JOLIET – No one had to worry about not touching the cars on display at Saturday’s Greasers and Gamblers Hot Rod and Custom Car Show at the Hollywood Casino. This was not your ordinary cruise night-type event, and the cars and trucks there not your usual dandies.

Vehicles allowed were 1972 and older customs and 1964 and older hot rods and trucks built in the spirit of the traditional era of hot rods and customs.

Some were modified to run faster, some shot flames out of their tailpipes, many had smooth matte finishes and others had sparkle finishes and creative detailing.

“Voodoo Larry” Grobe, of Elk Grove, brought his 1965 Cadillac to show with his wife Collette Marie and their buddies from the Voodoo Kings car club.

“I saved it from the crusher,” Grobe said of the Cadillac. “It sat for 28 years in a downtown Chicago garage. It had 40,000 miles on it. We were the second owners.”

After rescuing the car, Grobe shaved the door handles, lowered the skirt and finished it with candy-colored, midnight blue and black metal flake with intricate detailing.

Collette pointed out the black interior, which was in mint condition when they acquired the car. A white shag dashboard cover, dummy spotlights and a metal Voodoo Kings sign, and it was ready to go. The Grobes enjoy showing the car. They’re not afraid to get it out of the garage, either, and drive it around town.

“It’s an everyday cruiser,” Collette said. “We drive it every day.”

Jeremy and Shannon Kisting, of Platteville, Wisconsin, brought their three children to the show, all dressed up for the Lil’ Miss Hollywood and Lil’ Mr. Hollywood contests. Jeremy said he’s enjoyed working on cars since he was a kid, tooling with his grandfather.

He brought his ’54 Chevy – a modified stock frame that he bought rusty and customized with a Mustang II front suspension, a step notch and a full air ride. The body is bare metal clear coat, which the kids helped sand. He handmade the visor from a basketball hoop in their yard.

“I didn’t like the look of the visors that were made for it,” Jeremy said with a laugh.

Shannon brought her ’63 Chevy II wagon.

“I always wanted a wagon,” she said. “It’s something we can all fit in.”

This is the first time for the show that Bernie and Marcia Myers, of Morris, organized. They said they did so at the request of the casino, after some of its staff attended last year’s Jalopy Fest at the Grundy County Speedway, which the Myers also organize.

The profits from the two shows are donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

“It’s going really, really well,” Marcia said a few hours into the show. “I’m blown away by the number of people for a first car show, and it’s still early. People are still coming in.”

The show also had rockabilly bands, a pin-up girl contest and a late-evening flame-throwing display.

Pin-up girls dressed to the T in 50’s attire were all over the lot. One of them was Angela Baily of Chicago. Baily said dressing as a pin-up girl was fun and almost a feminist thing today.

“It’s taking an idea from the ‘50’s and making it punk as hell,” she said. “Now women are doing it to empower themselves.”

A special celebrity guest was custom car legend Bo Huff, who chatted with aficionados and answered questions about customizing.

“He’s the best-known customizer in the world,” Highland Park collector Joe Bortz said of Huff. “When it comes to custom cars, it’s sculpture, and he’s the best sculptor.”

Huff, from Utah, said he learned the art of customizing by hanging around those who knew it.

This year’s Jalopy Fest will be held Sept. 11 and 12 at the Grundy County Fairgrounds in Morris.