Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Mt. Juliet Chick-fil-A Fourth of July Cruise

2015 marked our second-annual tradition of bringing the old truck out on the Fourth of July to watch the Mt. Juliet fireworks show. It was also Saturday night, which meant the Chick-fil-A in Mt. Juliet was holding their weekly car cruise. The turnout was light, partly because people were celebrating the Fourth elsewhere, and partly because a massive thunder storm was moving in. There were still some nice cars before the sky opened up, so let’s take a look at some of the standouts.

Even as a Chevy guy, I have to admit that this Rangoon Red ’65 Mustang fastback had plenty of curb appeal. No, this isn’t your hairy-chested Shelby, or even a GT. But it did have a 289 V8, air conditioning, and chrome rally wheels. And it was restored just as nice and neat as you’d ever hope to see. When you look at a Mustang like this one, it’s easy to see why they were so enormously popular when new. That red interior is like swimming in sweet cherry syrup or something. Super pretty.

Here’s another Ford product from two years later. This Dark Moss Green’67 Ford Custom four door sedan isn’t the normal thing you would expect to see, but it had a cool factor that was hard to deny. The dual spotlights and utilitarian nature would indicate that it was some kind of former police or fire chief car. It had 428 emblems on the fenders, and the engine appeared to be built with today’s hot rod technology in mind. I guess you could look at that green paint and little hubcaps and call this a sleeper. But on the other hand, the old car looks so mean, I think you would expect it to be pretty potent.

Here’s a pretty nice old ’62 Chevy C-10 long bed. I love that it still has a black-painted bed floor and not some fancy stained mahogany and chrome setup. It still features a 235-c.i. “High-Torque” inline six that has been restored to greaseless perfection. 1962 still had the torsion bar front suspension, so they were a little different than the coil spring setup in my ’63. The ’62 probably rode better, although uneven tire wear was a bit of an issue. These are just good looking, good driving old trucks.

I like this little ’63 Chevy Nova here. Now, in 1963, I don’t think I would have cared for it. A six-cylinder Nova would have been sort of like a Chevy Sonic today. This was a small, economy-minded Chevy; definitely not the stuff of the performance crowd. But like a lot of things, time has helped this one. Now, it’s more of a cool little cruiser. The Offenhauser finned valve cover and dual carburetor setup is neat looking. Suddenly there’s a lot to like on this Ermine White Chevy II.

I took 68 pictures at the Mt. Juliet Chick-fil-A Fourth of July Cruise. You can check them out in the slideshow below, or click this link for a nicer version.

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