Although the weatherman threatened rain for the weekend, the 10th was the biggest and best, with azure skies, low 20's temperature, and 100 plus cars filling the main street on Sunday.
The street started to fill early, as rodders up for the day joined those who had made a weekend of it, some arriving as early as Thursday. Among the Thursday "earlies" were Stringbean and Pam McKenzie from Broken Hill, who had to negotiate miles of roadworks after the massive floods in that area, in their '34 Ford Coupe. Rick Tipping of Melbourne, hadn't finished his 1947 Chev Pickup, so he loaded it on a trailer, drove over, then worked on it to get it driveable for the weekend. On Friday, a quick coat of flat black and the beast was a cruiser. By Friday night most interstaters had arrived, and the Palmer Hotel was the place to be.
Saturday morning was slow for some, but after a cruise to the Totness Hotel at Mount Pleasant for lunch, the red blood cells started moving. An Observation/Poker Run then took us through some of the scenic hills towns. After a BBQ tea back at Palmer, a bonfire was fired up, some-50-60's CD's put on, and the socialising began, alternating between the hotel three doors up, and the fireplace. As usual some had to watch the sun come up Sunday morning. Too bad guys. You missed a great breakfast with pancakes by Bob & Janita Kuchel, and bacon & eggs cooked up by Ian & Blinky Bill.
Main street changed to one way traffic and angle parking allowed us to try and squeeze all the rods in. With a population of just 80 people in Palmer the rest of the year, the rods alone outnumbered them. Tony Rich's house was once again the base for all this mayhem. A marquee and dance floor had been set up in the front yard fronting Main Street, and "Four on the Floor" cranked out the live rock 'n roll from the verandah. The backyard looked like tent city, as did some of the neighbours yards.
With lots of cruising, socialising and rock 'n roll, the atmosphere couldn't be better. Many kids and adults had their first ride in a rod, with rodder like Bob Kuchel's 'Pie-van' and Ian Cameron's T Bucket running all afternoon. Many other rodders also did their bit and it is a trend we are seeing more of in S.A. The biggest hit with the kids was the Tri-State Rodders 'Superrocket' which was kindly loaned for the event. This '28 Chrysler Tourer has been stretched to take five bus seats, and only stopped long enough to change passengers as it cruised all day. This year, our sponsors over the last ten years were thanked and each presented with a plaque.
As it was our tenth run, voting was rodders choice Top Ten.
Graham 'Stringbean' McKenzie 34 Ford Coupe
Bob Turner T Bucket
Peter Laxton 39 Ford Coupe
Alan Crampton 32 Ford Coupe
Heather Palmer 51 Chev Custom
Michael Luedtke 55 packard Carribean
Bill Mellis 32 Ford Roadster
Glen Oliver 33 Ford Coupe
Janita Kuchel 41 Ford Convertible
Robert Riggs 46 Chev Coupe
