Bill Bowles, in the suspenders, entertained the troops at the Wheels Reunion, demonstrating how wide the hood on his '57 Dodge pickup can open. Bill's ride was one of the earlier featured vehicles that showed up for the event.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Mark Johansen powers his gold 2000 Mustang GT through the rain-dampened autocross course in the Lawrence-Dumont parking lot Saturday morning. The car was featured on the Wheels page several years ago.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Overcast skies couldn't dim the impact of David Hime's big, black 1941 Cadillac, which occupied a prominent corner spot in front of Ford's Ride & Drive Experience across from Expo Hall.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Tom Sparkman's beautiful Brandywine '55 Buick picked up one of two trophies handed out by the Wheels Reunion. Eagle Executive Editor Sherry Chisenhall fell in love with the hardtop and gave it the Editor's Choice' award.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
This blue-over-white '72 TransAm rolled in to the Wheels Reunion looking good, with owner Louie Brown at the wheel.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Jon Lemon brought his slick silver-over-yellow bubbletop Chevy hardtop out for the Wheels part of the BlackTop Nationals; the occasional bursts of sunlight made it sparkle.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Stalwarts braved threatening skies and lined up early for the Wichita On Wheels Reunion last Saturday, filling a block's worth of parking spaces along Waterman. Cars that had been featured on the Wheels page over the last 10 years were invited to the event, a part of the BlackTop Nationals.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Rick Prather's miniature version of his full-sized Divco delivery van was a big draw when the moisture wasn't coming down. The go-kart sized version of the truck was still in the works when the big orange truck was featured on the Wheels page.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Under the hood of the '56 DeSoto beats the heart of a 341 cubic inch Hemi V-8 equipped with a pair of 4-barrel carburetors and an iconic `batwing' air cleaner. This engine compartment is a work of art.
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Mitch Capps' '72 Nova looked plenty hot at the Wheels Reunion, as even the occasional rain shower couldn't dampen the flames on the car's sheet metal.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Sue Ellen and Tom Sparkman show off the Editor's Choice award they received from the Wichita Eagle as part of the Wheels Reunion.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A spectator checks out Bob Weyand's plum-colored '57 Ford from McPherson. The car has grown a high-rise dual 4-barrel intake and a hole in the hood since it was featured on the Wheels page several years ago.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Another of the vehicles exhibited as part of the `Million $ Car Display' inside Century II was Rick Nuckoll's 1967 Shelby GT500, believed to have been owned by the Doors' Jim Morrison. The car had been finished just hours before the BlackTop Nationals opened.
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Two of our favorite car folks were on hand to help with BlackTop Nationals -- Marlin and Rose Decker, formerly of El Dorado. They are the ones who launched the popular Burns car show in Marlin's old hometown and took time out from touring in their big motorhome to volunteer for this year's event.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Ron Kuhel kept busy wiping down his 1973 Dodge Challenger as several rounds of rain swept across the Wheels display of cars.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Jerry Resser's 1956 Chevy Nomad was featured on the commemorative Wichita On Wheels dash plaque presented to all entries, and looked as sharp in real life as it did on the plaque.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Carl Fry's righteous red Riviera made the Wheels Reunion a little brighter occasion with its forward-raked design and its stylish hidden headlights.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Another of the entries in the `Million $ Car Display' was this stately 1936 Packard open-topped car owned by Jeff Breault. If this doesn't exemplify elegance, what does?
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Jack Tanner's nifty Henry J coupe was a welcome addition along the row of Wheels Reunion cars that turned out. Like many of the cars, it was set up with a display of the Wheels page that featured the car.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Tim Bowers of Stellar Antique Auto Restoration in Windom was happy to answer questions about the stunning black-and-gold DeSoto Adventurer he restored to showroom perfection. The car was part of the `Million $ Car Display' inside Century II.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
JoEva Wheeler received the Wichita Eagle Publisher's Pick trophy for her recently completed 1939 Chevy sedan, built by her husband, Iran. The trophy presentation was washed out by an afternoon downpour, but JoEva was thrilled with the etched glass trophy.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Parking wasn't a big issue for Kenneth Goering in the little red Bantam roadster he restored for his sister and brother-in-law. But just in case, Ed Garman, who brought his immaculate 1940 Ford coupe over from El Dorado, helped guide the Bantam into place.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Spectators and car owners mingled along Waterman during the 10th anniversary celebration of Wichita On Wheels, highlighted by a couple of dozen cars featured on the Eagle's automotive page since 2002.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
This, unfortunately, was how the Wheels Reunion concluded, with a mid-afternoon cloudburst and lightning display that persuaded even most of the diehards to pack it up and head for home. Naturally, the sun came out later and the BlackTop Nationals went on as scheduled.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
One of the most memorable of Wheels cars that made the reunion -- the 1952 Ford Fordor custom built by Gary Knox for his late wife, Mary, as an anniversary gift. That's Gary making sure the yellow-gold beauty is presentable at the Wheels Reunion.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The sporadic rain showers forced Frank LaForge to keep the top up on his beautiful blue '56 Ford convertible, but the car still attracted plenty of positive attention, as always.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
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