Done and in the Sun Tour '08..........Big Olds does Knoxville, TN

Last weekend I had plans to head to the NSRA’s Knoxville, TN event Nats South. I had never been before mainly because I did not have a top or windows and the weather in the northern Midwest can be iffy this time of year so when I was planning this years schedule I listed it right away as I love spending time with my southern buds.

I packed up Big Olds on Wed night and drove him to work on Thursday morning, heading south at 4pm right from work. I was meeting Dad at our hotel in Knoxville as he physically can’t roll out at 4pm and drive straight for 9 hours. Dad had left first thing in the morning in his ‘48 Ford Coupe and arrived without any problems. Neither one of us mine traveling solo as we know our cars are in the best possible road trip condition before we leave.

So…I hit the road and am heading south almost at the MI/OH boarder and someone is a van is pacing me and honking. Low and behold it’s Edie, AKA Mrs Danimal. She waved, I waved, and she continued on before I could whip out my camera. Finally caught up with her as she was exiting the highway.


Because of the price of fuel and Big Olds having a fuel sucking 455 in him, I had already decided to cruz at 60-65MPH to save on fuel cost and try to achieve alittle bit better fuel economy…..which I did. Keeping my foot outta it when it’s late at night and there is no one else on the highway is tough but I’m going to try to drive like this in the future cuz if I don’t I can visually watch my gas gauge move toward E.

I took this picture about 200 miles into the trip as a reminder of the milage that I started the cruzn season with.


It was a long and kinda boring 9 ½ hour cruz. Right about when the scenery started getting nice (in KY), it started getting dark. Oh well. Arrived in Knoxville at the hotel at 1:30am, hit the sack and woke up early to roll into the show.


Once inside the fairgrounds, as Dad was following me and we were kinda scoping out the parking situation, I see one parking spot available on the circle around the flagpole. I pull around and motion for Dad to back the Ford in there. It was a high profile spot and since Dad has the Ford up for sale it was a perfect location. I pulled over to the side and waited for Dad to gather up his coffee mug, thermos and put the for sale sign on the car at which point he was going to hop in Big Olds and we’d go find a spot for him wherever.


As I was waiting the most amazing thing happened. The blue ‘39 in this photo was parked long ways just like the red convert in the above photo….everyone else on the circle was backed into the curb. Anyway, as I was idling, waiting for Dad, the owner of the blue’39 gets in his car, starts it up, pulls it out and BACKS INTO THE CURB, hops out and nods at me. HOLY SMOKES! He made room for Big Olds to park next to him so Dad and I could be parked near each other….without asking. I was impressed and went over to him, introduced myself, and thanked him for his kindness. He was from South Carolina……true southern hospitality at it’s finest.


After we settled in Dad and I took a walk around checking out the cars and the layout of the venue.








Vert1940 Pal's Airflow. I thought I took a photo of Vert's '40 but I guess I was too busy looking at all the tree debris in his car to take the shot.

 

This car was a smoken deal and under $20,000 if I remember correctly


In case you’ve missed this one over the years.






I had a thing for a long time about ‘48 Caddy converts and while this one is awesome, I do believe I’m over my obsession now.


Junior’s old coupe now belongs to someone in NY.


Crazy




So now it’s almost noon so Dad and I head over toward to stairs to the main building for the HAMB Meet & Greet. A few were already there milling around and chatting.

Crestliner, HotRodPrimer and Deuce Roadster


Wayne34, 48Poncho and Harrison


Capt Zorro’s pal, Capt Zorro, me and 48 Poncho


Wayne 34, me and

 

Sue AKA Mrs PapasToys, PapasToys and me


Harrison


Brenda AKA Mrs Hot Rod Primer, Danny AKA Hot Rod Primer and my Dad


Hokey Ass Group Shot


Me and Vert1940


We had a great vantage point for checking out cars as they cruised by


Deuce Roadster, Me & Hot Rod Primer


After awhile a few of us sat. It was nice to be able to relax and chat hot rods with new HAMB pals.
CaptZorro, Me and Crestliner




About 1:30pm everyone started bidding each other farewell and Dad and I headed toward a burger stand. Someone had pointed out that this particular burger place was the best on the grounds and boy were they right. The meat had what I tasted as worshire sauce in it and was delicious.

