Hot rod innovator Ed Almquist is pictured with a Ford V8 engine equipped with Almquist power-boosting cylinder heads, tuned exhaust headers, and a two-carborator manifold he designed in 1950. Many Almquist parts are still used for hot rods today. (Almquist family photographs) Every June, car legends and car buffs from across the nation swarm into town for Antiques on the Bay and the St. Ignace Car Show. Ask Ed Almquist of Milford, Pennsylvania, one of the first hot rod legends on the East Coast after World War II, why he thinks St. Ignace draws so many cars and car lovers.

“The fact that the town rolls out the welcome mat in terms of two miles of automobiles in the middle of the street is pretty unique,” he said of the big show at the end of the month, and for Antiques on the Bay this weekend, he credits the cavalcade of automobiles that parade across the Mackinac Bridge. Antiques on the Bay features original and restored antique cars and trucks on display at the St. Ignace Marina.

Hot rod legend Ed Almquist, who began attending Antiques on the Bay and the St. Ignace Car Show 15 years ago, wrote the first hod rod manual in 1946. He invented a spectrum of hot rod parts during his career, including the Hurst floor shifter in 1958. He was named the Car Show Guest of Honor in 2003 and said he looks forward to the shows in St. Ignace this week and next. Kicking off the show festivities this week, the string of antique cars will depart from the Mackinaw City Welcome Center Friday, June 18, at 4:30 p.m. Cars will be displayed at the marina Saturday, June 19, with awards handed out that afternoon.

Mr. Almquist, who's been traveling to St. Ignace for the festivities since Antiques on the Bay made its debut 15 years ago, said he first met show organizer Ed Reavie in 1953 when he called him to purchase some hot rod equipment. The two have been close friends ever since, and Mr. Almquist was named the guest of honor at the St. Ignace Car Show in 2003.

Tracing his love of hot rods to his childhood in Minnesota when he used to race cars with his friends, Mr. Almquist said that, like many “motorheads,” he's always lived and breathed cars. During his time in the U.S. Marines as an engineering officer in Brooklyn, New York, however, what began as a hobby became a profession when he published in 1946 what's now recognized as the first comprehensive hot rod manual in the country.

“I sold well over 2,000 of them,” he said of the book, which came out two years before Hot Rod Magazine. “I got so many inquiries and responses from readers that it got me into manufacturing speed equipment.”

Lighting the fuse for his career as a manufacturer of hot rod parts, Mr. Almquist soon became the first hot rod builder on the East Coast, with most of the other businesses in the industry located in California.

Leaving the military, he moved to Milford, Pennsylvania, where he launched his own auto shop called Almquist Engineering. That's when his career was elevated to a whole new level, he said, as he engineered one of the first dual manifold engines for hot rods in 1948.

“That was my first product,” he said, “and it grew like Topsy. By 1950 I had a full line of speed equipment for Ford and Mercury cars.”

The primary go-to guy for speed equipment on the East Coast, Mr. Almquist said he helped establish a network of speed shops in the region, selling his parts to retail dealerships. Twelve of his parts received patents over the years, he said.

As word of Mr. Almquist's speed equipment proliferated, his business continued to expand. Roughly 40 employees worked at his shop in 1950, and by 1965 he had more than 200 employees. The growth during the time was a reflection of hot rods becoming widely known in popular culture, he said, pointing out that there are now 35 to 40 hot rod magazines in news stands today.

“I experienced continued and rapid growth, just as many of the competitors in California did. We all pretty much started bootstrap operations and backyard enterprises that grew with the hobby. The hobby came first,” he said, “and then it fed into the industry.”

His next big innovation came in 1958, when he helped design the first Hurst floor shifter, which has since evolved into a complete line of shifters sold today.

Now 81 years old, Mr. Almquist has been retired for a decade, but he said he will never stop working on cars in some capacity. He likens his life story to Horatio Alger: What started as a hobby in his youth ended up leading him to a career full of landmark achievements.

“Once the bug bites you, it's like a wood tick,” he said. “This is the sort of a thing that's born with you. Many of us, when we started, had no money, and so we improvised, and that improvisation turned into innovation, and from there it becomes creative products. Many of us enjoyed both success as well as prosperity.”

Proving his entrepreneurial spirit is still lively, in 2000 Mr. Almquist published “Hot Rod Pioneers,” a book that chronicles the careers of more than 200 hot rod legends from the end of World War II to present day. He said that his peers and competitors in southern California convinced him to write the book.

“Now that I've got out of their hair, so to speak, they encouraged me to write it. It's fascinating to see how many individuals, including myself, started with practically nothing, and this industry became our careers and many of us became extremely successful.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Almquist is ready for his trip to St. Ignace, where he will be attending both of the weekend shows.

“It’s one of the most interesting shows in existence, and the fact that it's been successful for so many years speaks for itself,” he said. “It's so unique to have that location, and a lot of visitors bring their wives and make it a holiday, and that spirit, I think, is overriding, and everybody feels it.”

Antiques on the Bay Agenda

Autos participating in Antiques on the Bay will be departing from the Mackinaw City Welcome Center Friday, June 18, at 4:30 p.m. for a parade across the Mackinac Bridge and into St. Ignace. The cars will travel around the Mackinac Straits long-term care facility in St. Ignace and proceed through town, stopping at Harbor Point motel. A reception will be held for them at St. Ignace Marina from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m..

Saturday's show will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., centered at the St. Ignace Marina and surrounding area. It is free of charge and will feature restored antique vehicles, including a special display of American Motors cars and trucks.

The dinner and awards ceremony for the show will take place at St. Ignace Middle School at 6 p.m. Twenty awards will be given away, including an evening at Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island for the “Best of Show” winner. Guest speakers at the ceremony will include Bob Stevens, editor of Cars & Parts Magazine, and car historian Bob Tagatz from Grand Hotel.

Antiques on the Bay, St. Ignace Car Show Schedules

•Friday, June 18, and Saturday, June 19

Antiques on the Bay Featuring all original vehicles from 1985 and older

Cars on display Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

at St. Ignace Marina.

American Motors vehicles are featured this year.

Admission is free.

•Thursday, June 24, through Saturday, June 26

St. Ignace Car Show Kewadin Casino Cruise Night is Thursday, June 24, at 7 p.m.

Down Memory Lane Parade is Friday, June 25,

at 7 p.m. on State Street. Cars on display all day Saturday, June 26, downtown.

Admission is free.