Almost three decades on and the two mates, now in their early 40s and 50s respectively, are content Canberra's annual festival of high octane action has become a lot more family friendly.

Mr Polidano, a mechanic from Echuca, has been attending for the past 21 years. Mr Cannon, his former neighbour who now lives in Nowra, has been to all 28 events.

"It was definitely a lot wilder when it started," Mr Cannon said. "If you asked [nicely] almost any bird would lift her top; especially after the sun went down. I used to think, 'good luck to them'. There were sunburnt areolas everywhere."

Those days are long gone and Mr Polidano, whose 1959 Cadillac coupe took out top stocker in 2006, drove north after work on Tuesday night with his wife, Kylie, and their two children, Will, 10, and Emily, 8, in the car.

"Attitudes to that sort of stuff have changed," he said. "What was considered socially acceptable 20 years ago just isn't on today. Mind you, it can still get a little wild in here at night."

Mr Polidano is pleased petrol prices are at near record lows even though his 2.2 tonne classic is much better on fuel than it looks.

"Coming up the highway at a bit over 110km/h we averaged 14 litres per 100km," he said. "It's a four-day weekend with New Year thrown in and we just want to enjoy ourselves."

His wife, Kylie, agrees. "Normally it is a boys' trip with Mark bringing Will along," she said. "This is Emily's first Summernats and we are going to do all the Canberra things; the galleries and the museums, while we are here."

Cars have been a part of the family's life since long before the children arrived. Mrs Cannon enjoys riding in the big Caddie even though she doesn't drive it much herself.

"It is something different," she said. "It is left-hand drive, very big and Mark loves it."

Summernats also gives Mr Polidano a chance to catch up with an old flame. He sold his 1964 Pontiac Parisienne to Mr Cannon almost a decade ago to pay for the Cadillac.

Both agreed the matt black Pontiac, retrimmed just this year in red leather and now fitted with a fuel injected 5.7 litre General Motors V8 of recent manufacture, is a seriously nice motor vehicle.

"I like it because it is not like an arsehole," Mr Cannon said. "You know, everybody doesn't have one."

Mr Polidano has no regrets about the sale however. He loves his big finned 1959er and has kept it mechanically straight and original.

"Summernats is not just about modified cars; people who come here appreciate something that is original as well."

Veteran scrutineer, Les Binkhorst of the ACT Street Machine Association, led the team that checked the two cars on Wednesday morning.

"It is a safety check, not a rego check or like Bathurst," he said. "We are looking to make sure the batteries are secured, that there are throttle return springs and seatbelts. Most people have been here before and we rarely find problems."

To find out more visit http://www.summernats.com.au/

Thursday Summernats highlights