Viva Las Vegas 2011

Viva Las Vegas is always an event I look forward to. It was three years ago that I set off across the desert alone – bringing my 1955 Studebaker for the very first time after getting her running a short 12 hours before! I wasn’t alone this year…

This was the first Gasoline Girl’s trip out to Vegas (and our furthest one yet!) Setting off from So Cal, we joined up with the Throttle Kings Car Club and a few others for the 260 mile trek.

We got over to Vegas without any major issues. Becky Sue’s Comet had some overheating scares, with her newly swapped Ford 302 giving the power – but they seemed to be largely due to a poorly grounded temperature gauge sending wire.

Lori’s Ford F1 did okay, although it had a hard time keeping up with all the throttle of the Throttle Kings with her Flathead. The only thing Studie needed was a bit of wire to fix a dropped exhaust pipe where the brackets welds had broken.

Once in Vegas, it was a weekend full of cars, music, and fun. Over-the-top cars and hot rods is what the Viva Las Vegas Car Show is known for. This coupe was an attention grabber with heavy metal flaking everywhere…even the chassis was flaked!

Lori’s Ford F1 “Bondorella” caught a good deal of attention from onlookers. It too sports some flaking, although in a much more subtle way. People kept coming up to inspect the finish and commenting “I’ve never seen this before!” Bare metal with a fine ice pearl flake cleared over the top. Studie got a little flake of her own before VLV – more on that soon.

The Gasoline Girls had a fun time checking out all the other cars. Becky Sue found a fun detail in this tiny blinker!

This Hudson Wasp has been seen before – she posed nicely one morning on the salt with my ’55 Studebaker at Bonneville this past Speedweek. It looked almost as good at Viva!

No car show would be complete without some open hoods. While most were beginning their fun VLV evenings, the car show was still the place to be for many. These guys just needed to get the car running – but there was plenty of fun going on out at the car show after dark.

On Sunday it was already time to pack up and head home. We came, we saw, we conquered…and we made it home safely (although it took us 9 hours to get back to SoCal!) There’s more Viva news coming soon!!! Hear more about the trip preparations, Gasoline Girl adventures, and other cool cars…check back soon!