Greaseball Bash

1935 Ford

Definition of a Diablos HotRod girl – An attractive, tattoo-clad girl styled in retro, 50’s, Rockabilly clothing posing with a really awesome HotRod. Today, I had as much fun as one can have without breaking the law. But first, let me take you back to the fifties, where Rock-and-roll emerged in the middle of the decade, with the music of choice being played by Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Little Richard, and Buddy Holly. Elvis Presley was the musical superstar of the period with rock, rockabilly, gospel, and romantic ballads being his signatures. Doo Wop was another popular genre at the time. With the age of rock and roll in full swing the movie industry tapped into the teenage market and the birth of the teen movie was here. Leading the way was James Dean in his film, Rebel Without A Cause. Hot Rods and Kustom cars came about at this time as guy's tired of waiting for dad's car, aquired an old beater and first started off taking off that, and putting on this, leaving this alone and changing that completely. So piece by piece the hot rod legacy began with the simple things, of the late 40s with mild changes and modest refinement. For those that owned a Ford Model T or Ford Model A, it was those fenders, the fenders along with the running boards had to be tossed. So gone now were those "ugly" fenders, next they turned to the motor.The original engine just didn't cut it, so out it went and possibly a Ford V8 went in place of the original. OK! now some of the guy's might not have been all to crazy about a Ford motor and went with a Chevy instead. Mind you, the Big daddy bowtie powerhouses were great. But we are still talking of the mid-50s and some guy just trying to get his wacky little contraption on the streets. Now once you had gotten the motor up and going, and had taken off those awful running boards, the main key next was wheels. Those wire-spoked Ford wheels were "out of fad" by the start of the 50s, as the solid-center wheels were introduced in 1940 and those were the most popular for the classic 50s hot rod. AH! those tail lights! yuck! those were usually replaced by flush fitting units, most common being the 1950 Pontiac ones, though 1939 Ford tear drops look great too. The whole main idea of hot rods was to use the best equipment, not always the same brands or the cheapest parts, though some times that was not an option. The Cars were meant to be open-wheeled, wind-in-your-hair, more power than was decent. They were fun and exciting and could be a source of wonderful pride to a otherwise average teenager. They were all about horsepower and "need for speed" that comes with youth. So there you have it, the 50's HotRod was born and today, I found that this tradition is alive and well in Bowness where the Greaseball Bash was held, put on by the Diablos Car Club out of Calgary. The Diablos Car Club has members not only in Calgary, but also has members in Red Deer, Carstairs, and Crossfield. The Greaseball Bash, was very well attended and I not only enjoyed the HotRods, and the folks in attendence, but the vendors as well, some of whom I had fun visiting with. Of course, the bands in attendence were great and had the place jumping. So, with the 2009 Greaseball Bash in the bag, if ya missed it...well there is always next year. See you there. Oh!..If your interested, I have more photos of the Greaseball Bash here... http://www.jerryclement.ca/gallery/8551324_3JB94#563221351_XcgFU