1952 Plymouth Coupe

Classic tunes, decals chase away blues at Gear Grinders car show

PRIMROSE - One of the bright spots at the 15th annual Gear Grinders Hot Rod Association car show Saturday was the decorative flames coloring a street rod owned by Tom Greis, Palo Alto.

His gloss black, 1941 Pro Street Willys coupe featured flames on the front and back, but each had a unique artistic style.

"Air-brushed on back you have a style they call 'real flames,' because it looks like real fire. On front, you have 'hard flames,' " Greis said.

His 1941 Pro Street Willys was one of 96 vehicles on display on the grounds of the South Cass Township Citizens Fire Company. While overcast skies and dashes of rain haunted the event, the turnout was better than expected. In comparison, last year's show, which was blessed by the sun, attracted 125.

"We didn't do too bad," said Mike Quercia, a member of the Gear Grinders and a Port Carbon borough councilman.

"I think it's really good, considering the weather. A lot of times they don't want to bring their cars out when there's even a cloud in the sky," said Kay Russell, Wayne Township, a member of the Gear Grinders and one of the event organizers.

At 11:15 a.m., a spectator said they felt a few drops fall from the sky.

"Don't say that," Greis said.

His coupe, a show car, doesn't have windshield wipers. He brought it to the show in a covered trailer, which he called "a portable garage."

"I watched the weather yesterday and they said it was going to hold off until 5 o'clock, so let's hope," Greis said.

The show was supposed to run until 3:30 p.m. but because of pouring rain, it shut down at 2:30 p.m.

The event attracted dozens of car enthusiasts, vendors that sold ice cream, lemonade and picnic foods, and a disc jockey, B.T. Express, who spun oldies including the 1974 flashback "Seasons In The Sun" by Terry Jacks.

Registration for vehicles was $10 and they were reviewed at 11 a.m. by six judges representing the Gear Grinders. Trophies were given out at the end of the day, Russell said.

Trophy winners included: Best of Show, Jim Hawkins, Mohnton, 1926 Ford Model T; Dick McDonough Memorial Award, Charles Kleinfelter, Bethel, 1955 Chevy pickup; Ed Messer Memorial Award, Phil and Diane Behm, Fleetwood, 1956 Chevy Bel Air; and Kids Choice Awards, John Schreffler, Ashland, 1931 Ford Model A; Megan Eberly, Pottsville, 1965 Shelby; Tom Greis, Palo Alto, 1941 Willys Coupe; and Joseph Difalco, Pine Grove, 1955 Chevy Nomad Wagon.

John Frye, New Philadelphia, was there with his flat black 1952 Plymouth Cranbrook, and he said he was going to be there rain or shine.

Driven Daily! 1967 Plymouth Valiant Coupe : WaywardGarage.com

That’s right, last Friday marked three whole weeks of driving my little slant six bomber everyday, including a rush one day mission to Santa Cruz!

In those three weeks I’ve fixed a few things. During the first week it started running poorly, seemed like a vacuum leak but as I was checking all the vacuum lines I noticed the distributor hadn’t been tightened down by the previous owner. Kyle and I set the timing to 8 degree BTDC and it seems to be pretty happy.

I swapped out the stock steering wheel for an Italian made “Dino” one with a nice fat grip that is nice to grab onto as you pitch the little car into corners.

I flipped the rear hangers back over because the six popper springs didn’t have enough strength to keep the pinion snubber from banging into the floor and fixed a very squeaky shackle bushing.

There’s still lots of stuff to be done!

I need to finish sanding and primer it. Still haven’t welded in the floorpans, but I need to do that and order up a carpet.

I discovered gas seeps around the fuel sending unit which I still need to fix, that will definitely kick the economy up a bit.

The seats are going in favor of a reclinable lowback bucket seats with nice padding. Still looking for an affordable stock rear seat.

I have a used aftermarket front swaybar on its way that I can’t wait to get installed.

I haven’t measured the economy of it, but I plan on doing that soon.

Still looking for that Mopar A-body Overdrive Four Speed to replace the standard ratio one I got.

I’m just glad to be driving it everyday now!

Cars & parts

Automobiles of the '50s

Standard guide to 1950s American cars

What My Parents Did Right!, 50 Tips to Positive Parenting

Standard catalog of American cars, 1946-1975