Lift it up, paint it red and give the dash a faux makeover, for starters.

In other words, leave it in the experienced hands of Rodney Reisdorph, who has a knack for changing up vintage cars with a little rockabilly love.

“At first I thought a 1962 Skylark was too new a model for me,” explained the Sioux Cityan and proud owner of a rust-colored 1953 Chevy 210 sedan. I needed a winter project and car restoration is relaxing for me.”

Reisdorph was one of the founding fathers of the Scene of the Crash Rockabilly/Psychobilly car show.

Now in its eighth year, it will be held Friday and Saturday at the Dakota/Thurston County Fairgrounds in South Sioux City, 1527 Stable Drive.

As well as featuring a host of mostly post-war cars, Scene of the Crash will also feature a mini bike ride, hot rod drags, food truck kids’ activities as well as a beauty pageant. Bettie Page style, curated by Rodney Reisdorph. his wife Kara, who is also Page’s look-alike, aka the “pin-up queen” of the 1950s.

“I knew Rodney loved cars when we were dating,” Kara Reisdorph said.

Indeed, the two Reisdorphs call their nearly 70-year-old Chevy sedan the couple’s “honeymoon car.”

“We drove from Sioux City to Las Vegas in Rodney’s rusty little sedan,” Kara Reisdorph recalls with a laugh. “I figured it must be love since I’m still married to a guy who rides cross-country in a car with no air conditioning.”

While Kara prefers to stay in the passenger seat of her husband’s cars, Hollie Fahrendholz can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the 1950 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe that she and Varian Green completely renovated.

“When you think of cars, you think it’s going to be a guy thing,” Fahrendholz said, standing in front of the cherry red car. “But when there’s a woman behind the wheel, you know she’s serious.”

Green can identify that it takes a certain personality to drive a car that’s seen more than a few anniversaries.

“I will drive a vintage car to work every day,” he explained. “People will see me driving on the Interstate, thinking I’ll be slow or something. Then I’ll pull over and pass them with no problem.”

Like Green and Reisdorph, Zach Ankrum is a Scene of the Crash veteran.

The Sioux City man is proud of his 1964 Chevy C-10 pickup truck. So is his favorite passenger.

“Kids love cars, trucks and anything that moves,” Ankrum said. “When my 3-year-old daughter, Rory, sees me pull into the driveway with my shiny green pickup, she smiles from ear to ear.”

Rory is even happier when she and her dad take a quick getaway.

“What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re in daddy’s truck?” Askrum asked.

“I like it when we burn down a parking lot,” Rory said without much hesitation.

“Now she’s a girl who will be interesting to watch growing up as a teenager,” Kara Reisdorph noted with a smile.

However, her husband was quick to point out that Scene of the Crash has a strong family element.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will go to the Midwest Welding Academy, which offers a free week-long welding course for teens.

Which is important for Reisdorph, who was the son of a gearhead and the father of a gearhead.

“That’s how a lot of us started out,” he explained. “We got into cars because we had family members who were always fixing something interesting in the garage.”

Standing in front of a vintage car show in the Sioux City Journal parking lot, Reisdorph said Scene of the Crash is different from other auto shows.

“Sometimes you’ll see guys with vintage cars that are so valuable they’re driven on special occasions,” he said, shaking his head. “Where is the fun in that? »

“At Scene of the Crash, our guys love driving their cars around and don’t care what looks are thrown at us,” Reisdorph added.

Um, please remember this is the same guy who owns a 1962 Buick Skylark dragster with a faux fur dash saying that.

“I love my dragster,” Reisdorph said. “It’s the perfect race for me.”