After lunch Dad and I walked around some more. This dude put a lot of miles on his roadster cruzn the fairgrounds all weekend.

 

Then ran into my good pal Craig Suman from Florida. Craig and I have been topless friends since the mid-90’s when we met at a GG Indy event. Craig had his red ‘47 Olds convert and I had my ‘47 Chevy convert. He built his Olds up at the same time Steve was doing the drivetrain to Project Big Olds. After my Chevy burned Craig was the one who actually told me about Project Big Olds while we were walking the GG Charlotte event and convinced me that it was the right car for me. He’s been a great friend over the years and I’m really looking forward to seeing our Olds’ parked next to each other one of these days. (His was not at the event due to lower control arm issues)


Walked around some more






We then ran in Randy and Danny who were just leaving for a cruz so Dad and I sat down with Brenda (Mrs HotRodPrimer) and had a nice visit.


Dad and I then headed back to Big Olds to get him ready for the photo shoot with Rodder’s Digest. HAMBer NoName was kinda enough to allow me to hang onto the Fiesta spinners that he let me borrow for the Detroit Autorama. I did not drive with them on, we put them on right before the photoshoot and took them off right afterwards. Actually Dad and Roby put them on carefully….with supervision.


Then we hopped in Big Olds for the slow cruz to the pre-arranged area in the fairgrounds, on the other side of the tunnel. That’s Roby AKA RBRoadster and his lovely girlfriend AJ, F-bomb.


I wasn’t sure how much of the debris on the carpet would show in the photos so while I was wiping Big Olds down AJ asked if there was something she could help with so I handed her and roll of duck tape and she went to town on it. Thanks for your help sweetie, much appreciated.


Roby got in on the cleaning action as well. Looks like I’m going to owe you two home cooked chicken dinners now huh?


Dad switched rolls and was now supervising….and chatting with the locals.


She got all the crumbs off the back seat as well. Everyone should be so lucky as to have friends who like to detail.


I then pulled Big Olds in place and Gerry Burger started photographing him.


He allowed me to look thru the viewfinder a number of times and explained what he was doing and why.

 

Dad and Roby stood to the side and chatted…mostly about Oldsmobiles.


He had me move Big Olds so that the rear was toward the setting sun


I’m so THRILLED with the new stance after the drop spindles


He also took alot of close up shots of the engine compartment, interior and all the body mods that I pointed out. He gave me a multi-page tech sheet to fill out and asked for the buildup photos on CD that I’ve taken over the last seven years. I’m so hoping that he uses a photo such as one of Roadstar making the peaked bezel then the closeup shot he took of the finished product.

While Dad and Roby put my old caps on….while Roby putting them on I guess


Afterwards Dad and I headed back to the hotel, freshened up then walked the parking lot checking out the rides. This Packard was so sweet and my favorite at the whole show.






It was a 5 speed!


The dude was pretty ingenious. He took brand new seats with ugly headrests and the big wart like retractable seatbelt thing and reworked them so they look decent.






Dad and I then headed over to the Quaker Steak and Lube. While the food was good we expected a lot more car people hanging out, like Columbus.


The Streetrodder Road Tour car that Jerry Dixy is cruzn around in. He's a HAMB guy, lurker really, but I forgot his screen name.


They had a live band in the hotel lobby. The band was GREAT and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was very loud though, even on the 4th floor balcony.

