Nashville Corvette Club hosts the Touch of Gold Car Show

Last Saturday I thought it would be fun to go on down to Brentwood, Tenn., for the Touch of Gold Car Show, which was held at the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home. I figured if I went to the other side of town, I might see some cars that normally don’t hang out in my neighborhood. Also, since this show is hosted by the Nashville Corvette Club, it seemed like a good place to take my old ’93 Corvette. As you might expect, there were a lot of Corvettes there. That’s not all there was, though. Probably half the entries were other kinds of cars, so there was a little something for everyone. I actually attended the Tough of Gold Show a few years ago at a different location, and then as now I was impressed with the quality of entries that make it to this event.

Nice start to the Tennessee Speed Sport Cruise

Tennessee Speed Sport is a cool, old-school speed shop in Goodlettsville that has been serving Nashville’s hot rod and racing community since the 1960s. It makes sense that they would start up a monthly cruise night, and so they have. The inaugural event was last Saturday night, and they had a pretty strong turnout for the first time. I even like their old sign, and my truck looks right at home next to it. The only thing I might change would be that they open up the store during the cruise. If you can get 100 hot-rodders in the parking lot of a speed shop, who knows—you might just sell them something. At any rate, let’s check out some of the stuff that was sitting outside that locked building. 

Humongous turnout for Nashville Cars 'n Coffee

I don’t get out to the Nashville Cars ‘n Coffee event often enough. It happens early on Saturday mornings. It’s almost an hour away from my house. I don’t have an exotic car to show off. But when I do drag my sorry butt out of bed, this event never disappoints. The movie theatre in Franklin, Tenn., fills up with thousands of cars. And while not all of them are really what we normally cover on this blog, there are so many different things that everyone gets to see what they like. And so, BHo and I set an alarm last weekend, and cruised on up there in my decidedly commonplace ’93 Corvette to hang out with the other half for a while.

8th-Annual Tennessee Motorama rolls through the Wilson County Fairgrounds

Just because winter is here doesn’t mean that the car hobby is dead. The Tennessee Motorama has been proving that for eight years now, drawing in a nice little display of cars and swap meet booths at the Wilson County Fairgrounds. This is an indoor event, so everyone stays warm and dry while they peruse the aisles looking for bargains and ideas to complete their own projects. This show hits a variety of automotive tangents. On one end of the spectrum you’ll find a crusty old truck dripping with patina, and on the other end you’ll see someone showing off their Tesla. There’s definitely something for everybody at this show.

62nd-Annual 2018 Red Boiling Springs Fall Meet features humid weather and hot cars

The Red Boiling Springs Fall Meet claims to be the oldest car show in the south. After 62 years, this seems like a pretty safe proclamation. Held at the picturesque Thomas House Hotel, this event draws in cars from everywhere. I’ve seen some of them, because I go to a lot of car shows. But there were many that I have never seen before. The humid, steamy weather didn’t keep too many people away from here. It was a great turnout for a very historic event. This one is organized by the Middle Tennessee Antique Car Club, which is a chapter of the AACA.

Nice start to the KSI Auto Show

The KSI Auto Show took place this weekend at Hendersonville High School. Kevin Stephens Interiors and a handful of sponsors came up with quite a bit of prize money for participants, and a portion of the proceeds were to go to the Hendersonville High School football team. There was great participation from the football team, and relatively decent participation from car owners. This was the first shot at this show, and it has potential. They could maybe offer more different classes, and tighten up the schedule a little bit. But the lot is actually very well suited for this, and the Hendersonville Cruise-In confirms that there are plenty of cars in the area. There were some pretty nice ones at this show to be sure.

Shopping for car stuff at the 2018 Stones River Swap Meet

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved going to the swap meet. I usually don’t even buy that much stuff, but I enjoy digging around looking for treasure. Last Sunday, the Stones River Swap Meet packed into the Tennessee State Fairgrounds beneath the shadow of the grandstands of the legendary Fairgrounds Speedway. Vendors brought in everything from car parts to wall art; model cars to project cars; worthless junk to priceless merchandise. The weather was a little cool and damp, but the line of people waiting at the ticket booth stretched to about a quarter mile. Turns out I’m not the only one that loves the swap meet.

