Metalflake silver over blinding green made Jake Moomey's '54 Chevy Bel Air from Grand Rapids, Mich., a standout at both the show car field and the drag strip action.
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With almost every imaginable color of the palette gleaming in the sunlight, the lineup of rods and custom cars was enough to make a rainbow blush.
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A long way from home, Denise Sheldon's striking lilac-colored '47 Olds convertible may go as good as it looks, judging by the 455 cubic-inch V-8 hiding under the hood. Denise and the car made their way to Kansas from Livonia, Mich.
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Harold Hartley of Brighton, Colo., converted his lime-green '51 Merc from a coupe to a hardtop when he lowered the roof, dispensing with the door pillars in the process.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
It was a long road trip for Victor Collins of Rahway, N.J., but he made it to Salina in time to display the iconic 1955 Chevy full custom truck, the Kopper Kart.
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There were quite a few shoebox Fords on display at the KKOA event, but this one, a '50 2-door sedan shown by Bobby and Jolene Miller of Oakville, Mo., really caught people's attention.
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A field of dreams beckons this young car-lover at the 30th annual KKOA Lead Sled Spectacular in Salina last weekend. Dozens of chopped, lowered Mercurys, Buicks and other classic customs occupied Oakdale Park's grassy areas and winding avenues.
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Kiefer, Okla.'s Mike Brown managed to fit a Hemi V-8 under the hood of his 5-window '32 Ford coupe, which toured Salina in an all-American red, white and blue scheme (if you count the whitewall tires).
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As the sun sat on the Friday night drag racing action, this trio of traditional hot rods presented a timeless scene, with a backdrop of a valley covered in alfalfa.
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"Sleek" is the only way to describe Chuck Saunders-White's deep, dark 1962 Thunderbird coupe from Loveland, Colo.
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A little different take on the classic lead sled, Dave Dolman's '49 Mercury 2-door wagon, finished in pale yellow, caught a lot of appreciative eyes. Dave made the trip from Verdon, Neb.
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Another '32 Ford making the Lead Sled scene was this green Hemi-powered high-boy roadster with orange wire wheels, constructed by Bright Built Hot Rods of Salina.
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In a scene straight out of "American Graffiti," Joey Bruno of Shreveport, La., in a tribute copy of the Bob Falfa '55 Chevy launches Friday's drag racing action against Bill Salmon of Hallsville, Texas, in a re-creation of John Milner '32 Ford coupe. "We tour everywhere together," said Bruno, who added that the replica movie cars are a hit with spectators.
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Randy Burns' slick 1950 Chevy Fleetline sedan glowed like molten lava in its mile-deep burnt metallic orange paint job. The beautiful 2-door rolled in from Fredonia to be part of the show.
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Kirk Smith of Dallas decked out his tasty '35 Ford 5-window coupe in an old-school orange and cream-colored paint scheme and kept the original artillery-style wheels in place to maintain the period look.
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A car that drew its own crowds wherever it went was Chris Ryan's gorgeous 1948 Cadillac convertible in a brilliant metallic orange paint job. Ryan journeyed all the way from Ninety Six, S.C., to be part of the Lead Sled festivities -- and yes, that is actually the name of his hometown.
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Sometimes, not much is needed in the way of change to make a car jump out of a crowd. Diane Sax's 1958 Dodge Coronet, a showroom-stock looking 4-door from Merriam, Kan., proved that at sundown on Friday night.
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This was the 1962 "Super Duty" Pontiac 2-door campaigned by Don Gay during the heyday of the factory Super Stock wars. The drag car, now owned by Herb Patton of Lincoln, Neb., still is equipped with the lightweight aluminum hood, front fenders and front bumper that could be ordered from the factory.
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Classic lines and a mouthwatering purple paint scheme combine to make Kim and Nancy Johnson's '40 Merc convertible a treat for the eyes. They are from Council Bluffs, Iowa.
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Omaha's Rob Lee showed up at the wheel of this sweet "Hot Rod Lincoln," a '27 Ford Model T roadster with a rounded-off windshield and a vintage Lincoln V-8 stuffed between the frame rails.
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KKOA director Jerry Titus made the right call when he invited the owners of famous dragsters, like Bennie Osborn, to not only bring their cars to the Lead Sled Spectacular, but to fire them up for two different nitromethane-fueled "cacklefest" sessions, which wowed the crowds.
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The Lead Sled Spectacular moved from Salina's Thomas Park to Oakdale Park, near the Bicentennial Center and proved to be the perfect setting for showcasing cars like Steve & Deb Policky's 1940 Pontiac coupe from Dwight, Neb.
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Rex Abrahams' 1964 Dodge 330 Super Stock sedan was trailered in the 40 miles from Canton to take part in the drag racing event. Powered by a 440 V-8 mated to a push-button Torqueflite automatic, the MoPar's performance improved with each run.
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Ed Hohenfeldt brought this red-over-white '66 Chevy Nova from Lincoln, Neb., to share with admirers of the automotive arts.
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The beautiful blue slingshot dragster campaigned by Creitz & Donovan wowed showgoers at both the drag strip and the show grounds in the park.
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This pleasantly purple pickup is a mildly customized '57 Chevy, owned by Bob and Nina Romine of Pittsburg, Kan.
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Yet another square-bodied '66 Nova on display was Dwaine Gillespie's slick 2-door wagon from Omaha, clad in a low-key gray-over-red paint job.
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One of the more unusual offerings at the Spectacular was this customized 1965 Ford Fairlane shown by Paris Mingo of Leavenworth. The one-year-only square-bodied Fairlane never looked better.
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What does a big old 1947 Chrysler Windsor need for a finishing touch? How about the white-and-yellow flame job licking across the front end of Tramayne and Robin Johnson's car from Calhan, Colo.?
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"Kansas John Wiebe" listens attentively as car-builder Tom Hanna outlines the start-up procedure for his beautiful front-engined '70s Top Fuel dragster. The car was one of several dragsters fired up, much to the delight of Lead Sled crowds.
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Courtesy of Stan Berry
None other than the legendary Gene Winfield built this shimmering gold 1935 Ford pickup, now owned by Gary Hatfield of Canton, Texas. Believe it or not, this was originally Winfield's "shop truck" for hauling parts and running errands.
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Robert Demars' righteous red 1934 Ford 3-window coupe didn't have far to go to impress the Lead Sled crowds -- it makes its home in Salina.
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Elegant in straight-forward white, Frank Holsburg's 1961 Ford Starliner made a statement about clean styling from the '60s. Holsburg is from Raytown, Mo.
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Steve Becker of Longmont, Colo., used wide whitewall tires and Astro mag wheels, along with a front-mounted fuel tank, to accent his red-over-black '32 Ford roadster. The removable convertible top isn't made of cloth but is of a solid material.
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The Lead Sled Spectacular's move to Salina's more spacious Oakdale Park worked out better than could have been hoped, as 1,500 custom cars and hot rods, like Tim Strange's low-down 1954 Chevy Bel Air from Cambridge, Ill., showed up. That turnout would have overwhelmed the smaller Thomas Park venue.
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