 

The next morning called for rain and storms so I left the top up for the ride to the fairgrounds. Before parking I decided to cruz around the fairgrounds abit and thought I’d stop for this photo op. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Michael from Coker who helped me out last week and sent me a new set of front tires lickety split, in time for me to get them mounted and balanced, so I could safely drive to the event. I’d also like to thank Eric who was at the show and supplied me with tire cleaner and white wall cleaner cuz I forgot mine. My tires looked AWESOME for the photo shoot….thanks guys!


Ran into 2002P51 and his lovely wife Hot Rod Chick cruzn around in their modified. Nice meeting you both and thanks so much for the early I40 construction heads up.


And my pal Butch from Advanced Plating


The parked Big Olds so I could check out Butch’s ‘40


I think he gets an employee discount




Dad and I got spots in the same location as yesterday


This owner built ‘39 Chevy ragtop was stunning…..and no, Chevy did not make converts in 1939. The owner was very happy to explain the build process of his car.


Once it started to rain Dad and I headed inside to check out the vendors. Stopped and said hi to Butch and Tom and got caught up.


Stopped and saw my pal Bob from Gardner Wescott and picked up a couple of things I needed for Big Olds.


While just standing around, HAMBer O walked up and introduced himself. Nice meeting you and your son.


Ran into CoolStuff selling stuff in his booth. Nice to see ya again bud. Hoepfully we’ll have more time to chat and catch up at the Rust Revival at the end of the month.


Walked back to the car to drop off purchases and caught Danny and Brenda cruzn around


Ran into OneEyeJack and had a nice conversation. I’m trying to pull him outta lurker statis. Come on buddy, say hello


Then stopped and said hello to my old pal Carrol Winslet who use to write a women’s column for Northern/Southern Rodder mag. It was wonderful seeing both her and her husband again and catching up.

 

By now it's almost noon and time for Saturdays HAMB Meet & Greet. By the time Dad and I got there it was in full swing.
2002P51 on the left with HotRodChick behind him, Vicki AKA DeVille Gal and Ken AKA Slick50.




Big Port Jimmy G, Brenda and HRP




Dad, Big Port Jimmy G, 2002P51, Hot Rod Chick and Slick50


Big Port Jimmy G and Me


DeVille Gal, Hot Rod Chick, Me and 2002P51


ChiliMac and Me







Dark Knight, Me and SlysBall


I'd like to thank everyone for coming to both the Meet & Greets. I'm glad you guys find the networking and social aspect of them as important as I do. It was great to see so many old pals and meeting the new ones was one of the highlights of the weekend. While the big M&G's are nice, I really enjoy the smaller ones just for the fact that you can actually have a non-rushed conversation with everyone. Thanks too for making my Dad feel so welcome. He enjoys chatting cars with everyone and thinks my HAMB pals are some of the greatest guys that walk the planet. I'll have to agree with him there.

Once it started winding down, Dad and I headed out. Plans were to grab a burger and put the top down on Big Olds since it seemed to be clearing up.






Can anyone guess who the top shoes belong to?

 

Slick50 and DeVille Gal's truck. They got a parking spot right by us which made it real pleasent to hang out and socialize.


AJ sitting on RB Roadster's lap


Went on another walk to check out more cars
2002P51 and Hot Rod Chick's cool modified


Can't remember if I posted this yet










Dad and I then waled the swap meet. I learned Dad is not a good person to walk the swap meet with. He walks way too fast and doesn't look at everything. I felt very rushed.






With a change of wheels.......






My favorite of the show cruzn around

 

Back at Big Olds, Kennedy stoped by to say hi and chat. WONDERFUL to finally meet you. I'm glad you said "hi" when you walked over.


So about now it's getting late and we decide to head out. I head to Calhouns and put our name on the list then call everyone and tell them approx what time our table would be ready.


Once seated the waitress asked Roby for his ID.....boy did she get a good tip.


I'd like to add the food was AWESOME, the ambiance was great and the company could not have beeen better.


We took a walk along the river afterwards to walk off our meal then headed back to the hotel and walked around a bit there checking out the cars. We had a great view from the hotel parking lot.








