Cars at the World of Wheels show included a 1940 Willys coupe “Dreamcicle,” in orange and cream colors.

The Providence Journal / Steve Szydlowski

BOSTON The Town Fair Tire World of Wheels is not a car show.

It’s an art show.

True, there were about 300 vehicles on display at the Bayside Expo Center last weekend, with about 260 in competition. But many had been worked on to such an extent they were faint echoes of their original selves.

Indeed, many were mind-boggling auto fantasies crafted with flawless professionalism.

They included Newstalgic, a neon orange cream 1941 Willys dressed up like a 1950s drag queen with a jacked-up front end and small front tires and a low rear with big tires. A braking parachute pack was attached to the rear fender and the trunk was adorned with a big stereo, tuner style.

Other exhibits included a junked-up, matte-black Jeep with an uncovered Jaguar engine, a single center seat, flared fenders and black tape crudely covering much of the roll bar body, a Kawasaki motorcycle decorated in Boston Red Sox logos and baseball motif seats and Jungle Jim, a restored Funny Car based on a 1975 Chevrolet Monza.

In addition, about 100 vendors lined the walls selling everything from collectible model cars to burritos. Salesmen pitched magical cleaning products, Pirelli calendar girl Samantha Baker and Pixie from LA Ink signed autographs, the Boston Derby Dames roller derbied, BMX bikers showed their stuff and everywhere there was the flash of chrome and bright lights and the sheen of exotic paint jobs in custom neon colors.

A life-size version of Tow Mater from the Pixar movie Cars held court for photo ops with children posed on his fender.

“It was an excellent show,” said chairman Dick Royer, who has been running the annual show for its entire 34 years. “And the good part is that the judges did an excellent job because we didn’t have any complaints, ‘Why didn’t I win this?’ or ‘Why didn’t I win that?’ ”

He said a flawless gold roadster based on an illustration by California hot rod artist Thom Taylor and built around a 1932 Ford with a 1944 nose won the Pilgrim Award, or Best of Show. The car had been a finalist for the Don Ridler Award at the 2007 Detroit Autorama, the most prestigious prize in the world of hot rods and street cars.

How do the judges differentiate between such perfection?

“The one with the least amount of problems wins,” said Royer, noting a deciding flaw could be as slight as a paint chip or a stitch in the upholstery. “Plus it’s gotta work, drive, run.”

Other vehicles included D’ranged, based on a 1983 Ford Ranger pickup, a green 1930 Ford pickup with salmon and cream flames, including on the underside of the fenders, a 1941 Willys silver and orange coupe, the Green Monster, a 1993 Chevrolet Caprice in green and black on 26-inch rims, a green and metallic gold 1948 Chevrolet pickup and a zenith gold and candy apple brandywine 1938 Chevrolet coupe.In addition to the numerous awards to the hot rods (pre-1948) and street machines (1949 and after), a 1942 International pickup truck with no hood or fenders and scuffed Porsche Red paint work won the award for the best Rat Rod, or vehicle dressed up Mad Max style to look like a marginal mixture of bits and pieces welded together.

Certainly, the limited number of rat rods were the focus of bemused attention. “It’s one of those rat things, isn’t it,” remarked one woman to her partner as they approached one low-slung model.

A lime green Lamborghini Gallardo hardly needed any work to attract attention, but Justin Jaillet of EastCoast Kustmrydz in Worcester said his company had added new wheels, stereo and full exhaust system.

Talking of Lamborghinis, in the Tuner corner, a white Lincoln Navigator had Lambo-style fold up front doors, suicide rear doors, snakeskin trim on the upholstery and wheel and a big stereo in the rear.

A 1983 Turquoise Toyota Corolla named El Pimpioso was trimmed with coffin-like padding on the interior, complete with a death head rising from the dash and electric purple jagged lines on the white internal paint work. The hood opened sideways, like a coffin.

A 2003 silver gray Honda Civic with red and black flashes also had Lambo front doors, and Israel Maleve said he plans to make the rear doors fold up as well. He said he has already spent $30,000 and five years on the car.

“What haven’t I done to it?” he asked rhetorically, before reeling off such additions as body kit, carbon fiber hood, reversed trunk, dual exhausts, new rear lights, massive stereo, five video screens and 20-inch rims.

At the same time, he said he has not done a lot to the engine. “It’s a show car, not a racer,” he said.

Wareham, Mass., based Factory Five was displaying a roadster, a coupe and its GTM Supercar in a dramatic blood red. The car, based on design elements from Ferrari, Ford GT40, Porsche and Saleen, is powered by a V8 that puts out 505 horsepower capable of 0-to-60 in about three seconds.

Also on display were copies of two of the most celebrated muscle cars of all time, an orange 1969 Dodge Charger with the Stars and Bars on the roof to resemble the General Lee 01 from the TV show The Dukes of Hazzard, and a black 1976 Pontiac TransAm with the gold eagle on the hood from the 1977 movie Smokey and the Bandit.

Meanwhile, dry ice smoke flowed from under Jeff Bornstein’s Monster Bike, which he said was created on the premise: “What would Eddie Munster [from the TV show The Munsters] be riding today as an adult?”

The bike was covered in Munster motifs, including a sissy bar of chromed chain links, bats lasered into the rotors and a small chrome organ on the side of the engine.

“I was always into cars, bikes and the TV show,” he said. “And I’m a huge Munster fan.”

pelsworth@projo.com