According to the weather forecast, it was expected to rain up until 10am today, so we were not in a hurry to leave the hotel. By the time we got fed and made it to the Hot Rod Reunion, it was after Noon.
KK, Mallory and PK in front of the Cherry Bomb.
Once we arrived, KK, Mallory and I wasted no time taking another tour of the grounds. We saw it all today. Here were some of my favorites.
1955 Chevy. Loved those hood ornaments shaped by like jet planes.
1939 Ford Coupe. KK really liked this one and had a conversation with the owner.
Several people have asked about the paint job on Mallory’s truck. That natural weathered appearance is very much in fashion right now. While those brightly colored cars are beautiful, there is also something special about the look of a well worn and well loved vehicle. It seemed to me that the cars that did not have the shiny paint job had the most spectators checking them out.
Old Chevy pickup truck drawing a crowd.
1944 Chevy Moonshine Truck. This truck was at our breakfast spot this morning.
Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. This classic was getting checked out.
Since I drove a 1952 Chevy Truck in high school, I am partial to the trucks from that era. KK and I came across this 1949 Chevy and had a conversation with the owner. The truck may look “normal” from the outside, but upon closer inspection, he had installed a Corvette engine in it.
He had been tinkering with it a few days before the show, and the speedometer quit working. His wife followed him to Bowling Green and when they arrived, he asked her how fast he was going. She said he got up to 92 mph. He told us he wasn’t trying to go fast, just going what felt comfortable. Old trucks!
1949 Chevy Truck.
Aftermarket engine in the 1949 Chevy.
Old bicycles are also in style at the car show. This truck had special tie downs in the bed for his old bike.
The weather never did get bad for the whole trip, regardless of the dire weather forecasts. The rain and sprinkles quickly cleared off during the morning and in the afternoon, the races started.
National Anthem at the Beech Bend Raceway.
KK, Stephanie and I drove the golf cart down to the pits and watched some of the racing from close to the finish line.
Most all of the cars racing were family affairs. Mom & Pop racing. Here is a picture of the pit area.
More of the pits.
KK and Stephanie watching the racing.
Down near the end of the drag strip, we pulled up next to a guy in a three wheeled golf cart. KK commented to him that he liked his ride. He told us it was a 1961 Cushman golf cart. KK told us that he had a Cushman Eagle scooter in high school like a lot of the Sumner boys did. He used to drive his high school sweetheart, PK, around on it! I’m glad we ran into this guy. I heard a great story just by accident.
Cushman Golf Cart.
Watching some racing.
The old cars were lined up for their turn at the start line.
We saw young ladies in old fashioned dresses and white leather boots all weekend.
KK said the crowds were down this year compared to previous years, with the threat of bad weather. We had our fair share of people stop by and look at the Cherry Bomb, though. Stephanie said that when a person would look under the hood, the most common comment was “This truck has an air conditioner in it. That wasn’t factory. That was put in by the dealer.” Another spectator commented on the oil bath air cleaner. KK said he has never seen one of these on any car or truck at the shows that he has been to the past several years.
KK and I drove the Cherry Bomb out to the trailer lot. We received numerous thumbs up from the other classic trucks that were driving out at the same time.
Loading up the truck on the trailer was pretty straightforward, especially since KK had figured out the process for the trip out to Bowling Green. He did mention it went pretty fast compared to doing it all by himself.
Loading the truck onto the trailer. Not much of a gap on either side.
Mallory taping some padding to the grill.
KK strapping the truck down to the trailer.
We pulled out around 6:00 ready to make some good time on the highway before we pulled over somewhere for the night. Unfortunately, about 15 minutes into our drive, the trailer had a different idea. Blowout on the right side of the trailer. KK quickly pulled over. We were fortunate that this road had nice wide shoulders and that we still had daylight.
Thanks to KK’s ingenuity and supply of wooden blocks on the truck, we pulled the trailer up on those blocks to make it much easier to get the wheel off. Our lug wrench was not deep enough to get the spare tire off the trailer, but we were able to use pliers to get them off. Everything seemed to be going our way, given the circumstances.
Flat tire on the trailer.
Mallory changing a tire.
Mallory finishing the tire change. The trailer is up on blocks.
We had a short debate if we needed to try and get the spare tire replaced, or just hit the road. With it being nearly 7:00 on a Saturday night, we decided we’d just hit the road. However, once we drove about a mile, there was a Walmart with an Auto Center. We quickly pulled in and walked up just as they were closing the garage doors. They closed at 7:00, but they were more than happy to sell us a new tire and put it on the rim for us. 15 minutes later, we were walking out of the Walmart with a spare tire. We were blessed with everything falling into place for us on this blowout.
The trailer lights acted squirrely on us. Everything worked great except the standard running lights. So KK drove the rest of the evening with the hazard lights on, and we followed right behind him.
We pulled into Sikeston, Missouri, a little after Midnight. The hotel we selected, America’s Best Value Inn, was formerly an old folks home. Every room was a suite with a sitting room. How was this place not sold out? Just more good luck for the Kings today.