The Road Tour car topless


Sat around with everyone and chatted the night away then bid our goodnights. Next morning up, out the door and on the highway. Tons of cars on the highway heading north all morning. Since I was bored by myself in the car I took lots of photos.

 

I always enjoy the view coming into Cinci






It was a wonderful weekend spent with my Dad, my friends and Big Olds and I'm really looking forward to many, many car related weekends this summer.

Next stop....Jalopy Showdown!

(I've got some editing to do but I wanted to get this finished up and posted while the boss is gone. I'll edit and add names as the day goes on today )

 

Cool pics and commentary Denise, as always!!

Say, do you have any more pics of the '36 Cabriolet with the top up? Is it a working top? I want mine to look like that. Gorgeous.

 

Denise,

It was great to see you. I'm glad you were able to make the trip. Hope you'll come back next year.

Jim

 

Denise, I must say you have killer camera control and can multitask with the best of them! The rolling car shots are cool as hell, thanks for the great posts and stories as usual. Can't wait to finaly meet you at the Jalopy Showdown!

 

Awesome coverage as always.
I almost drove up Saturday morning just to meet some more HAMBers(and look at a few cars), now I realy wish I had

 

Thank you. Very nice.

Rod

 

Big Olds looks great with the new stance! Congrats on the photo shoot! No better magazine to be in!

The only negative thing about your posts is that with all of the pictures you take, you arent in them! I miss seeing your smiling face!

 

Very cool!!

 

As always Denise, great pics and stories......do you actually work for a living or is going to events what you do?

 

Real nice cars. I might get to see Big Olds at the Showdown.

 

another killer hotrodladycrusr comentary post-thanks denise!

 

Looks like you ran into McSquirter. I think your "redshoes" look more traditional with the tu-tone and the black piping. Thanks for the pics and report. vic

 

Your commentary never ceases to amaze me Denise.

 

You have done it again. What a beautiful venue. I love your "reports". Reading through it is almost as good as being there. Thanks for taking the time to put it together for us.

J.

 

What am I? Chop liver?!?!?

I'm glad you had a good trouble-free time. I can't wait to see the coverage in the mag!

 

Thanks for all the kudos. I'm glad you guys enjoy my coverages of the events I attend. As usual I will continue to cover them as long as you enjoy reading about them.

I work a regular 8-5, Monday thru Friday job. I earn vacation days and really make proper use outta them.

I will look thru the rest of the photos on my laptop and post if I do.

I'm looking forward to meeting you as well.

I wish you would have as well....next time.

Yep, that was him. Both Gerry and Garry we're very pleased to finally see Big Olds done and both mentioned how proud Steve would have been of the car. There is no other mag that I'd rather have Big Olds featured in as I know they are going to do a killer job and their best to get all the facts correct.

They said the current issue is/has been ready for print and the Big Olds feature would be in the next issue coming out later this summer.

 

hey denise can i have a couple of you vacation days so i can go to the showdown??

 

it was a pleasure meeting everyone,we always have a great time at the nats south...made it more complete talking with you all.thanks for the pics denise,enjoyed talking with your dad.

 

Oh my GOD, how could I have forgotten about you

(edit: I would have had a MUCH better time if my best pal Megan would have joined me.....I wouldn't have gotten as much sleep, and probably would have drank more.....but I'm sure I would have had a better time. )

 

It just goes to show how good Denises coverage is. I went to the show, but I have been waiting patiently since Monday to see what I missed.

Denise you're the greatest!

 

Denise, glad to see that you FINALLY got to go to a car event. Hope you realize I wasn't kidding about having a good time and meeting some neat people. Now that you've experienced it I'm hoping you'll come out of your shell and let your personality shine through. Just relax, introduce yourself and go with the flow. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it eventually. Also, try to pace yourself, a couple of events the first year and if everything goes well add an event every couple of years until your up to 4 per year, that should satisfy even the most enthusiastic participant.

Frank

BTW, thanks for sharing