Every fall there's a themed car show at a local "castle" in Des Moines called the Salisbury House. This year it was the Concours d'Elegance. There are no street rods there-everything is either fully restored or in it's original condition. Every year the cars are from the era of the Salisbury House, which is the early 1900's to the 1970's or so.
The vehicles this year were simply stunning. They ranged from a little Isetta to Packards to Rolls Royce Silver Wraith. There were also quite a few exotics, as well as a BMW and a Porsche class. It's also enjoyable to have the owners right there with their classic cars, and they are all more than willing to talk about them.
This little Isetta was a pristine restoration and just about as cute as could be.
A 1917 Maxwell.
1932 Packard.
A 1958 Edsel.
A beautiful 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix. I love the push button transmission and the see through speedometer.
We chatted with the owner of this 59 Cadillac for about 30 minutes. He's quite an interesting gentleman and drives this car to shows all over the country. That's him in the back left corner (cowboy hat) talking to my wife and giving her some promotional photos of the car.
The car was rear ended in Minnesota (by a pickup driver who was texting) about 3 years ago. He had to send it to a shop in South Carolina to get it restored. They did a fantastic job.
A row of Studebakers.
A 1960 Ford Sunliner that was absolutely stunning.
I found the placement of the valve stem on this Cadillac's wheel interesting.
To cap off the day we had lunch with the Governor of Iowa, Terry Brandstad. He was at the show as one of the judges for the Cadillac class, and he and I talked while we were looking at a 1965 Cadillac. When we sat down to have some lunch he was in line behind us, and since table space was limited we invited him to sit with us. We had a very nice non-political conversation, and it turns out he's quite the "car guy".
The vehicles this year were simply stunning. They ranged from a little Isetta to Packards to Rolls Royce Silver Wraith. There were also quite a few exotics, as well as a BMW and a Porsche class. It's also enjoyable to have the owners right there with their classic cars, and they are all more than willing to talk about them.
This little Isetta was a pristine restoration and just about as cute as could be.
A 1917 Maxwell.
1932 Packard.
A 1958 Edsel.
A beautiful 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix. I love the push button transmission and the see through speedometer.
We chatted with the owner of this 59 Cadillac for about 30 minutes. He's quite an interesting gentleman and drives this car to shows all over the country. That's him in the back left corner (cowboy hat) talking to my wife and giving her some promotional photos of the car.
The car was rear ended in Minnesota (by a pickup driver who was texting) about 3 years ago. He had to send it to a shop in South Carolina to get it restored. They did a fantastic job.
A row of Studebakers.
A 1960 Ford Sunliner that was absolutely stunning.
I found the placement of the valve stem on this Cadillac's wheel interesting.
To cap off the day we had lunch with the Governor of Iowa, Terry Brandstad. He was at the show as one of the judges for the Cadillac class, and he and I talked while we were looking at a 1965 Cadillac. When we sat down to have some lunch he was in line behind us, and since table space was limited we invited him to sit with us. We had a very nice non-political conversation, and it turns out he's quite the "car guy".
