Hot Rods

Yamba is seaside town that was once a fishing village. It is built on a headland, at the North end of the East Coast of New South Wales, just two hours drive to the Queensland border, and is surrounded by dreamy beaches. Yamba has long been a haven for retirees because of the temperate climate. It is also much favored by Surfers who flock to the surf-beaches and young families who come for the sheltered sandy beaches. There are enough beaches to spare, and the weather makes it easy to enjoy the great outdoors.

Yamba can be as quiet as any country town when the holiday makers have all gone home, but during the holidays, it sizzles with markets, concerts, swimming carnivals, and many other types of celebrations.

Every year this small coastal town at the mouth of the Clarence River plays host to hot rod enthusiasts from up and down the Australian east coast of New South Wales, in Australia, for the Yamba Rod Run.

In early November the air thunders with the deep rev rumble of the old Chevies, Pontiacs, Mustangs, Cadillacs, old Ford Roadsters, all gleaming perfection, and these can be heard tootling around the Yamba streets adding color and sparkle to the sun and sand of the place. Another little piece of the jigsaw that colors Yamba so brightly.

They come from far and wide to showcase their labor of love to the delight of other enthusiasts and the general public in Yamba. Some even get bought and sold for fancy prices, and who can resist wanting one of these olde-time beauties.

These modern and vintage rods have been lovingly restored to a state that is perhaps even better than what they were when they were first placed in a showroom many, many moons ago! Not only is the brilliant shine worthy of many suns, but each inch of that street machine is carefully rejuvenated and kept in pristine condition.

Look at the engines, the outside trim and badges, the trim on the leather seats. Each of these add to the sense of olde-world luxury. The comfortable ride, the powerful muted deep hum of that engine that can roar into life at the touch of a button, the huge gas tanks that guzzled your money into deadly vapour; it all spelt newly found mastery of the road, then.

The article ‘Top 10 Cars for Single Guys to Attract Women’ from the Zero to 60 times blog says that”. . . it is a proven scientific fact that women are more attracted to men who look like they have deep pockets with money to burn.. .” I am not so convinced, however, it is evident that many men [and some women] are conscious of the big status symbol of a high roller is a new upscale car. They are fully aware that to own an old classic car, sets them apart from the crowd, shows them to be someone who knows what they want, someone who is confident enough to establish their own unique style. It also gives the impression that they are the kind of men who are handy and can fix things; that they are leaders rather than followers.

1969-70 Ford Mustang Mach 1

You can’t go wrong with a Mustang, especially if it is a powerful classic Mach 1.

1977-81 Pontiac Trans Am SE
Maybe Burt Reynolds iconic Trans Am in the Smokey and the Bandit series helped influence his then status as the “sexiest man in the world”.

1968-73 Chevrolet Corvette
This Corvette year range boasts sleek, curvy bodylines that today will still turn plenty of heads.

1966-82 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider
Typically convertible Italian sports cars are no let down, and classic Alfa Romeo Spiders are no exception. Not the fastest car on the list, but certainly one of the most beautiful.

1961-74 Jaguar E-Type

Enzo Ferrari, (founder of Ferrari), who called this car “the most beautiful car ever made.” Can we argue? Numerous celebrities owned the E-type including avid car enthusiast Steve McQueen.

1967-69 Chevrolet Camaro SS
The first generation Camaro is perhaps the most beloved of them all with its incredible styling and performance. The popular SS performance package gave the car either a beefy 350 or 396 cubic inch V-8.

These avid collectors, some of them too young to remember any of these cars on the road, work for years to bring them to their present state, and it is not an inexpensive hobby. The law states that they have to submit proof that they are road worthy and have to pass muster before they can drive them around. The Official Guidelines for the construction and modification of Street Rods in Australia goes for about 88 pages and starts off this way “Administrative requirements include. amongst other things, processes for Street Rod Registration, types of street rod registration, policies relating to left-hand drive street rods, obtaining exemptions, obtaining modification approvals, Street Rod inspections, preparation and submission of reports and the payment of appropriate fees and charges. . . . . . . .One can download the whole document here -

I can just imagine the flounced skirts of the girls and the rockabilly hairstyles of the boys as they preened and paraded their new-found wealth. Now, as then, the owners of these wondrous street machines dress to match their vehicle. What a parade they create wherever they go.

It is the same when they come to Yamba. There are keen crowds, bright colors, dress-ups, ice-creams, and it is truly a field day for photographers.

• Image A: Ford Fairlane 500 -By Tom Woodward via Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/bionicteaching/5027945657/in/photostream/
• Image B: Memories - Private Collection
• Image C: Olde World styled Cars - Private Collection.
• Image D: Detail is Style - Private Collection.
• Image E.: Color and Noise. - Private Collection.
• Image F: One for The Littlies - Private Collection.
• Image G: Marie & John - Pretty as a Picture.- Private Collection