Smooth rides draw crowd to 17th annual Vista Rod Run

By: DAVE DOWNEY Staff Writer | Sunday, August 6, 2006 8:16 PM PDT ∞

VISTA ---- Andy Walther braked his bicycle in front of the open hood of a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible painted in matador red and Indian ivory.

"I'm partial to the '50s cars," said Walther, who wore a black baseball cap that read "Old Dude: Made up of achey breaky parts" while cruising the 17th annual Vista Rod Run on Sunday afternoon.

"And I have a lot of appreciation for one that has been restored back to stock," Walther added. "Sometimes they are restored but they are over-restored."

The 62-year-old Vista man, who installs home theater systems, pointed under the hood. Walther said the felt-covered wiring and the battery with the twist-on caps were signs this car was restored with parts in use 50 years ago.

That was by design, said owner Bob Romeo, 62, a semi-retired auto mechanic from Ramona. He said he bought the car a while back for $40,000 and pumped $10,000 in it. He has two other Chevys like it; one is a 1955 model, the other was built in 1957.

"They're all Bel Air convertibles and they're all red and white," he said.

And they're all restored to original condition.

"My thing is, they're beautiful just the way they are," Romeo said. "This is how they came out of the factory. And, in my opinion, you can't do any better than this."

Romeo was one of 225 owners who brought out their classic cars, hot rods and motorcycles and showed them off on several downtown Vista streets that had been blocked off for the event.

Karen Clay, executive director for the Vista Village Business Association, said an estimated 8,000 people attended the Rod Run.

Many brought dogs; some even carried their pets.

Eventgoers stood in line for steak cooked on an open grill, purchased cups of shaved ice for their children and listened to both live and recorded music as they inspected car after shiny car.

On many, the hoods were up. On some cars, the doors were open, too.

Brad Reel, a 43-year-old mechanical engineer from Escondido, peeked into the open window of a candy-apple red 1966 Ford Mustang. It was his birthday, and he figured this was as good a place as any to celebrate.

"I'm a car guy," Reel said. "In fact, I'm rebuilding one of these right now. It's very similar to this, except mine's blue." And it's a 1965, he said.

Unlike the purists, though, Reel said he is installing a modern engine, modern suspension system and modern transmission, while maintaining the trademark Mustang body.

"The great thing about the car hobby is, you can do whatever you want," he said.

He's not just restoring one. There is another 1965 Mustang waiting its turn in his garage.

"And I'm already searching for a third one," Reel said. "It's addicting."

The 2006 Vista Rod Run wasn't only about classics and hot rods, which tend to draw the 40-and-older crowd.

For the first time, Clay said, organizers bought in a Japanese-style drifter to catch the attention of teens and those in their 20s.

Matt Monaco, owner of Shogun Style Performance in Vista, displayed Tokyo Drift, the silver 2000 Nissan Silvia S15 that was driven in a 4-minute scene midway through the movie "The Fast and the Furious."

The slick car, with its 2.0-liter, 320-horsepower engine, is designed to perfect the drift, Monaco said, a "controlled slide around multiple corners. The goal is to get sideways as much as possible around as many corners as possible."

Rod Run organizers awarded trophies in several categories, but Best of Show went to Dwayne Richardson for his blazing orange 1953 Ford F-100 truck.

Other awards included best motorcycle, Travis Bowersox, 2004 Fat Boy Harley; best Woodie, Rich Cravens, 1951 Ford Country Squire; best graphics, Charlie and John Bojarski, 1932 three-window coupe; best paint, Rocky Nash, 1937 Ford Sedan; best upholstery, Robert Allen, 1951 Mercury; people's choice, Capt. Glen Hodson, 1961 Corvette; mayor's choice, Dan Minshaw, 1938 Ford Coupe convertible.

Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 740-5442 or ddowney@nctimes.com. To comment, go to nctimes.com.

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