The White Wall-Rama is held the last weekend in July in Round Top, New York. Photos by the writer
The Catskills are kinda like old cars: Made redundant by modern tech and passed by in the modern quest for never-ending novelty, but still worthwhile both for nostalgia and a kind of purity of experience. That made visiting the White Wall-Rama, held at Riedlbauer’s Resort in Round Top, New York, a double treat. The historic mountain setting provided a very appropriate venue to gather up a bunch of hot rods, customs, and enthusiasts. Toss in some bands, some well-curated swap-meet vendors, and a nice little beer garden, and you had the makings of a future destination event. Look for full coverage in an upcoming issue of Hemmings Motor News, but until then, enjoy this gallery of some of the vehicles that caught our eye at White Wall-Rama.
Debbie Enck, in the white dress, and Rachel Puckett, in the black, pose with Mike Vincent, of Berne, New York, in the bed of his ’29 Ford Model A pickup. Mike’s niece is also a model and the three had plenty to talk about as a result.
Dirik Menting, of Delhi, New York, waved us over and directed us to sit in a chair. “Now look through your camera at that hubcap,” he said. The result was a fun view of Dirik’s ’49 Lincoln, a one-time resident of the Long Island Automotive Museum. The hubcap is on a ’41 Ford, belonging to Bill Dunkin of St. James City, Florida.
The only way to describe this ’49 Pontiac fastback was BRIGHT. Unfortunately, the owner wasn’t around, so we didn’t learn other details.
By the time we caught up with Jerry Dickman, of Kerohonson, New York, the heavens had opened and drenched his flathead-powered ’32 roadster. He was unperturbed, saying the car had gotten wet before and it would get wet again. That’s the attitude of a driver!
The factory-type air cleaner, painted valve covers, and black iron bits made this SBF-powered Model A roadster have a great ’60s flavor. We never did catch up with the owner.
The dimpled valve covers on this 1957 Oldsmobile suggest the presence of a solid-lifter camshaft inside the 371-cu.in. J-2 V-8, a fact the owner, Bill Sirago, who runs Bills Sales and Service in Cairo, New York, confirmed. Bill also pointed out that the car has the rare three-on-the-tree manual transmission—most ’57s received Hydra-Matic drive.
This ’39 Ford DeLuxe coupe was deceptive on two levels—first, the ’40 headlamps made it look like a ’40 Standard at a glance. Second, its mid-’60s mild-custom styling covered up the presence of a massive Ford Boss 429 big-block stuffed under the hood.
This 1941 Buick fastback sported flat-black paint, pinstriping, and compound carburetion. It seemed simple and fun—the kind of car that makes it easy to enjoy events like the White Wall-Rama.
This brown Deuce roadster with a blown flathead V-8 had the high-and-mighty stance of a ’40s build. We particularly loved the top and side curtains that came out when the rain started.
In contrast, this ’32 with its moon tank, exaggerated big-and-little combination, and bright-red paint virtually defined the term “street rod” for a particular generation.
This slammed ’29 Ford Model A coupe with lime-green paint, custom spreader bar, a sextet of carburetors, and artillery wheels is a great example of the neo-traditional movement that began in California in the 1990s.
Aside from the flat-black paint and some dress-up goodies on the Blue Flame Six, this ’54 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible seemed essentially stock. No matter, it also looked like a blast to cruise around in.
This little Metropolitan roadster was just one of several stockers that created a neat mix of ’50s- and ’60s-styled hot rods, customs, and originals. Just as one might have seen while cruising 60 years ago.
This Chevrolet Advance Design pickup had phenomenal patina, a small-block V-8 underhood, and a decal showing it had once attended the “World’s Fair” in Tunbridge, Vermont.
This early-’60s style Model A was chock-full of details (some anachronistic, but perfectly combined into the styling)—note the Ford V-8 with three deuces on a tunnel ram, the ’32-’34 Ford commercial grille shell, the drilled visor, and the neat louvered panels at the base of the cowl. Gadzooks!
Clean and simple was the order of the day for this ’40 Ford Tudor with its triple-carb’d Chevrolet V-8. It’s always nice to see a car that has been hot rodded without change for change’s sake.
It would be easy to underestimate the amount of work it took to get this subtle A/V-8 together. This roadster, like the ’40 Ford above, retained much of its original flavor while sporting a flathead V-8 with 2×2 intake and high-compression cylinder heads. The Deuce grille and later headlamps are the perfect finishing touches.
The ’41 Fords seemed to come out of the woodwork for this event, as this was one of a couple in attendance. Essentially stock, it boasted an immaculate interior, radial tires, and fender skirts. It may have been lowered too, but our brains were a little scrambled as to what stock height looks like after seeing so many modified cars!
The 1946 and ’47 Hudsons are typically overshadowed by their step-down brethren of 1948-’52, but Sue and Art Pitetti of Roxbury, New York, love their 1947 Super Six Brougham. Art showed us the latest addition to the car—an “Optima Cloaking Kit” he found online, that conceals a 6V Optima battery inside a period-looking case (the bungee is temporary until Art can fabricate a stock-type hold-down).
The original Dubonnet front suspension has given way to what appears to be a Mustang II unit on this 1934 Chevrolet coupe. We thought we spied a Chevrolet V-8 in there too.
This second-generation Camaro Z/28 looked like it was probably fun to drive with its sticky, high-speed radials. A great conveyance to hit a traditional hot rod show if you haven’t completed your bias-ply shod Model A!
Everybody knows that Raymond Loewy’s firm gets credit for the 1953 Studebaker, but did you know Loewy was also retained by Harley-Davidson in the early 1940s? The 1941-’47 models, in particular, bear the fullest expression of the resulting design—this is the famous OHV “Knucklehead” V-twin.
Show promoter Mark “The Old Tin Dealer” Williams set out this sign for anyone who might be confused as to what constitutes a traditional hot rod.
Itinerant pinstriper and sign painter Don Rooney, of Haines Falls, New York, was on hand to work his craft on attendee’s vehicles. Bryan and Sheryl Girven, of Branford, Connecticut, had him pinstripe the stern of their just-finished 1931 Ford Model A coupe.
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