Starbird-Devlin rings in another year of great car shows
The 60th edition of the Starbird-Devlin Rod & Customs Charities Car Show marked the opening of the 2017 car show season with a three-day run last weekend, packing in some of the most unusual vehicles ever displayed in Century II. The Magnificent 7 competition, featuring cars and trucks being shown for the first time in Wichita, was especially intense.
Ron Kitchens’ amazing 1956 Cameo pickup from Harper, Texas, topped that group, while Wichita Mark Eaton’s gorgeous blue-and-silver 1957 Corvette picked up the prestigious People’s Choice award.
It was tough choosing a Wichita On Wheels favorite this year, as there were two vehicle builds we had been kept up to date on during the year: Lanny Mai’s 1964 Hemi-powered Plymouth factory drag car and Bill Bauck’s outstanding 1934 Ford coupe, both from Wichita.
Ultimately, the Wheels award went to a remarkable project out of Haysville, Ron Calabretto’s fabulous “flip-up” 1937 Ford coupe, which features a unique tilt-body that reveals the supercharged 392 cubic inch Chrysler power plant. As usual, that award will come with a complete feature story on a future Wheels page.
Among the more unusual vehicles was Curtis Rink’s 1938 Minneapolis-Moline UDLX, a bright full-bodied tractor from Goddard that stopped a lot of spectators in their tracks.
The event was a great opportunity to see the unparalleled creativity of Midwest car designers and builders, and to get together with car guys and gals. With any luck, several of the vehicles displayed will also be featured on these pages.
Check out our online gallery of some of the cars that caught our attention, and a full rundown on the award winners at www.kansas.com.
Mike Berry: mberry@wichitaeagle.com
Order | Award Name | Car# | Color | Year | Model | First Name | Last Name | City | ST |
1 | Long Distance Award | 7281 | Silver | 1932 | Roadster | Nels | Linde | Glendale | AZ |
2 | Motorcycle | 0201 | Green | 1967 | BSA Hornet | Steve & Colletta | McGregor | Wichita | KS |
3 | Sportiest Foreign | 0191 | White & Black | 2008 | Lamborghini Superleggera | Brandon | Huyrh | Wichita | KS |
4 | Sportiest Domestic | 7600 | Onyx Black | 1957 | Corvette | Dan | McCarty | Goddard | KS |
5 | Truck - Early | 7122 | Green | 1934 | Ford PU | Don & Linda | Casner | Viola | KS |
6 | Truck - Late | 7618 | Blue | 1967 | Ford F100 | Gary | Hagar | Rogers | AR |
7 | Truck Custom | 7098 | Brown | 1945 | Chevy Truck | Greg | Gonzales | Hudson | CO |
8 | Mopar | 7613 | Red | 1969 | Charger | Richard | Johnson | Sapulpa | OK |
9 | Chevy | 7100 | Burgundy | 1968 | Chevelle SS396 | Wayne & Vickie | Finger | Powhattan | KS |
10 | Ford | 7624 | Dark Green | 1969 | Mustang Mach 1 | Tony | Kondrotis | Wichita | KS |
11 | Street Machine | 7610 | Blue | 1955 | Chevy 2-dr | Jim | Maybrier | Oxford | KS |
12 | Muscle Machine | 0180 | Red | 1963 | Chevy Biscayne | Sam | Bidwell | Goddard | KS |
13 | Pro Touring | 7264 | Blue & Silver | 1968 | Camaro RS/SS | David | Hutchison | Broken Arrow | OK |
14 | Cool Cruiser | 0006 | Red | 1952 | Mercury Monterey | Delwin & Virginia | Everhart | Dodge City | KS |
15 | Street Rod | 0008 | Red | 1940 | Ford Coupe | Rex & Denise | Sageser | Wichita | KS |
16 | Hot Rod | 0119 | Green Vanilla | 1930 | Ford Roadster | Vivian | Pearce | Bentonville | AR |
17 | Timeless Traditional | 0158 | Black | 1955 | Thunderbird | Ernie | Nelson | Wichita | KS |
18 | Custom | 7370 | Brandywine | 1950 | Buick Sedanette | Rich | Theiler | Clinton | Mo |
19 | Kustom | 0029 | Black | 1957 | Ford Fairlane | Jeff | Myers | Arkansas City | KS |
20 | Slick and Smooth | 0219 | Orange | 1939 | Chevy Coupe | Bill & Donna | Stark | Wichita | KS |
21 | Best Bitchin' | 7281 | Silver | 1932 | Roadster | Nels | Linde | Glendale | AZ |
22 | Way Cool Wagon | 7379 | Red/Black | 1956 | Pontiac Safari | Ted | Parrish | Bethany | OK |
