Fleetwood Country Cruise-In
Canadian Classics & Performance magazine has reviewed the Fleetwood Country Cruise-In previously but this event is growing so fast that it has become a "must see" event. Of course, with each passing year the event is also improving; we predict that, in a few years, this event will become the Canadian version of Pebble Beach.
A great deal of the credit for this event goes to Steve Plunkett, who is the host. Steve funds the event and all proceeds go to local charities. Naturally, there is also a legion of volunteers who come to help the event run smoothly. And, this year, the parking problems were resolved when many of the neighbours offered their fields for parking, with the proceeds also going to charity.
For the second year in a row, George Barris was the top-billed car celebrity. Last year, he presented a series of movie cars. This year it was another series of customs which, if anything, followed a "30s" theme. Also on display at the main house was an aluminum bodied Model T rod, conceived and built by Don Franks and WJ McBerney. Don was also on hand to make sure the car stayed pristine and polished. The final big name custom was a 1953 Kaiser Henry J which, in its day, had been modified over a six-year period by the Holynski family of Lackawanna (NY), to the present condition.
Of course, it's hard to bring this many people to one location without some additional form of entertainment. To this end, there was a full time DJ, air show, steam vehicle exhibitions, food court and vendor area. The "working steam" exhibit was a highlight. It's amazing to see these older technologies at work. For example, before the application of hydraulics to dump trunks, the release mechanism was "gravity-based"…the pivot point for the dumping bed is arranged such that the load is biased to the rear. Release the handle and…clang…it dumps. The big job is wrestling the bed back down.
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