Lake Afton 45th All Wheels Car Show

July 29, 2018

Lake Afton 45th All Wheels Car Show

Last weekend Lake Afton in Kansas hosted the 45th annual All Wheels Car Show. This was my first time attending this annual car show and I didn't really know what to expect. A friend (and regular to the show) told me that it would be bigger than the annual Automobilia car show in Old Town Wichita, KS; tall order. A tall order that was easily fulfilled to my amazement as it turned out.

I arrived in the middle of a conga line of Mopars coming in through the back road of Lake Afton. The twisties were amusing as usual, but, having the regular Lake Afton camping crowd stare at us was somewhat unexpected. Where's all the cars? And then I finally saw the lake of automotive paint and chrome; they were on the other side of the lake! The enormity of the show grew the closer we drove to the venue, looking to meet up with our car club's vanguard party holding some parking space for us. We finally got situated and parked in the show with the other 316 ModernMOPAR members, and I immediately toddled off with my camera.

The cars were mostly 50's-70's Americana cars, and there was one car of this genre that caught my eye early on: A Plymouth Barracuda Convertible. It was clean, but not restored clean; it was the sort of clean that suggested that it has been an object of affection and use for a long time. Another interesting facet of this car was that it was a legendary Barracuda, and yet it was a convertible and it was painted a pale, cream yellow color (it was almost beige!). Nothing at all resembling what I think of when I think of a (Barra)'Cuda.

Walking around some more I found myself next to a car that I had no idea what it was, but I knew it was something special. It was a good looking late 60's-ish body and had unique badging; something's different here. The owner was sitting in front of the car and I had to ask her, What is it exactly? She replied, A Hurst Olds'. The badging said as much, but I still had little context. I got her chatting about the car a bit more and it turns out that the car is indeed rather rare, and she's original owner. The car survived haulin' kids, getting parked for several years, and a spirited drive or two. Yet another object of affection.

Continuing on around the lines of cars, there was a car that I was not expecting to see among a largely domestic crowd of cars: a Ferrari 348 TS. Low, wide, boldly designed, a gated shifter, and of course Rosso Corsa Red; certainly a Ferrari. As are most other Ferraris, this one was immaculate, very clean and well preserved. Clearly, yet another object of affection and pride.

Later still, while wandering around the show, I found something that was strange and wonderful. What first caught my attention was the flashy stripes on an unusual body design: Black/Red on a White Porsche 914. But then, I saw a badge very out of place, the classic V8 badge. Huh? That doesn't belong there, even if this thing is a V8 from factory, why use THAT V8 badge? I walked around towards the back to further contemplate the mystery, and then I found my answer. Tucked away, right behind the seats, was an old Chevy short block engine. The purity of the Porsche has been violated! I sarcastically thought to myself smiling. Two gentlemen were chatting behind the car while I was taking pictures and I couldn't help but over hear. One of them was the owner; he's taking it out racing, and just having a grand ol' time with the car. Truly an object of affection for the owner.

While I don't have a photo of every car at the show, nor a story for every car I shot, there's plenty more interesting cars to see below, so be sure not to miss the rest of the photos!