Old North State Invitational 2017 – Traditional Rods and Customs Highlight
Invite-only shows like the Old North State Invitational seem to be gaining popularity these days. We think they’re great in the sense it allows like-minded people to get together while the cars assembled share a common theme and personality, not to mention it allows the public to have a better understanding of what a certain era should feel like. The Old North State Invitational, hosted by Centennial Trading Company and The Official Second & Green Tavern, features traditional early hot rods, customs, and bikes in downtown Winston Salem, NC.
Our day at the Old State Invitational started off early with a breakfast, everyone meeting and getting to know what kind of car-crazy people they would be hanging out with all day and into the evening. Local hot rodder Matt Hurley was our morning host and in charge of the pre-show cruise around Winston Salem. He knew all the cool photogenic spots such as an old 30s Shell service station built by Quality Oil Company. One local walked up while we were stopped and reminisced about .35 cent fuel there. Tim Payne’s’ 34 Ford pickup looked right at home parked in front of the old filling station. Moon discs, wide whites and the multi-carb 327 make it hard to imagine this truck in its 1 ½ ton original condition!
Our next stop was in historic Old Salem with structures dating back to the mid 1700s. Fall has just started in this area and falling leaves with historic structures made for some great photo opportunities. Matt’s ’30 model A is known as the “Coal Bin Roadster,” due to the fact that at one time it was used just for that. Along our path back to the show were several old buildings with well-weathered signs such as AC/Delco and Champion, which made for plenty more photo opportunities.
The Old State Invitational is not a huge venue but to us, it made it feel more like a family party or get together. The Centennial Trading Company had their clothing showroom open, not to mention some very comfy furniture to lounge around in while trading stories with the other show attendees. Chris Hedrick of Grace and Company had his killer Model A coupe parked in there as well.
All day we were surrounded by killer cars and some very cool people. Later that evening was the after party, hosted by Matt Hurley. We left the show as a group, taking over the route as we went. Most adjoining traffic stopped to let us continue on together to Matt’s barn on his property, which provided the perfect place to end the day.
It’s really hard to beat a full day of hot rodding, road-tripping and fellowship. It doesn’t get much better than the Old State Invitational.
