eisenhower classes) and are invited to take part in arena displays…

It’s probably because of this emphasis on older cars that one tends to see more older cars at this particular event than anywhere else. Older cars by their very nature are not as forgiving, or driveable as say their Fifties or Sixties counterparts, so the owners of many of these South-Eastern based cars will make sure that if there’s one show they go to all year, it’s the RoG.
     There are a lot of post-’59 cars in attendance also, and many come to look at the older stuff, soak up the relaxed atmosphere and enjoy the tranquil setting of Knebworth Park, which is a truly magnificent setting for any car show, and particularly suited to the old timers on display.
     As always there’s some surprises in store; in this case a real Barris car turned up, namely ‘Snake Pit’, which has six Ford Cobra engines (and 12 Holley carbs and 48 exhausts!), two C6 auto ’boxes. Supposedly the car is capable of 300mph and cost $100,000 back in the early Seventies when it was built. The owner of this wonderful piece of automotive history has about half a dozen other Barris customs apparently…
     Another show-stopper (literally!) was a 1953 Cadillac flower car by Superior which was bought along by enthusiasts Darren and Dennis Cunningham (you may remember their red 1959 Cadillac ambulance we featured a few years back…). Apparently this unique vehicle was sourced on the Internet and took many years to source, apparently despite being a fixture in every American town, professional vehicles are as rare as can be…
     All in all the Pre ’50 club were extremely lucky with the weather; whereas just about every other show has been deluged, the RoG received a few spatterings, whilst downpours took place all ’round. As they say: ‘The sun shines on the righteous!’…

Next year’s Rally of the Giants is scheduled to take place on Sunday July 27th 2008 – so make sure you’ve got it in your diary!

Car of the Year Heat Winner
Mark Critchlow from Tamworth in Staffordshire has owned this beautiful 1948 Pontiac Torpedo Silver Streak for several years now, and is not afraid of taking it out, driving it and putting some miles on the clock. Over the years he’s improved and restored the car to its current condition.
     Under the hood lies a 104bhp 249cu.in. straight-eight flathead motor that provides effortless cruising power for the Poncho, although traffic snarl-ups, like the one they encountered driving down the M1, can prove a little tense as overheating can be a problem. Pontiac was America’s fifth car producer for 1948, and whilst not setting the sales ledgers alight, Pontiacs were good, solid, respectable cars one notch up from the cooking model Chevy and Fords.
     Mark will be displaying his Pontiac on the Classic American stand at the Classic Motor Show at Birmingham’s NEC over the weekend of November 9-11th, so make sure you come along and check this and all the other fantastic vehicles on the stand!

Prize Winners
Antique award (to 1934)          1934 Chrysler CA Coupe (BLN 268)
Roosevelt Award (1935-1941)     1938 Buick Coupe (CFM 952)
Truman Award (1942-1949)          Pontiac (YVS 553)
Harley Earl (1950-1954)          1951 Ford Custom Convertible (RY 30)
Post 1959                    1964 Thunderbird (DGW 519B)
Commercial                    1934 Chevrolet 3100 (969UXV)
Pilots                         1950 Ford Pilot (RHK 980)
Best Chrysler                    1934 Chrysler CA Coupe (BLN 268)
Best Cadillac                    1960 Cadillac (JSK 864)
Best Ford                    1955  Ford F100 Pick-up (USY 934)
Best Buick                    1962 Buick Electra (UYJ 532)
Best Packard                    1952 Packard (XVS 528)
Best Studebaker               1950 Studebaker Starlight coupe (TSU 937)
Overseas Award               1956 Chevrolet Bel Air (France)
Joe Toogood Award                1931 Buick (392 UXO)
Ian Herbert Award               1929 Ford Model A
Peter Hilburn Award               1961 Austin Nash Metropolitan (OXD 18)
Best Motorcycle               Harley Davidson (BXO 7N)
Pete Tucker Award               1954 Cheverolet C100 Pick-up (537 XUC)
Overall Concourse               1934 Chrysler CA Coupe (BLN 268)