33rd-Annual Oktoberfest Classic Car Show at Wilson Bank & Trust ends the Mid-Tenn AACA 2021 car show season

The Mid-Tenn Region AACA finished off the 2021 car show season with the 33rd-Annual Wilson Bank & Trust Oktoberfest Antique Car Show on the Wilson Bank main campus. This is always one of the biggest car shows of the year in the Nashville area, and the car count and quality didn’t disappoint. With 553 vehicles entered, it was the largest turnout in the history of this show. Perfect weather and strong participation meant that there was something for everybody at this long-running event.

Check out this ’54 Nash Ambassador Custom four-door sedan. These were notable because the seat cushions could be folded down to make an actual twin-sized bed. The Nash “Twin-Sleeper” was great for camping and cross-country road trips. This beautiful example was displayed with the bed folded down so you could see how it worked. The body on these was designed by Pininfarina, the same Italian design house known for their work on Ferraris and other high-end machinery.

This was a very pretty 1957 Buick Century four-door hardtop. Finished off in Carlsbad Black, this rare Riviera really left an impression on the show field. When you saw a Century, you knew you were looking at an early Buick muscle car. These had the smaller body dimensions shared with the cheaper Buick Special line, but the big 364-c.i., 300-hp V8 as found in the larger Roadmaster. A two-door version may be more desirable, but this four-door hardtop design was undeniably beautiful.

Sticking with the same era, here’s a ’55 Pontiac Star Chief wearing the popular combination of Firegold and White Mist. This car was extremely original, including the majority of the paint and genuine leather interior. This would have had a 287-c.i. V8 good for a respectable 180-hp. Pontiac was in somewhat of a transition phase at this point. They were getting away from the stodgy look of the early-‘50s by entering this glitzy/luxury phase, which would transform into the muscle car era in the years to come. I loved the beautiful original condition of this car.

You don’t see many ’56 Packards at car shows anymore, particularly like this nice Executive two-door hardtop. I can’t find any records of a factory pink or lavender paint code for these, but the colors looked very period-correct on this car. The interior was fantastic, and featured a rich array of cloth and leather, along with a beautiful textured metal dash panel, and push-button transmission selector. The Executive was a sort of mid-level Packard trim package and had a 352-c.i. V8 under the hood. Many ’56 Packards also had the distinction of losing their taillights back in the day, because they were popular modifications on traditional custom cars.

This ’62 Corvette … I mean … my goodness! Never mind that the Fawn Beige paint and matching interior was far superior to what it looked like when new. This was one of only 246 cars equipped with heavy-duty brakes. It also has the rare and desirable fuel injection system. If you’re into straight-axle Corvettes, this is one of those cars that can overload your senses. Just look at those little hubcaps and black tires—you can clearly see that this car was built to take care of business.

Here’s something a little different than I normally write about, but it gives me a chance to talk about something I love. This is the Ford Fusion-bodied Pro Late Model that is driven by Dylan Fetcho out at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. Local racing at the Fairgrounds holds a special place in my heart. In fact, and I mean this sincerely, I can’t think of another thing I like to do in Nashville more than watching a night of short track racing out there. Fetcho was last year’s track champion, and it was fun to see his car in a more subdued environment. The last race weekend of the year is coming up at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway October 29, 30, and 31 with the All-American 400. It is the best stock car racing you can watch on any level, and you should make it a point to be there.

I took a crazy amount of pictures at the 33rd-Annual Oktoberfest Car Show—932 of them to be exact. Take a look at the cars I wrote about in more detail, or study the cars you like better. See all the pictures by clicking this link.