IOLA, Wis. – Fifty-three years ago, Chet Krause, the famous late founder of Old Cars Weekly and publisher of some of the finest volumes available regarding the hobby, offered a few friends a free Lion’s Club dinner if each agreed to drive a classic vehicle to a local park. Such was the humble beginning of the Iola Old Car Show, one of the leading old car shows in America, held every July on sprawling grounds in central Wisconsin. The show features over 2,500 vehicles and nearly 150,000 spectators split among several blue-ribbon, custom, and show-car areas, an indoor blue-ribbon area, thousands of swap spaces and hundreds of additional offerings in the car corral. Iola has a number of unique and special exhibits, including a fully equipped classic dealership showroom and a large hobbyist model car and train area converted from the previous Old Cars production floor.
The show has been host to miniature two-cycle kiddie mobiles to the enormous and rare 150-percent scale-designed 1931 Bugatti Royale Berline de Voyage and rat rod Class 8 tractor rigs; vehicle values can stretch in the tens of millions of dollars. The bread-and-butter of the show, however, is comprised of classic cars that were popular, and not so popular, in their eras. For 41 consecutive years, this author has been witness to the prominence of Ford products there and the enthusiasm on the part of its owners and fans. For 2024, this was no exception, as a 1969 Mustang Boss 429 was prominently promoted front and center as the official Muscle Car theme representative. Off to the side, a 1970 Plymouth Superbird – Chrysler’s answer to Ford’s dominant Talladega/Cyclone Spoiler II-fueled NASCAR season – sat behind the Mach 1 on the show poster. The first commercial FoMoCo product, a 1903 Model A Runabout, found room inside. The smallest Ford found was a ST 320 snow thrower. Ford was there to build a new breed of loyal fans.
A herd of Mustangs were spotted on the field, including a 1969 Mach 1, 1970 Boss 302, 1966 Shelby GT-350, 1967 and 1969 Shelby GT500, loaded 1966 Fastback K-Code, 1968 Shelby GT500KR, rare 429CJ and Drag Pack-equipped 1971 Mach 1, 1989 GT Convertible, 1978 2+2 with original white styled-steel wheels, row of SN195 and S550 GTs and Shelbys, 2004 Mach 1 with Shaker, 1977 Cobra II, and 1964-1/2 Hardtop with hang tags on the factory A/C controls.
Ford muscle abounded, such as a Ford-powered 1971 USAC champion Indycar Racer, 2005 GT and Ford-powered 1972 De Tomaso Pantera, 1970 Cyclone GT, 1915 T-bucket, 1963 Galaxie 500 Convertible with 427, chopped 1936 V8 De Luxe Tudor Sedan, tuned 1960 Starliner, tubbed 1978 Pinto Cruising Wagon, 1969 Torino GT SportsRoof, 2003 Mercury Marauder, and 1970 Torino GT Convertible.
Tough haulers were numerous: 1958 6-Passenger Villager, 1973 Ranchero, 1976 Bronco, 1983 Ranger, row of F-Series and Broncos led by a 1978 F-150 Ranger Styleside with Free Wheeling tape stripes, and a rare, original-interior 1963 Country Squire with factory optional XL buckets, console, and A/C.
On the central hill connecting the two major halves of the grounds, a first-generation Econoline was raised high above all other show vehicles like the unofficial King of Show, surrounded by several yard finds for auction. Other unusual Ford finds included a 1957 Convertible Cruiser Indy Pace Car with a 1957 F-250 Styleside, 1949 Cosmopolitan Six-Passenger Coupe, 1977 LTD Landau 2-Door Hardtop, rare surviving base 1960 Lincoln Coupe, 1954 Monterey Sun Valley, 1947 Eight Club Convertible, and 1939 Lincoln-Zephyr Sedan. Some hot and angry Fords – 1957 Fairlane 500 Skyliner and 1966 Thunderbird – even flipped their lids.
This year’s Iola Old Car Show will occur July 10-12, 2025.
FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS / COURTESY DAVE GLICKMAN
