It has been a tough summer so far for car shows. Of course, it has been a tough summer for pretty much everything thanks to the big pandemic. Many events won’t happen at all this year, but the 6th-Annual Spring Redneck Rumble did finally take place, albeit a few weeks late. The turnout was a little lighter than what I’ve noticed in the past. I was actually OK with that, because it meant that people could stay away from each other and not pass along their cooties, and also there were fewer damn golf carts and scooters out there trying to run people over. It turned out to be a nice day—almost perfect conditions to enjoy this eclectic car show and swap meet.
Here’s something you don’t see every day. It’s a 1960 Rambler Country Club Custom. They built less than 4,000 of these, and if this isn’t the nicest one in the world, I’d be surprised. The old car was largely original, and sat on some weather-checked BF Goodrich Silvertown whitewalls. 196-cubes of inline ferocity cranked out 127-hp. That’s not huge, but you can just look at this car and see that massive performance wasn’t the goal. This was an upscale version of the thrifty family car. Classic Black paint gave it that extra bump in class.
I don’t know a lot about the history on this Model T coupe, but it really stood out as a period-correct ‘50s hot rod. The diamond-tufted white Naugahyde on the firewall, inner-fenders, and interior was the perfect contrast to the metallic blue paint. The Mooneyes steel wheelcovers, finned valve covers, and three carburetors all fit the style. Early ‘50s Pontiac taillights flanked a Frenched-in 1957 Tennessee license plate. The deck lid looks like it was enhanced with the hood peak of a ’62 Chevy truck, and the center-mounted speedometer was out of a late-‘50s Chevy truck. The whole thing was simple but effective. Whoever built this really understood the nuances of a true ‘50s rod.
If I had to pick one car as my favorite, I would have to choose this ’66 Corvette coupe. I mean, of course this is the choice; it’s so obvious. Tuxedo Black on the outside, black on the inside, no air conditioning because this car ain’t for pansies. 425-h.p., 427-c.i. big block under the hood dome. Gold line tires, aluminum wheels, four-speed, wood steering wheel, and side-pipes—glory be! It was heading to the indoor display when I took this, because it was too freakin’ nice to be outside with the common riff-raff. It would be pretty nice to see something like this parked in the garage.
Here’s a good looking ’49 Ford station wagon. Of course, these started out as relatively mundane family wagons when they were new. Once they were worn out and cheap, they worked their way down to inexpensive transportation for young people on a budget. Naturally, that made them popular with the California surfer crowd. Eventually, that lifestyle was glamorized in pop culture and music. And here we are in 2020 looking fondly at a California surfing-themed woody wagon at a rat rod gathering in Tennessee. This car was a nice one. Mostly stock, with a little altitude adjustment and some minor changes to go along with the theme (of course it had a barefoot gas pedal). Hang Ten!
This was a really slick ’39 Chevrolet pickup. Even though this was a car show, this was sitting there with the tinted windows rolled up and the hood closed, so we can only go by what you can see here. For one thing, the black paint was ridiculously nice. I don’t think GM even knew how to make paint this deep in 1939. Put that together with the red wheels, whitewalls, and chrome trim, and you’re looking at one stunning truck. It wasn’t strictly stock, because there was a modern, molded seat hiding behind the tinted glass. Overall, it was easy to see that a lot of love went into making this thing this stunning.
Even though attendance was down, I still took 571 pictures at the 2020 Spring Redneck Rumble.
You can see them all by clicking this link.
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