35th Annual AACA Silver Springs Car Show
Sandwich, IL
Submitted by Ken Bounds
After a long winter and the anxious times caused by replacing engines, three
NIRG members decided to make the Sandwich show the maiden voyage of the 
new
V-8’s. Joey Novak, Joe & Nell Kozmic, and Ken & Carolyn Bounds met at Joe’s
house Sunday morning, May 28. The trip to Sandwich was only about
50 miles, but it sure was hot Sunday and well, we really hadn’t had those cars
out on the road yet.
We
made the trip with no problems at all. Everyone commented on how cool the new
V-8’s seemed to run even with the rising heat. The show was
well attended with plenty of really nice show cars
from the area. Shown here are Joe & Nell’s ’37 Coupe, Joey’s ’40 Pickup, and
Ken & Carolyn’s ’50 Convertible. While at the show we met up with Dan & Diane
Pudelek, who missed by one day having their ’53 ready to show. We also ran into
NIRG member Lin Stacey (he wasn’t hurt) and our Secretary Mike Heatherly.
Since Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Denny
Hastert is from nearby Yorkville we often see him at this show. We usually
think of Denny as a V-8er because of his ’42 Lincoln Zephyr, but on this day he
drove a massive Mack fire truck. We have selected a shot of Denny and Joe Kozmic posing in front of the fire truck as our Photo of the Month.
After the show we went to the Bristol Tap in Bristol, IL, for the world’s best cheeseburgers. (These cheeseburgers are the best-kept secret in America and I hope I have not ruined everything by letting the cat out of the bag). Dan and Diane had not been there before and I think they were impressed. We hope that by now the grill is in your ’53 and we see you on the Roscoe tour.
By the time we left Bristol the temperature had climbed into the 90’s. But the fresh V-8’s cranked right up and got each of us back home, again with no problems. The first road trip with the new engines was a success! If we can make the 100 mile or so round trip to Sandwich, can Batavia, NY, be that much farther?