Classic car show features amazing variety of vintage vehicles

More than 12,000 street rods, customs and restored classic cars all dated 1964 and earlier were on display at the 42nd annual Back to the Fifties Weekend auto show at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul this past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Over the weekend, nearly 100,000 visitors browsed through the entire fairgrounds, taking in well-polished Chevy Nomads and Belairs, sleek Buick Rivieras, huge Cadillacs, artful Studebakers, ugly-yet-somehow-cool rat rods, and a stunning array of street rods.

The weekend also included vehicle auctions, swap meets, model car contests, more than 300 vendors, food stands, live music, and even a Sunday church service.

One Minnetonka resident, who wanted to identify himself only as Bob D., said he had attended 33 of the 42 Back to the Fifties events. He also said he has bought and sold roughly 18 classic cars in his day. In fact he pitched a stranger on a current project he was restoring back in his garage in Minnetonka. He was planning to sell it later this summer: a 1963 Ford Falcon convertible.

“I just had it repainted,” Bob said.

“Cool, what color?” the stranger asked.

“Re-sale red,” Bob replied with a smile.

Not far from one of the main band shells at the Fairgrounds, a long, gorgeous, red, 1959 Cadillac convertible with a white soft-top was drawing a small crowd. The pristine Caddy was nearly 19-ft. long, and is said to be the longest two-door car ever manufactured.

One passerby expressed his admiration for the vehicle, saying he’d be interested in buying it, although “it probably wouldn’t fit in my garage.”

If the weekend’s event has you interested or just a little curious about finding your own vintage car, visit CarSoup.com’s classic car section. The site is a great place to sell your vintage car, too. Currently, there are more than 1,300 classic vehicles at our site, most of them from private-party sellers. Click here.