23 | A Little Off the Top | 0084 | Metallic Silver | 1940 | Chevy 2-dr Sedan | Franchot & Raellen | Duncan | Derby | KS |
24 | Scrapin' | 7174 | Blue & White | 1951 | Mercury | Perry | Siebert | Bradshaw | NE |
25 | Fat Fendered | 0053 | Champagne | 1940 | Ford Standard | Douglas C | Mehl | Wichita | KS |
26 | Just 'Cause It's Neat | 0142 | Gold | 1938 | Minneapolis-Moline UDLX | Curtis | Rink | Goddard | KS |
27 | Memory Lane | 7022 | Blue | 1959 | Corvette Convertible | Julius & Michelle | Wright | Ponca City | OK |
28 | Rising Star | 0065 | Silver & Teal | 1922 | Ford Bucket T | Meridith & Steve | Dale | Mulvane | KS |
29 | Way Cool | 7631 | Red | 1932 | Ford 3window Coupe | Nick | Mardis | Goddard | KS |
30 | Right-On Resto | 7630 | Red | 1974 | Bronco | Mark | Eaton | Wichita | KS |
31 | Pure Class | 7375 | Yellow | 1941 | Packard Convertible | Bill | Jones, Jr | Garden City | KS |
32 | D'Elegance | 7625 | Blue & Black | 1909 | EMF Touring | Tom & Dawna | Ruggles | Wichita | KS |
33 | Kids Pick | 7389 | Red | 1971 | Plymouth Cuda | Jesse | Matlock | Deway | OK |
34 | Favorite Car Club – 2nd Place | Mar | 2017 | Marauders | |||||
35 | Favorite Car Club – 1st Place | Tbird | 2017 | T-Birds | |||||
36 | Mike Berry – Wichita On Wheels Favorite | 7606 | Bordeaux Red | 1937 | Ford Coupe | Ron | Calabretto | Haysville | KS |
37 | KKOA Favorite | 0030 | Green Pearl | 1952 | Buick Special | James | Allen | Winfield | KS |
38 | NSRA Favorite | 0138 | Black | 1941 | Chevy Sedan Delivery | Gregg & Susan | Elkins | Wellington | KS |
39 | Good Guys Favorite | 0037 | Gray | 1932 | Ford Roadster | Joe & Claire | Thompson | Milan | KS |
101 | Volunteer of The Year | Dean & Cort | Ryalls | ||||||
102 | Peoples Choice | 0239 | Blue | 1957 | Corvette | Mark | Eaton | Wichita | KS |
103 | Dick's Favorite (Carlon) | 7633 | 1927 | Kansas Tornado | Seth | Schroer | Pratt | KS | |
104 | John's Favorite (Saindon) | 7177 | Candy Apple Red | 1964 | Mercury Comet | Steve & Kathy | Hosier | Giltner | NE |
105 | Mark's Favorite | 7100 | Burgundy | 1968 | Chevelle SS396 | Wayne & Vickie | Finger | Powhattan | KS |
106 | Drew's Favorite | 0239 | Blue | 1957 | Corvette | Mark | Eaton | Wichita | KS |
107 | Jeff's Favorite | 7098 | Brown | 1945 | Chevy Truck | Greg | Gonzales | Hudson | CO |
108 | Mike's Favorite | 7126 | Silver | 1964 | Plymouth Savoy | Lanny | Mai | Wichita | KS |
109 | Trey's Favorite | 7630 | Red | 1974 | Bronco | Mark | Eaton | Wichita | KS |
110 | Carl's Favorite | 0237 | Purple | 1934 | Ford | Larry | Smith | Wichita | KS |
111 | John's Favorite | 7600 | Onyx Black | 1957 | Corvette | Dan | McCarty | Goddard | KS |
112 | Dick's Favorite | 7261 | Black | 1969 | Cougar Conv | Bob | Hendricks | Oxford | KS |
113 | Tom's Favorite | 7001 | Blue | 1957 | Oldsmobile Wagon | Bruce | Ricks | Sapulpa | OK |
114 | Tim's Favorite | 0098 | Burgundy | 1949 | Pontiac Silverstreak | Rick | Doughty | Kechi | KS |
115 | Magnificent 7 Favorite | 7126 | Silver | 1964 | Plymouth Savoy | Lanny | Mai | Wichita | KS |
116 | Magnificent 7 Favorite | 7246 | Cream | 1956 | Chevy Cameo PU | Ron | Kitchens | Harper | TX |
117 | Magnificent 7 Favorite | 7269 | Red | 1962 | Chev Impala | Todd | Widhalm | Sioux City | IA |
118 | Magnificent 7 Favorite | 7287 | Black | 1963 | Ford Galaxie | Mark | Stuchel | Earlham | IA |
119 | Magnificent 7 Favorite | 7302 | Blue | 1970 | Mustang | Mick | Schroeder | Johnson Lake | NE |
120 | Magnificent 7 Favorite | 7353 | Silver | 1969 | Mustang | Bobby & Karen | Schumacher | Independence | MO |
121 | Magnificent 7 Favorite | 7389 | Red | 1971 | Plymouth Cuda | Jesse | Matlock | Deway | OK |
201 | Magnificent 7 Favorite - Winner | 7246 | Cream | 1956 | Chevy Cameo PU | Ron | Kitchens | Harper | TX |
This story was originally published January 26, 2017 at 11:17 AM with the headline "Starbird-Devlin rings in another year of great car shows."