Rain didn't ruin the Redneck Rumble

Twice a year, the Redneck Rumble rides into the Wilson County Fairgrounds in Lebanon. This year, the two-day event had to deal with not only rain, but several other big car shows in town. I entered my truck on Saturday, and even though attendance was obviously lighter than normal, there were still quite a few things to look at. I’ve been at this show in the rain before, and history has proven that rat rod and patina guys don’t mind a little wet weather. There’s also a swap meet at this show that typically offers up some interesting automotive treasures. This isn’t your usual ’69 Camaro resto-mod-style show. It’s different, which is part of what makes it interesting.

Take a look at this ’58 Pontiac hearse, for example. Pontiac sent this Super Chief chassis to Superior Coach in Lima, Ohio, to have this body conversion done. Superior was one of the biggest producers of professional cars, responsible for thousands of trucks, busses, ambulances, and limousines. There were various mergers and acquisitions over the years, but they’re still in business today. This Pontiac probably had a 290-hp, 347-c.i. V8, which it needed to lug itself around. Obviously someone sprayed the body over with primer along the way, but overall it’s pretty straight, and the interior looks original. It even has an old-timey casket in there. I’m not even going to ask where it came from.

Here’s a really sharp little ’65 Chevrolet C-10 step side pickup. These trucks seem to be getting more popular all the time, and when they look like this you can see why. This one was treated to a very nice restoration, and the Turquoise paint is probably better than it came out of the factory. There are no frills here—just the white painted bumpers and hubcaps. It even has the oft-missing filler panels behind the rear bumper. There isn’t a radio, but there is an antenna, so that would be an easy addition if you wanted it. The material and pattern of the seat are probably the biggest deviation from stock, but it still fits in to the overall look.

This 1980 Jeep J-10 Sportside pickup is a rarity at these kinds of shows. I’m pretty sure I saw this truck earlier in the year at the Tennessee Motorama before they added the fancy yellow ‘n orange Honcho striping. I say that because I can’t believe there’d be another one quite like it. Honcho means “boss,” and Jeep had a lot of confidence to plaster that on the side of their crude-but-rugged trucks. J-10 meant this was a short bed, or 119-in wheelbase truck. The J-10 was the pickup version of the two-door Cherokee. I think it's appealing now because it looks just like a Tonka truck that you can actually drive. Who doesn’t love life-sized toys?

If you stand next to this car for ten minutes, you’ll probably hear the word “Nomad” 20 times. Everyone seems to think that all two-door ’55 Chevy wagons are Nomads. That’s not the case. Nomads were all Bel Airs, and the back of the top leaned in like a show car. This is a Two-Ten two-door station wagon. It wasn’t as glitzy as a Nomad, but it was certainly more useful. This one was obviously hot-rodded up a bit with the big wheels and brakes, lower stance, and whatever else is going on under there. The colors on this would have been Regal Turquoise and Indian Ivory. It has the patina look, although some of that may have been manufactured. It also had some very colorful pinstriping and matching travel trailers. The whole setup looked like a fun way to enjoy the Rumble.

Even with the bad weather and lighter-than-usual turnout, I was still able to grab 283 pictures during this installment of the Redneck Rumble. Check them all out by clicking this link.