Car shows have been on our minds a lot lately. In fact, here at Eastwood car shows are always on our minds. As we plan this year’s Summer Classic show, I’ve been pouring back through last year’s pics and realizing how some cars just stand out from the crowd so much better than others. A lot of it is the vehicle itself, naturally, but sometimes a kick-ass display shines some flattering light on an otherwise unnoticed subject.

As a lifelong car enthusiast, I’ve been to more car shows than I could dare try to count. I’ve seen mirrors, smoke machines, lights, half-naked women, almost fully naked women (entirely unsanctioned by the organizers!), and just about every other visual trick known to man to draw attention to someone’s pride and joy. But what usually snares my curiosity is a well-curated selection of period-correct accessories. Because this kind of display isn’t just an attention-getter, it’s a storyteller.

I have quirky tastes, so the stuff I’m drawn to at a car show tends to be the unloved outliers. Maybe because I grew up with Ramblers and Mavericks in the driveway, I have a soft spot for the underdogs. I’ve learned that if you can’t possess any one superiority – whether performance, beauty, or otherwise – at least be memorable. I’m told this is also how comedians are made.

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite types of period-correct, age-appropriate (and 100% family-safe) accessories that can lure precious eyeballs to an otherwise unnoteworthy vehicle at a car show. You know, in case maybe if your gold ‘71 Maverick (sorry, Dad) isn’t exactly an attention magnet.

Steel Coolers

Whenever we took road trips in my youth, we had a cooler in the trunk. It was always a Coleman, and it usually weighed 200 pounds before we filled it with ice and glass-bottled Cokes. I may have hated lugging those things around then, but they possess an authentic visual appeal that can’t be matched by today’s blow-molded plastic chests.

Owing to their rugged construction, vintage Coleman Steel Belted coolers, as they’re officially known, can still be found in good condition today. There were several iterations over the years, as plastic components gradually replaced metal. I have one from the late ‘70s that will eventually match the paint on a vehicle I’m currently restoring. It should be the perfect finishing touch when perched on the open tailgate, alongside a proper picnic hamper.

Leather Luggage

Cars and luggage go hand in hand. Any time I see a set of old suitcases strapped to a luggage rack at a show, I have to investigate. I especially have a soft spot for matching leather hard cases, because old leather develops such a beautiful patina. Even better than standard baggage is custom-made trunks designed specifically to fit inside a car’s trunk or cockpit. Many European grand touring cars were fitted with this as an option, and it looks so cool strapped in behind the seats.

Of course, luggage doesn’t necessarily have to be made of leather to be interesting. Even lower-grade vintage suitcases add character to a show display. My favorites are the ones adorned with commemorative stickers from the places both car and driver have been together.

Tool Kits

There was a time when cars came with proper tool kits and spare parts, all of it wrapped up in a beautiful cloth or leather roll. Today you’re lucky to get a jack handle and wheel lock key in a vinyl pouch. Original equipment tool kits are valuable accessories for many old cars, some commanding hundreds if not thousands of dollars. And sometimes the tools are even more impressive than the vehicles they came in.

Roof Racks

We take roof racks for granted on modern vehicles, but they were often a pricey option or dealer add-on back in the day. As an accessory for a show car, a roof rack requires the right context, though. They look great on the roof of a classic station wagon. The same holds true for luggage racks on vintage sports cars.

One of my favorite local cars is a red ’58 Rambler Cross Country wagon with a full set of American Tourister hard-side luggage and a classic cooler on its roof rack. It looks like it just rolled in on Route 66. And it gets bonus points for its wicker picnic basket visible from through the tailgate.

Auxiliary Lights

Lights are always cool, especially when the factory didn’t put them there. But you can’t just pop a bank of modern LED light pods or even a pair of plastic-bodied halogen Hellas on an old car. They have to be the right lights for the era and the type of car.

There’s nothing like a set of yellow-lens Marschals on a classic European sports car. Or a rack full of KC HiLites flamethrowers on an American 4×4. Even a large chrome spotlight poking through the windshield pillar of a big sedan can raise eyebrows. Better still if they all work.

Louvers

Despite growing up with great catalogs like Sears and J.C. Whitney, none of my cars ever have had louvers. Even driving a slew of ‘80s hatchbacks, I never managed to own a set before they fell out of favor. But I can’t not check out a car with the ubiquitous black slats when I see one at a show.

Again, these are cool in the right context. They’re never out of place on a hatchback, whether it’s an ’85 IROC-Z or ’78 Celica. I keep a lookout for a yellow ’79 RX-7 like the one my wife drove in high school, and if I ever come across one with louvers, I might not be able to turn down the opportunity.

Archaic Audio

It’s always fun to see how far in-car entertainment has come. And while it means you have to poke your head inside some windows to spot it, old audio equipment is a fun conversation starter. Whether it’s 8-track tape players (not uncommon) or in-dash record players (very uncommon), we clearly like to drive with tunes.