Monday, March 23, 2015

Bailey Roddy Benefit Car Show packs 'em in at the Snow White Bar-B-Q

When I saw the announcement that there was going to be a car show at the Snow White Bar-B-Q Drive-In in Lebanon, Tenn., I was expecting ten guys sitting in cars eating lunch. When we got there, I was quite surprised to see an event so huge it required the police to be there to direct traffic. This was a benefit for Bailey Roddy, a 7th-grade girl who had brain surgery for arteriovenous malformation (AVM), a disease that affects the flow of blood from the heart to the brain. It’s nice to see such a big turnout of car people for such a worthy cause.

There were two ’59 Ford four door sedans at this show. One was a Fairlane, and the other was this top-o'-the line Galaxie. The colors here are a very pleasing combination of Colonial White over Geranium. I liked this old car because it was so original. The paint appeared to be the same stuff that was sprayed on in 1959. Even the interior looked very original and very nice. When this car was new, it was probably pretty expensive for a Ford. That meant something to somebody, because they went out of their way to take care of that investment.

This is the car I could probably see myself in the most. It’s an Olympic Gold ’69 Impala coupe, and not a particularly fancy one at that. Sometimes these simple cars are the best anyway. The old car appears to have been refreshed, if not all-out restored. It had new paint, seat inserts, and what appeared to be a later-model small block under the hood (maybe it was just dressed-up to look newer). It also had the correct factory air, some decent looking aftermarket wheels, and an aggressive stance. I’m in the minority, but since you see so many Camaros and Chevelles around from this era, I actually enjoy looking at these full-sized Chevys better.

This is a ’68 Shelby Mustang GT500 KR. Normally when you see one of these it’s impeccably restored and selling for $150,000 at an auction somewhere. This one is different. This car is not restored. It has old, bad paint and mismatched panels. For a blue-chip collectable like this, it still retains its character. It’s a rare and unusual presentation for a car that was known as the King of the Road. The funny thing is that I probably wouldn’t have given it a second look if it had been restored. There’s something about that road-worn look that really draws a crowd.

I thought this’69 Dodge Dart GTS was an attractive little package. It looked period-perfect with Ice Blue paint and vintage-style Cragar mags. Things were a little more serious under the hood with a 408-c.i. Stroker, which is a 360-c.i. plant reworked to produce 450+ horsepower. Everything here was just crisp, pressed, and neat. These old Darts aren’t particularly rare, so they make good candidates for upgrades like this. If you want that vintage muscle car look and feel with modern power, here it is.

You’ll find 263 pictures from the Bailey Roddy Benefit Car Show in the slideshow below. Or, as usual, you can click this link for a nicer version.

2 comments:

  1. Always great pics!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amazing car show!!!!Something for everyone....Looks like classic cars and hot rods are alive and well!!! Great photos.......thank you!! BD FINE65

    ReplyDelete