Dodging seasonal rain showers, the Colorado Road Knights held their annual Blue Light Special car show this last weekend at The Ranch complex in Loveland, Colorado, staging an early so-long to summer event that is loved by all area hot rodders. Last year, we had the privilege of catching the show in its 30^th year, so this year we wanted to go back to see what a new year of builds and passion would bring!

Humble Beginnings

Starting out as a small gathering of friends, the annual Blue Light Special Show has blossomed into a three-day event in the Front Range city of Loveland. With The Ranch Complex dedicated to the annual event, the Road Knights put on concerts, cruises, family-friendly activities, and their beloved show & shine car show throughout the weekend, drawing crowds from all over the area.

This year, the Blue Light Special Show had hundreds of cars on display for the official Show & Shine on Sunday, August 24^th, with everything from traditional hot rods and street rods, to historic and rare classics represented.

Among the first vehicles that guests come across as they enter the event complex are those owned by the Road Knights themselves. Having existed since 1981, the Road Knights club has members from a variety of generations, all with their own takes on what a good show car is. The only stipulation is that no matter the vehicle, it must be of a pre-1972 model year.

Expanding over acres of property past the initial Road Knights row, the rest of The Ranch grounds played host to vehicles built and owned by local enthusiasts, welcomed whole-heartedly by the club.

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Dancing With Mother Nature

Because the beginning of the weekend was filled with some nasty rain showers, Sunday was the first day the Blue Light Special show wasn’t shut down early or temporarily for weather. Of course, everyone took advantage of this, showing up in mass to get their car show fix on Sunday.

Sunday also played host to the annual “Blow Up Car” contest, which had been moved from Saturday due to the wrath of Mother Nature.

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The Blow Up Car contest is exactly as it sounds- a hot rod mocked up with running gear and equipped with a small-block Chevy engine is started up and run at full throttle until the engine gives way. Unlike in some contests, this engine still maintains its oil and coolant upon start-up, but it doesn’t take too long for the heat of the engine to take over and start making things go awry. Show participants then bet on how long the engine will go before blowing.

Though the fire department was on hand, there were no flames involved with the Blow Up Car this year. However, the smoke show did turn out to be quite the crowd pleaser.

This year, the Blow Up Car ran 12 minutes and 16 seconds before the engine blew, gifting four lucky guessers with $227 a piece. Not a bad payout for a literal guessing game!

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Fields of Fantastic Rides

With a total of 655 pre-1972 vehicles on display, the Blue Light Special show & shine had rows and rows of classic cars, hot rods, and vintage trucks on display. With each model being just as custom as the next, talk of what builds entailed, stellar components, and horsepower ratings were prevalent. With many of our past (and future) feature cars on display, it was almost like a family reunion for us.

Among some of the standouts on display were a CHERRY red and white Oldsmobile Rocket, a factory fuel-injected Chevy Bel Air, a bright orange Hot Rod Power Tour-driven GTO, a 327 ci-equipped ’57 Chevy gasser, and a ’52 Ford F-2 pickup that was recently found and bought by the original family that owned the truck straight from the factory.

Another major standout was the all-aluminum Model-A Indian Motorcycle tribute car owned by Phil Erby.

This car was crafted completely from aluminum with an aluminum chassis and an Andy Glause aluminum body with custom rear fenders. It features a 276 ci engine, GM 5-speed transmission, Jaguar rearend with 4.11 gears, a Heidts independent suspension and disc brakes.

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It may look like paint from afar, but the finish on this car is actually just clear coat over the aluminum body.

Inspired by Orange County Choppers’ vehicle tribute motorcycles, Erby decided to make an Indian motorcycle tribute hot rod, combining his two favorite modes of transportation. In addition to the all-aluminum construction, the tribute car features accessories from Indian motorcycles, a leather-trimmed interior by Auto Weave and door panels with custom embroidery from Horndawg Leathers.

Awards and Door Prizes

While the annual Blue Light Special show provides plenty of eye candy and car talk, one of the highlights of Sunday’s show & shine is the awards and door prizes offered to all show participants. This year, awards were given to the top 10 hot rods, the top 10 street machines, the top three customs, and to the best vehicle owned by someone under 25. A memorial award was also given in honor of a past Road Knights member who passed away in 1995.

In addition to awards, countless door prizes were handed out, from envelopes of cash and gift cards to air tools and shop vacs. As usual, there was also a custom car couch up for grabs thanks to Sandy’s Upholstery.

The Road Knights of Colorado certainly put on a show to remember, giving summer break a good send-off before the weather turns. Thanks goes out to all the Road Knights members for welcoming us to their show and to all the wonderful enthusiasts that shared their classic rides with all the show-goers!

Check out more photos from the Blue Light Special show in the Rod Authority Gallery below!