MUSCLE ON WHEELS RODDERS REV ENGINES FOR TRAFFIC SAFETY.

Byline: BRENT HOPKINS

Staff Writer

GRANADA HILLS -- It's a rare day when hot rodders smile as the police eye their flashy rides.

But that was the case at the Valley Traffic Advisory Council's annual car show in Petit Park on Saturday. The Los Angeles Police Department-sponsored event drew grease monkeys and gear heads by the thousands, as they lined up their chopped Chevys and slick-lined Studebakers.

Not only did they hope for official scrutiny, they actively sought it out. Each tried to top the other with the loudest, fastest, most sparkly wheels, with more than 150 scrubbed-clean vehicles filling the park as rock 'n' roll reverberated.

"People see this and their heads snap around," said George Savin, a Northridge attorney who sat next to his wife Bonnie's candy-apple red '69 Ford Mustang Mach 1. "Even the Highway Patrol gives us the thumbs-up. It brings back a lot of memories."

Their son, Adam, spent two years and countless thousands of dollars transforming the beat-up daily driver into the pinnacle of Michigan-bred muscle. It was good enough to earn second place in an all-Chevy show and swiped plenty of eyes Saturday.

The VTAC, a police booster organization, began the show four years ago to promote traffic safety. In addition to the rows of shiny Lamborghinis and belly-dragging Impalas, police and fire personnel gave lectures and demonstrations on the importance of careful use of the car.

"It's a nice thing to see all these really cool cars and the community participation is outstanding," said Officer Mark Cronin, a motor cop with the LAPD's Valley Traffic Division. "But my job as a police officer, especially traffic-oriented, is to preach the traffic gospel. ... I don't want to have to write tickets to all these people."

Mel Stein, a Calabasas resident who does law-related marketing, needed no instruction on the need to be safe in his autovoiture. The '35 Auburn Boattailed Speedster -- canary yellow and curvier than a Bettie Page calendar -- took him years to find and he's intent on keeping it roaming the streets for a long time.

"When it was built, it was guaranteed to go over 100 miles per hour, which was a lot at the time," he said. "I saw one 30 years ago and thought it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. ... I looked all over the world for it, then I found one in Thousand Oaks. I was ready to go to Belgium to get one."

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) Bank Vimolsathein, left, Nicki Anderson, center, and Roni Hazim take a closer look under the hood of a car on display in the LAPD Valley Traffic Division's annual car show at Petit Park in Granada Hills on Saturday.

(2) Robert Harrington of Simi Valley and granddaughter Katie Randazzo look at a 1911 Model T Ford on display in Saturday's LAPD Valley Traffic Division's annual car show at Petit Park in Granada Hills.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer