Two Big Shows On The Same Day In Small Town USA
The Shepherd's Show & Shine and the Boy Scouts Show in Enid, Oklahoma
05/09/2024
The Shepherd's Show & Shine and the Boy Scouts Show in Enid, Oklahoma
Smack dab in the heartland of America, Enid, Oklahoma is an exceptionally friendly small town with a triad of great car shows that occur in three consecutive weekends. The fun starts with the Boy Scouts Show, which is always the last Saturday in March, then the Corvette Expo on the first weekend of April. For 2024, there is a newcomer to Enid’s car show scene: the Shepherds Show & Shine, which lands on the second Saturday in April.
This mild custom 1936 Ford pickup features a chromed grille shell and a stock flathead V-8. Photo: John Gilbert
Harold Clay, owner of Clay’s Collision Center and Harold’s Hot Rod Shop in Enid, called me at home in California and asked if I could offer our mutual friend Tom’s daughter some tips on how to put on a charity car show for her church (St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and School) for its first attempt. I’m in Enid several times a year, so I knew the Boy Scouts car show is traditionally held on the last Saturday in March followed by the Corvette Expo always on the first Saturday in April. I Googled to see if April 13th was okay to hold Shepherds 1st Annual Custom & Classic Car Show & Shine and it looked like the coast was clear.
Kim and Liz Price's stunning 1935 Ford cabriolet glowed at the Boy Scouts Show. The Ford is painted in a knockout Gold Metallic. Photo: John Gilbert
Famous last words. On January 28, 2024, I posted Shepherds Show & Shine flyer on Clay’s Collision Center’s Facebook page to help promote the new show. Immediately the proverbial poop hit the fan. Folks had misread the flyer and erroneously thought Clay’s Collision Center was the promoter of Shepherds show, so Clay’s phone started ringing off the hook with people asking for show information. Who knew Easter would fall on March 30, 2024? I couldn’t find it announced anywhere online that the Boy Scouts Show had moved their date from late March to April 13, 2024, one week after the 32nd Annual Corvette Expo came to Enid.
Sherwin Ratzlaff’s grandfather bought this 1962 Chevy C10. Sherwin restored the 283-powered C10 in 2010.Photo: John Gilbert
The wheels were motion and it appeared that neither party would back out, so consequently both car shows were set to take place on the same day. The early morning of April 13 started out a little stressful and then as the morning progressed plenty of cars, pickups and motorcycles started rolling into Shepherds 1st Annual Custom & Classic Car Show & Shine. A great success, the Shepherds show was an absolute nostalgic time warp. St. Paul’s church was built in 1926 and the beautiful old houses in the neighborhood circa 1927 set the mood. It was a good scene, the adjacent fenced schoolyard to the car show grounds was packed with children playing and dogs on leashes were everywhere… classic rock ’n roll music filled the air.
Harold Clay's 1960 Chrysler New Yorker was on display. The big Chrysler features a chopped roof and to the delight of anyone lucky enough to ride in it, ice-cold air courtesy of Vintage Air.Photo: John Gilbert
At 1:30pm Harold and I jumped into his chop-top ’60 Chrysler New Yorker and headed over to the Boy Scouts show that was hosted by the Enid Antique Auto Club at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center. Just like the Shepherds Show & Shine, admission for spectators at the Boy Scouts Show was free to all. Interestingly, the cars shown indoors at the Boy Scouts Show were mostly of a different style than the cars that rolled into Shepherds Show & Shine held outdoors, so the number of show cars was high at both locations. And Harold and I noticed a lot of the spectators we spotted at Shepherds were also present at the Boy Scouts Show, so apparently all that is well, ends well.
Forget Ford’s groundbreaking electric truck for a moment to consider this 2001 Ford SVT F-150 Lightning now offered on Hemmings Auctions. Instead of the dual permanent-magnet motors found in the current electric Lightning, the 1999-2004 SVT Lightning featured a supercharged version of Ford’s 5.4-liter “modular” OHC V8. Rated at 380 horsepower in the 2001-’04 models, it was good enough to make a stock lightning a formidable opponent on the street as well as at the strip.
