Fairview Tractor Supply. Little cruise, pretty drive

Saturday night I decided to forego the bigger, closer cruises in the Nashville area to try out one I hadn’t been to yet. This was the Fairview Cruise in the Tractor Supply parking lot there. They had a few nice cars, but honestly, there were not very many there to look at. I don’t regret going, though, because I drove through some very nice scenery to get there from my home base in Old Hickory. Plus, you know I’m always game to see cars I’ve never looked at before. It was a bit of a drive, but I can think of worse things to do on a Saturday night.

The star of the show, without a doubt, was this ’61 Corvette. This car would stand out even among a huge group of cars. It ticked all the right boxes. Roman Red with Ermine White coves? Check. Four speed transmission and both tops? Check. Factory fuel injection? We’ll give it two checks for that. It was just as nice for real as it looks in the pictures. That means it was real nice. I would go as far as to say it was better than new. For many people, this is the quintessential ’61 Corvette.

Next to the Vette was this big old ’58 Mercury Monterey. This is a beauty and the beast scenario. The Corvette was not the beast. The Monterey was the second-fanciest Mercury you could get in 1958 behind the Montclair. These old Mercs had a bit of weirdness to them. Those big dual grille pods dominated the styling front and back. The dash was a series of disjointed pods and containers, sometimes covered in vinyl, chrome, or both. Even the steering wheel was odd, as it wasn’t exactly a circle, but sort of an egg-shaped curve unlike, well, any other steering wheel. All this strangeness makes these old Mercurys kind of endearing today, though. It’s sure different than anything they make now.

Here’s about a 1970 Chevy C-10. My lousy photography doesn’t do this one any justice—this was a nice rig. You could tell someone spent a lot of time and money on it. From the shiny black paint to the rich red leather buckets, this one would look right at home at any show. I can’t see someone hauling firewood in it, though. Even the billet grille and modern wheels seemed to work here. And you know me—I always fly toward black-over-red like a moth to a flame.

Finally, let’s look at this ’49 Ford. I used to be pretty much indifferent on these cars, but as time goes on, I’m starting to like them a lot more. And I’m not the only one, because these cars are very popular among custom car aficionados. This one had a nice ruby red paintjob, and the wide whitewalls and little hubcaps set it off nicely. Inside, things were done in crimson and black pleated velour, which is not exactly period material, but it’s undoubtedly more comfortable than Naugahyde. A modern driveline and air conditioning tells us this car is a cruiser.

All the cars from the Fairview Tractor Supply Cruise-In are in the slideshow below. Or, click this link for a nicer version.