Rod Run brings classics, memories to Main

Roadsters to muscle cars delight auto lovers

Bryan and Darrell Parkman stood in the middle of Main Street, pointing at and reminiscing about a 1967 Camaro parked in front of Free Roam Brewing.

Car owner Dan Stump was more than happy to talk with the Parkmans.

“That’s a regular conversation today,” Stump said about chats with the crowd attending Saturday’s Hill Country Mile Rod Run, which stretched from Main Plaza to River Road.

The event was created to bring together classic-car owners and builders from across the state and beyond “to share our mutual passion for classic cars and trucks,” according to the HCM Rod Run website, hcmrr.com.

Bright midday sunlight ricocheted off the vibrant paint jobs and custom finishes on hundreds of vehicles Saturday.

One stipulation for entering the third annual Rod Run was all models had to be built in 1985 or earlier.

Stump purchased the ‘67 Camaro about six years ago, he said, finding a deal too good to pass up.

Some of the cars along Main Saturday were show cars, rebuilt and finished so they could be displayed at weekend shows. But Stump’s Camaro is an everyday drive, he said.

“It’s my regular driver,” he said. “Run to the grocery store, drop the kids off ... I don’t baby it. It’s a fun-to-get-out-and-go car.”

Many car owners shared similar experiences, talking about the crowds having many questions — and many memories.

“A lot of the conversation I’ve shared today is people sharing their stories about the cars they’ve had, or have, or they want to get, or they are looking for,” he said.

William Mott climbed into his 1933 Dodge Sedan up in Spring Branch and drove it down to Boerne for his first-ever car show.

Purchased out of Kansas seven years ago, the car sat in a barn in Colorado for almost 40 years.

“My father-in-law found it. We brought it here and I’ve been working on it since,” Mott said.

The trip to Boerne is just the fourth time he’s gotten behind the wheel.

“I’m still breaking it in, wondering how long it’s going to last, and I’m just busy making it work,” he quipped.

He said he’s redone the entire drivetrain, put a 440 engine inside of it with 527 horsepower, “and at this point, I’m still listening to it rattle and shake, and wondering, ‘Is that normal?’ I don’t know what normal is,” he said.

He said the few times he’s driven it, he’s gotten a lot of thumbs up or admiring horn honks from other drivers.

“I think that’s a lot of the reason people get into the old cars, is for the nostalgia,” he said. “People look at this and think, ‘This thing looks like Al Capone would drive it.”

Art Ybanez of San Antonio is a regular participant in the Rod Run. He brought his 1932 Ford Roadster, a car he built from the frame up about seven or eight years ago.

Working on it at home by himself, the car took about a year to finish.

“I’ve been driving it every day,” Ybanez said. “I’ve got another car I drive, a 1940 Ford sedan. So, if it’s too hot I’ll drive the Ford, because it’s got air conditioning. If it’s nice weather, I’ll drive this.”

Matt Carver visited the Rod Run for a fourth year, showing off his family project — a 1955 Ford hot rod with painted flames shooting out from under the hood.

The auto doesn’t see the streets of his hometown of San Antonio or even Boerne, for that matter.

“No, it’s a little too radical,” he said. “There’s too much horsepower on it. It’s a racing motor that was at 800 horsepower, but now I’d say it’s around 1300 horsepower.”

The elegant, shiny and a bit noisy Ford is still a work in progress.

“There’s still much to do,” he said.

Next up will likely be the suspension for a better ride.

“It’s still quite bouncy when we take it out and fire it up,” he said. “I think that’s a lot of the reason people get into the old cars, is for the nostalgia.”

— William Mott