Dream Cruise Snapshot: 'Rat Rods' Find Their Place

This story is part of a series of profiles leading up to the 2011 Woodward Dream Cruise on Aug. 20. Click here for related stories and photo galleries.

Names: Jack Gilray and Julie Parent

Residences: Gilray is from Clawson, Parent is from Royal Oak

Ages: Gilray is 60, Parent is 53

Vehicle: 1940 Ford F-100 — aka "rat rod"

How long you've had it? Three months

Why this car? Gilray loves the old stuff. He picked up this "rat rod" from a guy in Georgia. It will be the first time this truck has seen a Dream Cruise. (A "rat rod" is a custom car that imitates the early hot rods of the '40s.)

What’s special about Woodward and/or the Dream Cruise for you? "I've been coming to the Cruise since the first one," Gilray said. "I love what it does for Detroit. It's the largest show of its kind in the entire world."

Do you have a special vehicle you'd like us to profile or a special memory or story about the Woodward Dream Cruise? Email Judy.Davids@Patch.com.