Hot Rods on Beale Street, June 2017

Thanks to my job, Memphis is sort of my home away from home. So anytime the Hot Rods on Beale Street Cruise is happening during my time in the Bluff City, I always try to be there. The June installment followed the usual trend with this one. There were lots of great cars, there was lots of great music, and there was plenty of good food all along the historic entertainment district. Not everyone can get into this one, because with only a limited number of spots, you need to have a pass. It does control the crowd, but it also sort of stifles the variety of cars that can come from month-to-month. The cars are just a backdrop for the party, though. I can look at the same ones over and over again.

2016 Old Hickory Fellowship Car Show

I’ve lived in Old Hickory, Tenn., for more than two years, but I’ve never been to a car show that actually took place in Old Hickory. That all changed last Saturday when we took the truck over to the Old Hickory Fellowship Car Show. This was a nice little church fundraiser that attracted a quality group of cars and trucks in a grass field next to the Dairy Queen. It was a pretty low pressure event, and they gave out some door prizes along the way. Hanging out with car folks on a nice day and watching the traffic sail by isn’t a terrible way to spend and afternoon. Being able to check out some nice rides doesn’t hurt either.

The car show season is alive at Horsepower by the River 5

One of the best promoted car shows of the year took place last weekend in Carthage, Tenn., with the 5th installment of the Horsepower by the River Car Show and Swap Meet at the Smith County Ag Center. I swear, those little hero cards that promote this show start showing up the day after the thing is over, and I somehow accumulate 20 of them before the end of the season. The marketing mastermind behind this event is Shawn Cook, a regular participant at swap meets and car shows all over Nashville with his Music City Speed and Nostalgia tent. Shawn was able to break an attendance record this year, drawing in nearly 300 cars and trucks. And of course, when you get that many, you know there are going to be some nice ones. Let’s check out a few of the standouts.

Street Rod extravaganza at the 42nd-Annual Frog Follies

Here’s the basic recipe for building a typical modern street rod. Take a pre-1949 car. Under the hood you’ll have an aluminum radiator, electric fan, fuel-injected Chevy crate engine, Vintage Air compressor, modern master cylinder, and an Optima battery. This will all be sitting on a sub-frame with modern suspension components, power disc brakes, and a set of aluminum-finish American Racing Torque Thrust wheels or something similar. Inside, look for a modern seat recovered in tweed or leather, molded door panels, new gauges in a billet aluminum bezel, an aftermarket steering wheel, modern stereo, and an automatic transmission shifter coming out of the floor. Outside, expect to see shiny paint, less chrome, some kind of painted or air brushed graphics, Halogen headlights, and LED taillights. Why is this combination of components so popular? It’s the same reason there were 3,500 (!) of them at the 42nd-annual Frog Follies Car Show in Evansville, Indiana. They’re enjoyable, they’re reliable, and they allow you to ride in new-car-comfort with old-car-style.

Even non-car folks like the Fontanel Concert Cruise

As you know, we’re big fans of the Fontanel Mansion Concert Cruise around here. For the June edition, my wife actually encouraged some non-car people to meet us out there. None of them strolled into the car show area even for a minute, but that’s the beauty of the Fontanel. You can go out there and enjoy the lush scenery, eat a nice dinner, and enjoy some quality music. Now for me personally, the car show is still the main attraction. I like the scenery and all, but cars are where it’s at. So I ditched the company for a while and perused the show field. As usual, there were plenty of nice rides to keep my attention. Let’s take a look at a few.

Nice cars indeed at Art & Speed

I was watching the Memphis news Wednesday morning when I heard about a food truck event at the Memphis Botanic Garden, and they mentioned that there would be a car show. That sounded like a good reason to eat a grilled cheese sandwich out of a Step Van. The “car show” turned out to be a display put together by Art & Speed, a classic car gallery in Collierville. I’m glad I saw them there, because it prompted me to go visit their showroom the next day. This is a really nice place with a great selection of cars. I mean it—seriously impressive. Let’s take a look at some of the standouts.

