Ahh . . . the sweet smells of fall. Burning leaves, popcorn at Friday night football games, exhaust on North Sixth Street.
The Black Knights Car Club of Estherville held its last cruise-in of the year last Friday just as the club is getting ready for the airport drags at the Spencer Airport Sunday, Sept. 25. The gates open at 9 a.m. with racing from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Until then, the Knights were content to hold their last cruise-in of the season in Library Square. And there were some new cars that hadn't appeared very often.
Chuck and Bev Zitterich of Estherville brought their 1931 Model A Ford. The Zitterichs acquired the car three years ago from Dennis Tungland of Spirit Lake.
Ever hear of a rumble seat? Well, the Zitterichs' 'A' has one, and as narrow as it is, you can see why if a guy talked a girl into sitting back there with him, they were practically engaged.
Chuck worked on the rumble seat, putting in brackets, handle and kick panels and replaced the water pump and carburetor.
With the original 40-horsepower engine, Chuck figures the Model A will cruise at 45.
"They say it's supposed to go 60 but I don't want to push it that hard," Chuck said. "It was just fun working on it."
With the body all original, Chuck said Tim's Upholstery of Sherburn, Minn. did the interior.
"He did a fantastic job," Chuck said.
Roger Peta's classic 1968 Pontiac GT was an eye turner.
"I've had it since I was ?young kid," said Roger, noting the car was Motor Trend Car of the Year.
The Goat has a 400 C.I.D. engine with 350 horse and four on the floor with manual steering and brakes - real men don't want any of that fancy stuff stealing their horsepower, now, do they?
Pat and Cindy Oviatt brought their 1947 Chevrolet two-door sedan, one of the first cars Chevy rolled off the assembly line after World War II.
Pat found the sedan in Sioux City and built it into a street rod with 350 C.I.D. Chevy engine.
One of the most unique things about the sedan was its color - Harley-Davidson black cherry.
