2014 Benedict Castle Concours - Part I

I made the trek out to Riverside for the 1st annual Benedict Castle Concours, presented by Crossroads Car Show. This show was solely to benefit Teen Challenge's Southern California chapter which is headquartered at Benedict Castle. The kids from Teen Challenge worked the show and were the best hosts - it was great fun to watch them check out the cars.The show brought out one of the most eclectic selection of rolling steel that I have ever seen at a show. There were kustoms, hot rods, muscle cars, classics, and vintage cars and trucks. I even spotted a car we showed last year in our Pebble Beach Coverage.This 1955  Ford is an eye-catcher; I just had to stop! The sleek scallops give the truck motion while sitting still.The dice theme ran throughout the truck... check out the knobs...and that shifter!A rare 1968 Toyota 2000 GT was out sunbathing on the lawn.This 1912 Clement Bayard is part of Peter Mullin's collection. Something you should add to your bucket list is making the trip up to the Mullin Museum - trust us, it's worth it.This is Mazda's first production car, the 1964 R360 Coupe. While standing next to this car, I was not sure I could fit in it, let alone the two people that it is supposed to hold. Today, taking this car on a LA freeway may get you eaten alive, as the top speed 55.92 MPH.Another car at the show from Peter Mullin's collection is this Panhard et Levassor Saloon Tourer.The black mass in the front is a radiator, which is focused on function more than form.Imagine driving a modern car where you have a dash like this - you had a visual of what your fluids were doing, rather than gauges.With the redo of the shaker hood on the modern Cuda, why not check out where it began with this Hemi Orange Cuda.A rare find at a car show is a Powell. The only one we have ever seen was at the Petersen's Truck Exhibition.These trucks were made in LA from 1954 to 1957 and used mainly 1941 Plymouth chassis, and only about 1,000 trucks were ever produced.Powell used sheet metal break presses to produce the truck rather then expensive dies to create the panels, which helped to keep the cost of the truck down and also gave it its distinctive look.One of the cool features on this truck are these long drawers that are built into the bed.Sara and I are huge fans of the 1960s Buicks, which features some of the most unique lines on any car ever built. So you know I had to get pics of this LeSabre. Owned by Richard Galves, he and I talked at length about his car.Let's start off with that this is a low mileage car, 5000 miles low.The subtle details of this car are what make it stand out, like shaved bumper bolts, a low stance and that flat black paint.After Richard purchased the car, he began to research the LeSabres and found that there are only about 250 of them registered in the U.S.The eyes in this skull are LEDs that act as a second turn signal - how cool is that?Super fins AND rocket taillights?  Two of our very faves!So... this isn't quite a car. Well, technically, it is some kind of a car - this is a 1947 bumper car. Bumper cars serve an important purpose, as they give us a rare opportunity to crash into another car on purpose, but so do crash-up derby cars!Lounging on the lawn was this classic shoebox, and a convertible at that. This immaculate 1957 Bel Air is knockout!Check out the nod to the drive-in, right down to the skates.This 1966 Thunderbird has all kind of cool features...check out the steering wheel. Wrong place?It moves over to let you get out easier!There's much more to see... come back later this week for part 2 from Benedict Castle!