A total of 228 cars entered this year's Toad Suck Daze Car Show.
Charles Terry of Benton won Best of Show with his 1971 Chevrolet pickup. It might not have been the flashiest car at the show, but after an extensive restoration it looks like it just rolled out of the factory.
"It actually looks better now than it did when I bought it new," Terry said.
The Toadmaster's pick of the show was Kevin Mathis' 1959 Ford F-100 pickup, which has been restored as a 60s-style hot rod with the help of Conway High School West's auto collision technology course students.
Student Zach Harvey painted the pinstriping on Mathis' truck, as well as the Toadmaster's vehicle, the Toadster, which was also given the hot-rod treatment recently.
A crowd favorite was a Mark Martin NASCAR that Conway's Bill Helton brought from Martin's hometown of Batesville.
The array of cars was almost completely American. As is often the case, some owners have use their wallets or their skills with a wrench to suit the cars to their tastes.
For instance, General Motors has only been selling the 502 cubic-inch "crate motor" for the last few years, but 1972 Chevelle SS owner Walter Reed, of Batesville, figured that if it had been around in 1972, Detroit's engineers would have dropped one into a SS Chevelle. Reed even changed the badging from "SS 454" to "SS 502," and even put new "502" decals on the stock air cleaner.
Bob Slaughter, also of Batesville, brought his 1942 Chrysler New Yorker which, though it looks bone-stock, is now powered by an Oldsmobile 350 cubic-inch V8 and benefits from power steering and power disk brakes.
"People look kind of surprised when I'm on the interstate passing them at 75 miles per hour," Slaughter said.
And then there are some who start from scratch. Homer Osborn was back this year with his from-the-ground-up custom hot-rod. Osborn built it about 25 years ago, he said, and designed and built the custom all-steel body himself. The streamlined, torpedo-shaped rear of the car is made from two International truck hoods.
But some, like Best of Show winner Terry, strive to keep their cars as original as possible. Ken Coyle of Morrilton brought his 1962 Austin Healey 3000 again this year. Coyle said he bough the car in 1964 or 1965 and has driven it regularly ever since.
Conway's Jack Pike, a retired policeman, brought his 1978 Plymouth Fury police car. Pike said he rescued the car from a junkyard where it had sat undisturbed for years, complete with its 400 cubic-inch engine. It has now been restored to original condition, complete with period-correct Motorola police radio and evidence kit.
The car show is organized by the Toad Suck Car Club. All proceeds from the show benefit local charities.
(Staff writer Joe Lamb can be reached by e-mail at joe.lamb@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1238. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)
