Blackstone & Grace's Cruise, May 16th, 2010

Sunday saw the Cheshire 2010 Summer Cruise presented by Blackstone’s Irish pub and Grace’s Restaurant at their premises in Milldale, CT. This event was the first of 10 dates planned for the year.

Around 50 cars turned out for what turned out to be a very enjoyable couple of hours. A varied gathering of vehicles filled the parking lot. Among the attendees were a superb Packard Clipper, plenty of muscle cars, and a healthy gathering of pick-up trucks.

Drawing a lot of attention was Todd Vaillancourt’s 1987 Astro van ‘Van Former’. The radical Lamborghini-style doored machine drew plenty of visitors to admire its stunning airbrushed artwork applied by Jamie Chase at Explicit Airbrush of Southington (www.explicitairbrush.com). Todd and his wife were returning to home after showing the van at another show earlier in the day where it took the ‘Best Of Show’ award. Todd is an active member of the New England Van Council (www.newenglandvancouncil.com).

Cruisin’s Star Car

Cruisin’s Star Car is this red-hot 1934 Ford Coupe. A 350ci engine and a Turbo 350 transmission running to a Ford nine-inch rear end with 3:73 gears keeps the car moving right along.

Art, the proud owner, found the Ford three years ago while reading Hot Rod Hotline. He made the trip to South Carolina and saw basically a shell with great potential, which he had shipped back to Connecticut, where he’s been working on it ever since.

Art has always been a fan of flames, so they cover the hood and run down the side of the car thanks to Ray Langdeau and Chasse’s Auto Body Inc. in Wolcott (www.chassesautomall.com), who did the paint. Explicit Airbrush of Southington provided the artwork on the trunk in keeping with Art’s vision for the car.

Art drives the car all the time and doesn’t trailer it. The self-avowed "Car Guy," who has previously owned a 1953 Henry J and a ’33 Plymouth Coupe, plans to frequent as many car shows and have as much fun as he can with the Ford Coupe.