Cloudy skies greeted street rod fans on Saturday morning. Depending on who’s local weather forecast you watched there was either a 30 or 60 percent chance of rain. We were at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center early, and noticed only a light sprinkle as we tried to get a photo shoot going for a feature car. Otherwise the weather cooperated for the majority of the day Saturday at the NSRA Street Rod Nationals, with mostly cloudy skies and moderate temperatures.

Walking the grounds we were greeted by a wide variety of street rods and custom cars from across the country, and even a few from out of the country. We spied an immaculate ’56 Ford F100, chopped and built on an aftermarket chassis. This truck featured so many trick features that we could spend all day finding each one. One of the coolest of those features we were told is the crate engine from ROUSH Performance, one of the first of the fuel injected for this particular small block Ford.

Being Judged

Friday saw the judging for the Classic Instruments Pros’ Picks. Pros’ Picks chooses 12 top rides, that are judged by predetermined criteria from a panel of judges. These vehicles range from classic rods and muscle cars, to full on customs. Judging is performed in a designated area, and participants must sign up and bring their vehicle to the judging area during a time span on Friday. The winners will be announced on Sunday.

Saturday also sees judging for special competitions in the MOPAR Country category and 29 Below. MOPAR Country has been participating at this event for 38 of the 44 years it’s been held. This contest is for MOPAR or MOPAR powered vehicles. The judging panel selects five outstanding cars for special awards, and to participate in Sunday’s Circle of Winners.

Reps American Racing Wheels were on the scene, taking some posing for pics with equipped cars.

Vintage Air sponsors the 29 Below category. This mini-event within the Street Rod Nationals is to give recognition to younger enthusiasts within the hobby. Participants range from age 16-29, must have a valid driver’s license, own a Street Rod Nationals Plus eligible vehicle, and have that vehicle registered in their name.

 Too Much To See

We spent the day Saturday walking as much of the show as we could to find interesting rides. LS engine swaps into whatever you can imagine seemed to be the hot ticket this year, slowly we see these replacing the old standby small block Chevy as the engine of choice for many new builds. We failed to find a single Ford Coyote swapped engine at this year’s event. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t one on the grounds, we simply never saw them.

Willys coupes also seemed a dominant model this year. While the 37-42 coupes have always been a darling of the hobby we noticed more of them than ever before at this year’s nationals. There seemed to be fewer rat rods this year as well, and more patina’d or original or less prepped cars than full-on rat builds.

Powermaster’s tech team is on hand all weekend troubleshooting various electrical problems.

The team from Powermaster was on hand as they are every year. They analyzed starting and charging issues free of charge for anyone on the premises. These guys were kept busy all weekend long by a steady stream of rodders who either were experiencing problems before they left home, or encountered them on the way to the show.

Michigan Hot Rod Association was also on hand, lending help to those with mechanical issues, also free of charge. The MHRA guys were hard at work as well, curing all manner of ailments for rodders and muscle car enthusiasts alike.

Late in the day on Saturday was the give-a-way of the 1932 Ford Roadster built by Ronnie’s Hot Rods. This contest is open for any registered participant in the Street Rod Nationals that can show proof their car is on the premises, they own it, and are members of NSRA. We’ll see if we can find out who won the car and a little more about it for our coverage later this week.

Mark Sowell brought his ’49 Ford convertible all the way from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

We could ramble on about each individual car that caught our eye, but instead we’ll let the photos and captions tell the story. Check out the gallery below, and be sure to check back next week for our wrap-up of the NSRA Street Rod Nationals Plus.