Rat Rod: Revisited

On my cross-country journey to bring home a silver 2006 Mustang GT back in August 2009 I happened upon a slammed rat rod traveling down the highway in Tennessee. In fact, it was so wild I snapped a photo for the blog.

Fast forward two years to just last weekend when I was checking out the "Carolina Classics at the Capitol" car show in downtown Raleigh. I happened upon a rat rod that I thought was the same car. Upon closer inspection, some of the details were a little different, but the tall red wheels sure looked the same.

I spoke with the owner (and showed him a pic on my iPhone) and confirmed in fact that his buddy owns the very car I saw in Tennessee. After needing to sell the wheels for a new rear end that required a different offset, they now are sitting under this cool '28 at the show. Small world...

This car drew a crowd at the show.

This is a '28.

Embracing the term Rat Rod.

50s style Cadillac air cleaner—too cool.

L O U D

Hand painted

Street legal?

Good Guys: Southeastern Nationals 2010

I went to the Good Guys show at Charlotte Motor Speedway for a few hours this weekend. The weather was absolutely perfect, and there were plenty of great cars there.

The Good Guys shows always have rows of high-caliber cars so it's fun to stop by and check them out as a spectator when the show is nearby.

>> Check out my photo album (238 pix!)

Carolina Classics at the Capital 2010

I attended the "Carolina Classics at the Capital" car show in downtown Raleigh on August 22.

It was difficult to get pix because it was so crowded with people, but I got a few. There were some nice cars there, but only a couple Mustangs.

>> Check out my photo album (66 pix!)

Smithfield BBQ Car Show in Raleigh

I stopped by a local car show behind the Smithfield BBQ in Raleigh today. There were fewer than 100 cars, but there were some nice ones.

>> Check out my photo album (100 pix!)

(My '66 isn't drivable right now, or I would have brought it along. I'm expecting to get the JBA headers back from NitroPlate in Nashville on Monday, although it might be a week before I have time to get the car back together.)

First Grill 57 Cruise-in of 2010

I stopped by Grill 57 this weekend for the first Cruise-in of 2010. There's always a good crowd there and plenty of different cars (and trucks) to check out. For instance, there was a new black ZR1 this time.

>> Check out my photo album (47 pix!)

Grill 57 Cruise-In Schedule

I stopped by Grill 57 last weekend and picked up the cruise-in schedule for this summer. (BTW, I have no idea if Grill 57 is in Garner or Raleigh?! It's on Fayetteville Road. People have referred to it as Garner, but the Grill 57 website says Raleigh—I'll say Raleigh from now on...)

They always have a good turnout for their local car shows, and I've been meaning to return since my trip there last summer.

The "official" dates are: April 17, May 15, June 19, July 17, August 21, and September 18.

See you there!

Back to Grill 57 in Garner

I briefly stopped by the monthly show at the Grill 57 in Garner, NC, today. It's actually a nice drive down there and back, going through downtown Raleigh. There are only a few shows left this year, so I figured I'd try to get to some of them.

>> Check out my photo album (77 pix!)

Char-Grill Car Show in Cary

I hadn't planned on going to another car show today. I'm still getting over a nasty cold-thing, but I dragged myself to a show about 30 minutes away, in my '66 in fact. The '66 received a fair bit of attention actually so that was cool. There were a few dozen cars there, but mainly classics. I ate a 1/2 pound Char-Grill cheeseburger while I was there, took photos, and left exhausted!

>> Check out my photo album (80 pix!)

MADD - Shifting Gears Road Rally and Car Show

I've been sick the past few days, so I just wasn't able to make it to the huge Auto Fair in Charlotte, about 3 hours away. But I had to get out of the house for a very short while, so I stopped by the "MADD - Shifting Gears Road Rally and Car Show" in Raleigh with my daughter. (She hasn't felt well either!) There were a handful of cars there when we were there.

>> Check out my photo album (26 pix!)

So Many Shows, So Little Time...

Today I stopped by two local car shows. The first was the Triangle Italian Motorsports Group Car Show in Brier Creek. I didn't take many photos since the kids were with me, but I did shoot a handful of Cobra kit cars and a particularly nice late-model Ferrari.

>> Check out my photo album (14 pix!)

Later in the day, I drove out to Char-Grill in Raleigh and saw dozens of classics, and a few late-model sports cars. The bagged old Ford truck (see above) was really nice. Interestingly, the dark blue '68 Mustang coupe in my photos was painted by the same shop that painted my '66.

>> Check out my photo album (90 pix!)

Triangle Italian Motorsports Group Car Show

I stopped by a monthly local car show briefly this morning to take a few pix. There weren't many classics there, only a handful, but I've owned a number of European cars myself so I could appreciate it.

>> Check out my photo album (19 pix!)

Grill 57 Car Show

I went to the Grill 57 Car Show today in Garner, North Carolina. It's held the third Saturday of each month during the summer at the local Grill 57 burger joint. The show starts at 4, but by 3:30 when I arrived the lots were almost full. I have more than 100 photos available of all different types of cars.

>> Check out my photo album (105 pix!)

 I brought my car and put it out there for all to see, which was pretty cool. I hope to go back later this summer.

It's a Stampede!

I went to the "American Stampede" this weekend here in Raleigh, North Carolina. It's a three-day national Mustang event held at the state fairgrounds to celebrate the Mustang's 45th anniversary and Independence Day. There were hundreds of Mustangs there, and hopefully I will make it back there tomorrow, with my car this time. I have dozens of photos in the album right now, and might have dozens more tomorrow!

>> Check out my photo album (75 pix!)

[Update: I went to the show today after it rained, and took 22 more pix. But I didn't bring my car!]

Buc Town Classic Car Show

I was in Wilmington, NC this past weekend and briefly attended the Buc Town Classic Car Show at Laney High School. As it turns out, Michael Jordan apparently grew up around there and attended that high school.

>> Check out my photo album (34 pix!)

Denied...

So yesterday I tried to attend the Collector Car Autofest in Raleigh. I was there earlier this year as a spectator, but hadn't brought the car since it was incomplete.



In fact, I had only brought one other car to any car show, ever. (That would be my '89 Mustang around 1992 in Tucson.)




Unfortunately, yesterday was the day for 1974--present vehicles, and the guy at the gate didn't want my '66 or my $25 in his view. Oh well.



Saturday was the day for vehicles through 1973... But Saturday was also raining so I wasn't going out with the car. If you drive a classic, you'd understand. :-)



Preparing for the show got me to complete the car (enough to show it) so that was good.

Good Guys: Southeastern Nationals 2008

I went to the Good Guys Southeastern Nationals today at Lowe's Motorspeedway in Charlotte, NC and took about 175 pix. I tried to get a little of everything, but found myself mainly interested in the engines. Some of them were pretty amazing. Check out my photo album (176 pix).