MUSCLE CAR AND CORVETTE NATIONALS TAKE WINDY CITY BY STORM
Story and Photos by Bill Swanson Tue, 2015-11-24 12:06
At the same moment a late autumn snow storm was slamming Chicago and the Upper Midwest, the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals again brought some heat to the Stephens Convention Center in suburban Rosemont, IL.
Quickly earning renown for displaying the finest American Muscle Cars in the nation, the MCACN also features restored and historically significant heroes of the quarter-mile, which is the focus of CompetitionPlus.com's coverage.
This 1972 Gremlin Pro Stock car greeted show goers in THE main lobby. Originally campaigned by Richard Maskin of Dart Machinery and partner Jim Gilbert, this car has been restored by Englehart Performance, and is owned by Tom Abrams.Opening the show was the unveiling of the newly restored Phil Bonner 1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt. This historic car underwent a thorough and authentic restoration by Donald Allen with the assistance of the Bonner Family and many others.In the mid 1960's NASCAR icon Richard Petty took to the dragstrip with this 1965 F/X Plymouth Barracuda. Originally built by Petty Enterprises, "King Richard" raced the "43 JR" to win B/Altered at the Springnationals at Bristol, TN in June 1965. The restoration was performed by Petty's Garage and the car is currently owned by Ron and Rich George.Referred to as a "Show Within the Show", the Koolstuff Muscle Bikes display featured iconic candy colored, banana seated two wheelers of the 60's and 70's such as Schwinn Sting Rays and Huffy Dragsters.Many vendors also took part in MCACN, with vintage parts, fine art, books and magazines, model cars, movie posters and more available in exchange for your cash.The "Barn Finds/Hidden Gems" section always features at least one long forgotten drag race machine that someone rescues from obscurity. This year was no different with the 1970 SS/EA Plymouth Superbird that championship fuel tuner Tim Richards drove for original owner Paul Messemer from 1970 through 1972. Richards won class with this car at the 1970 NHRA Summernationals. After being raced by a succession of owners, the car came into the possession of Mike Hill of Sumter, SC in 2014.The A/FX 1965 Mustang of Gas Ronda was prominently displayed. Powered by Ford's mighty 427 SOHC engine, Ronda was a prolific winner with this car, and both he and the car are revered by the Ford Faithful.If you built model cars in the 1970's, undoubtedly you know the "Red Alert" Chevelle SS of Bob Hamilton. Hamilton made the car a winner, AMT Models made it famous.Ever the salesman, "Mr. Norm" Krause of Grand-Spaulding Dodge fame made an appearance at MCACN. The funny cars that bore the name of his Chicago Dodge dealership were piloted by Gary Dyer and Kenny Safford, and the classic "Dyno Tuned" muscle cars that Krause sold remain highly sought after.
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At the same moment a late autumn snow storm was slamming Chicago and the Upper Midwest, the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals again brought some heat to the Stephens Convention Center in suburban Rosemont, IL.
