Thousands of custom and classic cars roll into Salina for Leadsled Spectacular

Thousands of custom and classic cars from around the country rolled into Salina this week for the 44th annual Kustom Kemps of America Leadsled Spectacular.

The weekend began at 7:30 p.m. Thursday with the Sundown Cruise down Santa Fe Avenue, where hundreds of spectators lined the streets and sidewalks to wave, cheer and encourage drivers to honk their horns or rev up their engines.

After a night of cruising, the show got underway at 9 a.m. Friday, with people roaming around Oakdale park for three days of show and shine, where cars, trucks, bicycles and more were on display for all to admire.

A first Leadsled for one central Kansas customizer

While he has been working on and showing his 1956 Chevy Nomad for years, Randy Williams, of Hutchinson, said this was his first time at the Leadsled.

"I've wanted to be here for several years, but the timing never worked until," Williams said.

He has been the owner of this Nomad for more than 50 years now, and remembers the day he got it.

"I actually bought this car in '71," Williams said. "A buddy and I went back east on vacation to see a guy in Ohio. We weren't that far from my buddy's brother in law, so we went on to Pennsylvania to see him and he had a '55 Nomad."

Williams immediately wanted his own Nomad and found one in the same Pennsylvania town for sale.

"I bought it and drove it back (to Kansas)," he said.

He said this customization is the second he's done on the Nomad.

"This (job) is nine years old now," Williams said. "I showed it the first time from about 1980 to 1991 and then just kind of lost interest."

That lost interest only lasted about a year, as he started this new customization in 1992, but took his time to get it right.

"I'd block (sand) on it some, shoot some more primer on it and then block it off (again)," he said.

While Williams worked on the exterior eventually, with a push from his wife, he got help from a friend for the interior.

"These are power seats here and then he built all the back out of wood," Williams said.

Included in the custom job for the station wagon is a covered and carpeted cargo floor that has a compartment for the battery, features that weren't stock on the car when he bought it more than 50 years ago.

More than a decade of coming to Leadsled for a Nebraska van

While some were are at the Salina show for the first time, others have been showing their cars for years, including Garry Boyer, who brought his six-wheel 1972 Dodge van.

Boyer said he's been coming to this show for around 15 years with this van, which he customized by taking what is considered a "maxivan," cutting out part of the middle, putting the two remaining pieces back together and then adding a third axle.

For Boyer, the Leadsled isn't just an opportunity to show off his van, but also a chance to catch up with other customizers and showers who also come to this show.

"It's almost a reunion, seeing some old friends," he said. "I love coming down to this show every year."

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Thousands of custom and classic cars roll into Salina for Leadsled Spectacular