A follow-up to the original 1993-’95 F-150 Lightning, which was a high-performance version of a standard F-150, the second-generation SVT super truck presented as a more thoroughly developed model with a lot more exclusive components that further differentiated it from the rest of the F-Series lineup. Beyond the engine, the entire suspension and braking system, not to mention aerodynamic body add-ons, were part of the Lightning package from 1999 through 2004. Exclusive interior components were also part of the package.At the heart of this SVT Lightning is its iron-block 5.4-liter SOHC, 16-valve V8 with a supercharger and an intercooler. The blower helped it deliver 380 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque in 2001, up some 20 horsepower and 10 lb-ft from the ’99 and 2000 models. The Eaton supercharged engine delivered peak boost of 8.0 psi and the engine featured an 8.4:1 static compression ratio, down from the standard 5.4 V8’s 9.0:1, which was rated at 260 horsepower and 350 lb-ft.
Power reached the rear 18-inch cast aluminum-alloy wheels via a four-speed automatic, an aluminum driveshaft and a beefy 9.75-inch, limited-slip rear axle with an acceleration-friendly 3.73:1 final-drive ratio, another upgrade for 2001. Car and Driver magazine reported a 0-60 mph time of 5.2 seconds and a quarter-mile in an E.T. of 13.8 seconds at 104 mph—impressive numbers for a 4,600-pound truck. Top speed was a drag-limited 142 mph.
Trucks generally require a suspension that can handle a full load in its bed while also providing competent driving while empty. But if you fancy one designed to a sports-car standard, then something has to give. In the case of the second-gen Lightning, Ford dropped its payload capacity to a mere 800 pounds. A standard 2001 F-150 Styleside carried a 3,180-pound payload rating, while an F-150 Flareside was rated at 2,005 pounds, some two-and-a-half times the Lightning, which featured the short-bed Flareside body. Towing capacity, likewise, was reduced from 8,800 pounds to 5,000 in the Lightning. But the Lightning’s strengths were never its payload or towing capacities, but it’s ability to perform like a sports car.
As a 21st century performance vehicle, however, the second-gen Lightning was also equipped to handle. A half-inch drop at the front was accompanied by SVT-specific coil springs and Bilstein shocks along with an exclusive 31-mm solid anti-roll bar. SVT’s influence continued at the rear with Lightning-specific five-leaf springs and a 23-mm solid anti-roll bar. The Bilstein setup at the rear included the right-rear shock staggered toward the front of the truck to reduce axle hop under heavy acceleration. The four-wheel antilock disc brakes were cribbed from the three-quarter-ton F-250, with 12.1-inch front rotors at the front and 13.1-inch discs at the rear.
As the years go on, fewer and fewer clean, unmolested low-mileage examples are out there, which is why this 2001 Ford SVT F150 Lightning now on Hemmings Auctions caught our attention. Showing just 5,525.5 miles on its odometer at the time of submission, it is said to be in “mint” condition and have an “immaculate” finish in the seller’s words. No modifications are noted to any part of the vehicle. The 18-inch factory alloys don’t appear to have any curb rash, though the Goodyear performance tires may be original. About the only deviations from stock are the tinted windows.
The latest electric-only F-150 Lightning is certainly a quick vehicle in its own right, but this 2001 edition from the engineers at SVT was built for excitement, not range. It was made with an old-school muscle-car vibe along with modern handling and braking. Which Lightning would you look good behind the wheel of?
Take a look at this second-gen Lightning on Hemmings Auctions before the bidding ends.
Spring is here. As the snow melts and the daffodils bloom, it’s time for many vintage cars to emerge from winter hibernation and get back on the road. Thinking of adding to the collection? We have 10 vehicles in spring-like shades of yellow – including cars and trucks, U.S. and European – to catch your eye.