Event Coverage Remember the Gatlinburg, Tennessee Rod run

I also was there many times and it did get kinda rough at the end...the record producer you mentioned was Felton Jarvis who was none other than Elvis' record producer at the time!! At its peak, this was one of the largest rod runs in the country....all this was as best I remember - I was 30 in 1978 and considerably wilder myself....the late Norm Grabowski performed there also.....Joe

 

Man Bobby you look like you had a ruff nite before!! Oh, those were the days

 

Like we used to say" To hell with the rod run We're here for the party". Never did see your pickup. Good shot of Mike Goodman's T bucket. Wonder what happened to all those T buckets?

 

My wife and I drove my avatar (1933 Essex Terraplane) there the first time in 1970. Our marriage and the completion of the car were only one year old.

 

Mike Goodman still has that T-Bucket and the trailer that he used to pull behind it. The trailer has 18-inch 12-spoke spindle mount wheels on it. Killer piece of '70s hot rod history. But yeah…where did all the other T Buckets end up?

 

I knew Mike still had his. Thanks for the pictures. Back then it seemed like a third of the rods where T buckets. At the Frog Follies this year with 3600 rides, I bet there we're a dozen T buckets. Guess age and creature comfort has something to do with it. Got to be bunches of them stuck in the back of garages somewhere.

 

I remember reading about the Gatlinburg runs (Funny, the magazines skipped right over the "riot" part) as a teenager a couple thousand miles away in SW BC, the chances of me getting there to check it out in person were somewhat less than nil.

 

The 1970 event was the most memorable for me. I was a new street rodder and this gathering was something I had only seen in magazines. Andy Brizio and his wife drove their T-Bucket out from California. It was the first time I met Bud Bryan, who was covering it for Rod & Custom. There were about 250 cars entered that year. Many of the owners would become self employed in the hot rod industry and be a part of the explosive growth. It was by far the most pre '49 cars I had ever seen together and they were from about half of the States in our country. The '49 and newer cars would come later but could not register. Besides, there was not enough motel rooms for the street rodders. Pigeon Forge took care of that.
There is only one first time jaw dropping impression and the 1970 Mid-South Rod Run will always be the one for me.

 

G'burg always had a few 50's cars entered. I entered my 55 Chevy several times. They even had some kit cars in the show area some years.

 

I don't believe post '48 vehicles were allowed to register for the Mid-South Street Rod Roundup in 1970, the year I have posted about. It was also the year of the first Street Rod Nationals, held in Peoria and put together by Tom Medley and Rod & Custom Mag, not the NSRA. The NSRA was also founded in 1970. The Mid-South Street Rod Round Up was just a few weeks after the first Street Rod Nationals (August & September) and at least a dozen cars participated in both. The term "street rod" was new and referred to 1948 and older cars and trucks with modified drivelines that were street legal. The staff at R&C were the first to take these cars seriously and benefitted greatly from it. A few years later the term "street machine" was given to '49 and newer like vehicles and Peoria became the site of their Nationals.
I have the Jan. 1971 issue of Rod & Custom which covered the event and there are no '49 and newer vehicles in the coverage. Maybe someone who was a member of the Nashville Street Rod Association can chime in as to when they accepted '49 and newer vehicles.

 

................................Interesting concept.

 

But fiberglass was OK...LOL

 

I didn't know Mike Goodman at that time but I sure remember his T and especially remember his trailer. HRP

 

Was he the guy that wore the top hat or did I miss a pic of him already?

 

Yes ,he wore a black top hat or derby. His lady usually had an umbrella she would hold up when they were going slow as well.

 

I have a picture of Him someplace, driving the "T" with His hat on. I'll see if I can find it. Tim

 

Patina33: I have pictures of why you don't want to remember anything. . Tits and wieners at the Gillette!


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Me, too! I thought that car and trailer was off the charts.

Remember a fireman from Georgia who had a fresh, black, 29 highboy roadster with apple green wires and a Jag rear?
That totally floored me!

Pigeon Forge was barely a wide spot in the road, with maybe a half dozen motels (motor courts). Seems like the rooms were $29 or thereabouts. Pretty good deal for four guys!

 

My wonderful memories of the Mid South Nationals in the great Smokey Mountains almost 50 years ago have turned to utter sickness and compassion for the wonderful people who live there.

 

This one? First saw it at the '75 Nats and was my favorite car there! Lewis Young, I think?

 

That's it!! Lewis Young is correct. It fell in with the Bud Bryan '29 highboy for setting the hook in me. Thanks!

 

WOW, I was still living in N.J and driving this beast. LOL. Bruce. ]

 

those were good times. always scored something at the swap meet. the F100 truck club also put on a show in the burg

 

As a teenager, I thought the gauges in the quick-change cover were neat as hell!

 

ha. among the earliest shows I remember. although honestly I remember the chocolate chip pancakes more the the show. but I was a little tyke back then.

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1st saw that car at the Deep South Mini Nats in Birmingham Al. At the old fairgrounds/racetrack. Man it was sharp. wonder what happened to it. I wonder what year that was.......................

 

Have a lot of memories of this get together, the first time I went was in a 27 T Bucket that we drove up from Lebanon TN. We used the back of it to make a lean to that night and slept under it, in the edge of the Park. After that first year, I attended with the Shadetree Street Rods out of Nashville and we continue to attend the Shades every year.

 

Man what a great thread those videos are amazing!

 

We were talking about the old Gatlinburg rod runs today at our weekly hot rodder lunch and What we drove to the show.

I had my old Model A truck at that time and ran across one of the old dash plaques a few days ago.

We all agreed that the cooler weather made for a more enjoyable experience,the fall leaves,the smells of wood smoke & food hung in the air and the T-Buckets were at a all time peak in popularity. HRP