Hot rod and bike show celebrates success of Wareham tattoo shop

Jul 30, 2011

Hot rods, fast bikes, and wrestling with Brutus Beefcake. Not the typical line-up for a five-year-old’s birthday party, but don’t expect tattoo shop Sinners & Saints to follow any trends.

While other businesses have been forced to shut their doors in recent years, the shop celebrated five years of success on Saturday, July 30  with the Fender Bender, a hot rod and bike show at the Band Shell in Onset.

“I thought it would be fun,” explained Sinners and Saints Tattoo owner Roger Chouinard. “All my friends and great cars. ... I wanted to show people this town should be visited, too.”

The Fender Bender brought out hundreds of car enthusiasts and more than 250 vehicles ranging from antique to ultra-modified and modern, said event organizer Nicole Miceli.

Chouinard brought several of his own cars, but he had stiff competition in the event’s "best in show" award.

Brockton resident Chet Kukosai’s 1981 Monte Carlo was a crowd favorite. Kukosai said rehabbing the car took about three years and $85,000. And although he regularly brings the hot rod to shows across the country, Kukosai said he’s still working on perfecting the car.

“They are never really done,” Kukosai noted.

David Gasse of Wareham's Total Auto Concepts  brought seven hot rods to the Fender Bender, including his everyday car - a 2007 Dodge Charger. The souped-up car was an attention-grabber with its fully equipped interior, complete with music system and three TV screens.

“It’s a family car,” Gasse said with a laugh. “It goes apple-picking and to the dump and then it goes to car shows on weekends.”

Gasse also brought along the self-built hot rod he calls “going to hell in a bucket.” The T pick-up is a kit car that originally topped out at 25 miles per hour. That was a little on the slow side for Gasse. He added a Corvette engine and now “going to hell in a bucket” reaches speeds of 150 miles per hour.

Gasse said the hot rod is appropriately named. It was shot 11 times by an unruly fan. Gasse patched up the car and now it's doing better than ever. The car has been awarded at car shows across the country.

People may have come for the cars, but they stayed to check out the event’s other festivities. In addition to hot rods and fast bikes, the family-friendly event featured a wrestling show with big names like Brutus Beefcake and Jimmy Snuka.

The entire event was sponsored a dozen local businesses.

Check out the photos below for a look at the hot rods, bikes, and wrestling!