Monday, May 4, 2015

2015 Spring Redneck Rumble

Last fall, the Redneck Rumble Car Show at the Wilson County Fairgrounds had such a great turnout that promoter Both Barrel Productions decided to add a spring date for 2015.  The turnout might not have been quite as enormous as the fall event, but it was pretty substantial. The weather was nice, and they were dealing with lots of other events, including a traditional hot rod show at the Opryland Hotel. I kind of liked having fewer cars there better, because it was easier to get around and take pictures, and there was less of a chance that you would be run down by a bicycle, golf cart, go-kart, tractor, or motor scooter. The possibility was still there, but at least you had room to dive out of the way.

Over the years, coachbuilders have converted Cadillacs to limousines, hearses, flower cars, and ambulances for commercial applications. On rare occasion, those same companies would also turn out convertibles, station wagons, and even pickup trucks for individual buyers. These high-quality conversions were typically very expensive, so you don’t see many of them today. This ’70 deVille was made into an El Camino-style pickup. I saw it drive by, then made a point to go find it later. You don’t see many things like this, so I was really excited to give it the once-over.

Rat Rods are interesting, but when you see rows and rows of them like at this show, a finished custom like this ’39 Chevy coupe really stands out. The build quality on this one was exceptional, with seamless bodywork and deep grey paint. A peek through the hood revealed a 409 Chevy, and a peek through the chopped side windows revealed a ’59 Chevy dashboard, cut down ’55 Chevy steering wheel, and clean pleated leather. Spider rings and steelies with bullets looked right wrapped with bias-ply wide whites. Somebody really sweated the details on this one.

There were two bright red ’58 Plymouths sitting next to each other. One was a four door hardtop, but this nice two door hardtop reminded most people of the self-healing killer from the movie Christine. Of course, in the movie, Christine is referred to as a Fury, I guess because a car that goes around killing people should be named Fury. An actual ’58 Fury would have been Buckskin Beige with gold anodized trim. This was probably a Sportone Belvedere Sport Coupe, which shared some trim with the Fury. At any rate, movie or no, these were good looking cars, and it really exudes that ‘50s futuristic look.

This was an unexpectedly cool Model A Ford. It looked like a mild custom that you might have expected to see in the late 1940s. It’s still got its four-banger under the hoods, but it’s dressed up with a finned valley cover, and the exhaust filters through a cool header and straight pipe. I heard it drive through the lot, and it sounded like a million bucks. Other minor mods included fender removal, a nice buckskin pleated interior, racecar style steering wheel and swirled glass shift knob, and unusual Cragar accessory wheel spinners. This was a nice example of an early Model A Highboy.

Let’s finish things off with a couple of baby blue Chevys. This ’48 Fleetmaster was a poster child for nice post-War Chevrolets. The chrome wheel spats behind the hubcaps really drew me in. The owner was selling reproductions of these accessories in his swap meet booth. They were expensive, but they looked great on there. The Fleetmaster was the top of the Chevrolet line in these years. They were the Impala of their day. I loved the whip chord interior and wood-painted metal interior trim in this car. Really the whole thing was just nice.

Finally, here’s a ’60 Chevy Sport Coupe. The dashboard says “Impala,” and it has the chrome trim, but the lack of trim on the quarter panels has me wondering if this is an Impala or a Bel Air. Whatever it is, it’s a neat looking little car that has that early ‘60s custom vibe, with a simple pleated interior and a four-speed transmission. I could imagine building a model car just line this out of the AMT annual kit. It’s just a nice looking ride with a lot of curb appeal.

I took right at 600 pictures at the Spring Redneck Rumble, so if you don’t like the stuff I talked about, you’re bound to find something you do. See the slideshow below, or click this link for a nicer version.

4 comments:

  1. Thank you for the great pics and kind words about my 60 Chevy. It is an Impala, just dechromed a little bit. My favorite pic is the one from low angle from the back, showing off the long quarter panel and tail lites. I've always thought that was her "good side"! BTW, Bel Airs and Biscaynes only had 4 tail lites, while the Impalas had 6. I really enjoyed looking though all your pics of the Rumble and other shows. Great photography! Thanks again.

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  2. Super collection of pics....Thanks! Tom

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