Old cars are the stars at Motorhead Festival this weekend

Friday, May 18, 2001 | 9:08 a.m.

Looking for a cherry 1940 Ford coupe with a blown Motor City flat head, Ford C4 automatic transmission, an eight-inch Ford rear and Heidt's front end?

You may find one at the annual Cars, Stars & Guitars Motorhead Festival this weekend at Sunset Park. But you probably won't be able to buy it.

"We don't encourage people to bring their rods to sell, even though some will probably have for-sale signs in their window," Mike Privette, the creator of the festival, said. "This is strictly an event for people who love their toys and want to show them off."

The event, which is free to the public, kicks off at 4 p.m. today with a gathering of vehicles at the Key Largo on East Flamingo Road, where motorists will be entertained by the Lively Ones, a surf band.

"We call it a 'cruise,' " Privette said. "But the cruise is actually people driving to the hotel. After they get there they can kick back, relax, have a beer and listen to the music till 9 (p.m.)."

The festival will be held Saturday and Sunday at Sunset Park.

Privette said he started the festival in 1996 "to promote pride and camaraderie in the custom-car community."

He said 350 people have registered their street rods and other vehicles for this year's event.

"There will be that many -- or double that -- who will drive their cars to the event but won't register," he said.

Spectators will be able to see street rods and old classics inside and outside the festival area.

Privette said he expects 10,000-20,000 people to visit the festival, where they will see hot rods, classics, trucks, motorcycles and even a few boats.

Privette said the festival allows owners to show off their expertise in customizing their vehicles and gives them a chance to network and develop new friendships.

"It's a family event," Privette said. "People can come to the park and sit under the trees and listen to live music and enjoy our chicken-wing contest."

But it isn't the wings people come to see -- it's the wheels.

There will be a massive congregation of raked -- with the rear end raised so that it's higher than the front end -- lowered, souped-up cars embossed with painted flames shooting across the front fenders.

Although he is a barber by trade, Privette said he has not been able to practice for several years.

"I work on the festival year-round," said Privette, who owns a '65 El Camino and an '84 Corvette, among other vehicles.

He said he began working on cars and entering shows as a hobby. "I got sucked into it by my older brother, who had a '56 Chevy."

That was more than 30 years ago.

"I've been melting down rear ends ever since," Privette said.

The roots of Cars, Stars & Guitars stretch all the way to Reno, Privette's hometown. He was involved with the Hot August Nights festival when it started there in 1986.

Hot August Nights will celebrate its 15th anniversary this year. More than 5,000 cars, all of them 1972-or-older models, are expected to register for the event, which will be held July 28-Aug. 5.

Privette said he moved to Las Vegas in 1993 and there was nothing quite like Hot August Nights here. "So we started one."

During his first three years in Las Vegas he occasionally held hot-rod gatherings at different businesses around town.

Hank Riedel, who supplies Cars, Stars & Guitars with T-shirts and caps, said he used to attend the gatherings.

"They were on Wednesday nights," he said. "They were very informal. If you had an old car, you could just show up and show it off."

Riedel, 51, is one of thousands of old-car enthusiasts in Southern Nevada. He owns a 1955 Chevrolet that he uses in drag races, and a customized 1967 Nova that he drives on the streets.

"It's more original than anything," he said. "It's kind of plain, mild with some modifications. It's a bright yellow, two-door hard top -- very rare and a great car to drive.

"The old cars don't run like the new ones. The new ones, with their computerized engines, get better mileage and run better and handle better, but there's nothing like driving an old car that's clean and looks good. You get lots of thumbs up that you don't get with a new car."