Relaxing at the Fontanel Cruise

It was Thursday night in the summer time. That means it was time for the weekly car cruise in the prettiest location in Nashville. The Fontanel Mansion hosts this event, and they always do a nice job. As usual, there was live music, food to eat, and beautiful, tree-covered hills in the shadow of Barbara Mandrel’s old house and amphitheater. Cruise participation has been a little light lately, which seems strange to me considering the enjoyable location and nice weather. But the car owners and their families that did show up were all having a nice time.

Tuesday night at Tom's Cruise in Germantown

I’m spending more time in the Memphis area for work lately, so  last Tuesday night I checked out Tom’s Cruise in Germantown. As is the norm these days, it was an incredibly hot day, which may have had an impact on attendance. That being said, there was still a good number of nice cars at this cruise, and most of them stayed there for quite a while. High heat isn’t enough to keep real car folks at home. They just pack a few more bottles of water. Let’s take a look at some of the rides they packed that water in.

14th-Annual Muscle Car Mayhem Auction in Murfreesboro

There was a rumor last weekend that a bunch of nice old cars were going to be offered for sale at the Dealer’s Auto Auction. Naturally, we had to head to Murfreesboro to check it out. And guess what? The rumor was true. Saturday was the 14th-Annual Muscle Car Mayhem event, and about 100 muscle cars, specialty cars, and classics were sent across the block in search of new owners. There was a little rain, which could have been a bit of a downer. I actually enjoyed it, because there were less people standing around the cars that I had to dodge to get pictures. There was a pretty good selection here. Check these out.

Cruise season winds down at Coach's Eastgate Grille

Now I’m starting to feel a little sad. The first car cruise that I went to when I moved to Nashville was the first cruise of 2014 at Coach’s Eastgate Grille in Lebanon, Tenn. And now, it looks like one of the last cruises of the year that I’ll be going to is, you guessed it, the one at Coach’s Eastgate Grille. These guys started the season early, and are ending the season late. Plus, they do a good job with this event, offering door prizes and even lunch to participants. This is a pretty good way to end things. That’s especially true when you see what kind of cars they had on display.

Nashville Classic Collector Car Auction had the good stuff

The Nashville Fairgrounds was a busy place over the weekend. On one side of the parking lot, there was a stereo competition. But since the stock Delco in my wife’s 2007 Impala didn’t crank out enough base to put it in contention, we went to the other side of the lot and checked out all the great vintage cars at the Nashville Classic Collector Car Auction. There were a bunch of people in there with bidder numbers, as it should be. The guys from JMARK Classic Car Auctions, and auctioneer Phillip Traylor, were running a small but high-quality lineup of hot rods, muscle cars, and classics.

All's well at the Fontanel

Since I’ve been in Nashville, the Fontanel Cruise in Whites Creek, Tenn., is fast becoming my favorite car cruise in town. Thursday night was the third time I have attended this one, and I doubt it will be the last. There’s just something about the atmosphere out there that I really enjoy. The scenery is so beautiful. The live music is a nice touch. There’s good stuff to eat. And there seem to be more and different cars every time we go. I even took the HMC truck out there for the first time this week. Let’s take a look at some of the standouts.

Wrecked old cars and crashes

Most of the new cars I have been reviewing lately are so loaded with safety features, you wonder how anyone can crash them at all.  I mean, with lane departure warning systems, traction control, backup cameras, and crash mitigation braking systems, what excuse do you have for running into another car?  And yet, we still manage to do it.  They don’t keep running those traffic reports on the news for nothing.  This is nothing new, though.  Take the old cars in these pictures.  They were equipped with nasty biased-ply tires, fail-prone drum brakes, and lethargic manual steering.  These weren’t the pampered classics we see at car shows today.  People drove these cars, and sometimes, they wrecked them.