The King Holds Court

George Barris' 6th Annual Cruisin' Back To The '50s

Main_218_thumb Call it what you will-George Barris' 6th Annual Cruisin" Back to the '50s Car Show or The Culver City Car Show. Whatever you want to call it, it took place Saturday, May 9, on the streets of Culver City and it was a blast.

From the pancake breakfast to handing out the very cool trophies-leave it to Barris to award some of the most original trophies we've ever seen-this is a great way to spend a day, especially with it being in downtown Culver City. Once home to an arm of the old Desilu studios, and still quite active in production, Culver City is a charming town. The fact that they close down several blocks of Culver and Washington streets just to allow a bunch of gearheads to take over makes them OK in our book.

As good as the car show was, it was eclipsed by the whirlwind known as George Barris. He has been going strong for more decades than we've been alive, and he doesn't show any signs of slowing. This was Barris' sixth Culver City show, and it seemed that he was still enjoying himself. Hustling about, getting his picture taken with fans, signing autographs, and generally running the show, he seemed to be having a ball, as were the rest of us. It was a perfect SoCal day, and everyone was checking out the rides, having lunch in one of the many excellent restaurants lining the vehicle-laden streets.

The usual suspects were here: a lot of '32 Fords, in all their variations, were on hand, along with a strong contingent of '60-'70s muscle cars, some killer sleds and customs and some very nice pickups. Spectators roamed the streets as thousands of hot rod fans made the day perfect for the many vendors on hand.

All in all, a pretty good day at the office for us. We'll be back next year.


The King himself-George Barris. Where would we be without this man and the legacy of the Barris Brothers?	Leave it to the "King Of Kustomizers" to have the coolest trophies we have seen in a long time.	The Culver City Fire Dept. put on a pancake breakfast before the show.

We call this style "traditional plus" and the '32 three-window Ford of Larry Grossman is a perfect rendition. Black paint with flames, red steelies and whites and the Moon tank give it a great look.	People were flocking around the Barris tent to get a chance to meet the legend himself ... and to buy cool Barris memorabilia.	We love Willys coupes, (and trucks for that matter), and this yellow '41 owned by Dave Maher is flat out bitchin'.

Just when we thought we've seen everything, we ran across this suede Metro. And check the wide whites! Mate Christine with an ice cream wagon, and you get this colorful, classic Buick.	This fine '51 Merc two-door sled belongs to the Cisco Farias. We love seeing Farias at shows and have known him for years. He always seems to have the best refreshments for a long day of walking shows.	Wanting only the best, R.J. McDonald built this Kugel Muroc '32 roadster with an LS6, Kugel frame and suspension, a Marcel's body and a Gabes' interior. It was built by Angie's Auto In San Bernardino, CA.