Malba Field & Marine Club’s Ninth Annual Fall Classic Car Show, just minutes from midtown Manhattan, hosts 150 muscle cars, hot rods, customs and vintage and modern Corvettes.
Bob Valente's 50-year-old rod won the Commodore’s Award.
Unless you’ve spent a considerable amount of time in New York City, chances are you’ve never heard of Malba. And, if you have, you probably don’t have a clue exactly where it is or how to get there!
Located at the foot of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge and just 10 miles from midtown Manhattan, Malba is a unique, tightly knit family community of some 400 homes. A tranquil, green oasis with its own private security patrols, it borders Francis Lewis Park and a magnificent 17-acre (East River) waterfront. It was incorporated as part of New York City in 1908 and is in the borough of Queens.
Show had a huge turnout of vintage & modern Corvettes.
Once a year for the past 50-plus years, Malba’s tranquility is interrupted by children participating in an annual free “back to school” funfest named after its founder, Bill Maggio Sr.’s Hot Dog Party. Presented by the Field & Marine Club, staffed by tireless volunteers and sponsored by local individuals and businesses, it also includes a fantastic celebration of specialty automobiles.
Hank & Ronnie Sarno's '56 Nomad Resto-Mod won the Cadena Cup.
Mlaba’s Field & Marine Club has been around for 96 years and is listed in the American Yacht Clubs Register. Although its members continue to enjoy exchange privileges with hundreds of other yacht clubs worldwide, it’s now a land-locked social club that serves the local community. Many of its members own serious high-performance cars.
Pickup truck was engineered for short hauls only!
Almost ten years ago, Bill Giaccio, a Field & Marine Club board member, and his team (The Retro Garage), approached fellow car guy, Bill Maggio Jr. with a plan to enhance the annual kids’ event. Their vision was to expand the event to include a car show that would attract hot rods, muscle cars, customs, sports cars and classics from enthusiasts in Malba as well as surrounding neighborhoods and the Long Island suburbs. What started off as a small gathering of rods and customs in 2001 has blossomed into a major event, attracting more than 150 street and show cars. It’s the largest show of its kind in New York City.
There was no shortage of mild to wild Gen One Camaros.
This year’s show set a new record of 151 cars, with more than 130 eligible for judging. Trophies were given out in seven divisions, plus the “Cadena Cup” and “Commodore’s Award.” The “Cup” went to Hank & Ronnie Sarno, Dix Hills, NY, for their ‘56 Chevy Nomad Resto-Mod, and the “Award,” to Malba resident Bob Valente for his original, show-stopping, Rolls-Royce-influenced ’30 Ford hot rod that he has owned for more than 50 years. It was built in 1959 as a father-son project and back in the day, won major rod and custom shows and received extensive media coverage.
Ray Forkel Sr. owns this stunning Superformance Coupe.
It was the media that named Valente’s custom rod, “The Rolls Royce of Rods,” after it took the top award at the first Annual Madison Square Garden Car Show in New York City and the 1962 National Championship in Indianapolis. More recently it has received praise from legendary customizers, Darrel Starbird, Gene Winfield, and George Barris, at an auto show in Bloomington, IL celebrating the 80th anniversary of Route 66.
The kids went wild for this chopped & channeled Rat Rod!
Maintained by Bob Valente and his family, it was refreshed and upgraded in 2006 with the addition of front disc brakes, new automatic transmission and dashboard restoration. It retains its original tri-power 348 Super Turbo-Thrust big-block that came out of a wrecked, 1,600-mile ’58 Chevy in 1959!
Malba car guys just want to have fun!
The 10th Annual Malba Fall Classic Car Show returns on September 18, 2011.
To see more of photographer Ray Cruz’s coverage of the show, check out his albums at, http://cruz21105.zenfolio.com/p951852459
"That's right, the street is closed for a car show. You got a problem with that?"