Highlights from the 39th-Annual Hunter's Custom Auto Show

The 39th-Annual Hunter’s Custom Auto Show at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds marks the last big car show in the area before the calendar flips over to spring. 2015’s event featured four buildings worth of customs, muscle cars, and classics to suit the tastes of any car aficionado. And even though the festivities took place indoors, the weather was still nice outside. It was a great weekend for both participants and spectators alike. Let’s take a look at some of the standouts.

I really liked this Daphne Blue ’58 Cadillac coupe. This was sort of a “base” model in 1958, but it sure doesn’t look that way today. The best part about this one was how original it is. The paint and interior and everything is very old, if not factory applied. I also love those Cadillac genuine wire wheels. I’m not sure that they were still available in 1958, but these have been in place on this car for a very long time, and the look fantastic. This is just a really nice car presented just the way you want to see them.

I also couldn’t keep my eyes off of this ’69 Camaro SS. You see lots of ’69 Camaros all the time, and even though they’re neat cars, they don’t always stand out from one another. This one was the exception. There’s something about that Garnet Red paint paired up with the painted steel wheels and redline tires that just worked on this car. That 375-hp 396 big block and four speed transmission didn’t hurt either. I honestly can’t remember the last time a first-generation Camaro struck me as much as this one.

This was my wife’s favorite car. She’s a big fan of ’56 T-Birds because she likes that factory continental kit. This was a ’55, which didn’t originally come with a tire on the back. Along the way, someone added an aftermarket extended bumper to hold the spare, so it now meet’s with my wife’s approval. She’s also a Nebraska Huskers fan, so the Torch Red and Snowshoe White paint scheme was acceptable. I told her all it needed was a red stripe down the roof and it would look like it was wearing a Nebraska football helmet. This looked like a nice, well cared-for old car.

This sharp looking Model T hot rod is a recreation of the “Grass Hopper,” which was a pretty famous car back in the day. The original version appeared in various magazines, including the cover of Hot Rod in October of 1959. It was also made into a Monogram model kit. This car looks exactly, and I mean ex-act-ly, like the one pictured on that old Hot Rod Magazine. The workmanship, paint, upholstery, and pretty much everything is top-notch. The vintage hot rods are the best as far as I’m concerned, and it’s great to see one done exactly like they used to do them.

This ’63 Impala SS was one of the best I’ve ever seen. It was Ember Red over Red with a 409 and a four-speed. The only thing you could ever wont for was air conditioning. It even had a padded dashboard cover. The yellowing white walls indicate that this car doesn’t get a lot of hard use. I don’t blame the owners, though. This car is so ridiculously nice that I’d be afraid to drive it. If you set back a new Impala LTZ for 50 years, will it seem as awesome as this car looks now? I doubt they thought this one would in 1963.

This ’59 Thunderbird is somewhat of a national celebrity. Of course, we’re in the center of country music, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that this car appeared in the music video for Blake Shelton’s song Old Red. In the song, the warden uses it to check on prisoners. It was filmed at the Tennessee State prison. Finished off in Raven Black, this was a nice driver-quality car that looked like it would be fun to take to the cruise. There’s a big difference between this and that ’55 Thunderbird featured earlier in this article, but I like these Square Birds just as much.

And you’ll probably find something you like by checking out the slideshow below. There are 286 pictures down there from the 2015 Hunter’s Custom Car Show. You can also click this link for a nicer version.