Event Coverage NSRA Nats South - It was OK

I went Friday morning. Glad I went when I did. It was WET here today.

Re: the 1980 cut off - I didn't see much there that looked too out of place. Saw one (nice) mid '70's MGB & a stickered up late '70's Ford wagon that should have stayed home but the rest of it was (largely) nice stuff. Much like you see at a Goodguys show. Not much looked out of place. Take the later models out though & the pre-'48 count was DOWN.

I hit the swap meet early on the first day, so maybe I beat some of the vendors there, but the number of vendors looked to be down a bit. Same for the overall car count.

Anyway, it was good. Didn't see anything that just slayed me though. All in all, it was about the same as ever - just a little different.

JH

 

love the swap meet photos---thanks for posting

 

No one ever takes swap meet pics.... but that's everyone's favorite part!

JH

 

Looks like a great swap meet!

 

The Granada next to that Gennie 34 is just plain SAD!!!!

But, thanks for the swap meet photos.

 

Pretty much have to agree with what Harrison said. Attendance from both vendors and participants seemed down. Many long time indoor vendors were consipcious in their absence. 'Enjoyed the HAMB Meet 'n Greet at noon. Overall I had a good time, but the vibe this time was "different".

 

i went sat and i thought it was very good. the swap meet was full. the car count was a little down but the weather forcast was rain, rain and high winds.i had a good time. i thank the show was 98% pre 48 ( may be wrong). i did re new my nsra membership.

 

lets hope it was down because of impending weather. been saying all week chance of heavy rain and strong storms. maybe that was it .harrison sent you a p,m

 

Looks to me that the Fairmont wagon is an "editorial comment."

Thanks for posting the pics.

 

I talked to the guy with the Fairmont. He said he left his 40 coupe at home, drove this in protest.
I thought the car count and vendors where down by a good bit. Usually cars are crusing and very few where. You could walk around in the main building without bumping into someone and having to struggle to see.

 

That guys is a genious with a sense of humor.

 

Don't bit the hand that feeds you!

 

Dont see too many. Out of curiosity, how much did this guy have on the window for the PB Roadster?

 

That is a Ford Fairmont, and about as good as one could look. Still out of place IMHO

 

Jim missed seeing you at the get together Friday. I heard that the Fairmont station wagon had a 429 engine in it. Yes it was a political statement...

 

If you look at the exhibitor list in Street Scene for the upcoming events, I think you will see that vendors are way down from 3 years ago. Sad, but you can't blame them if they can't make expenses.

 

The swap meet at the Nats South looks a whole lot better than the swap meet at the Great Soutwest Nats in OKC.

 

i went sat. had a good time.

 

I went down Fri. and stayed till it was over today. Seemed to me it was more cars Fri. than Sat. You could tell the count was down but it was worth going to. The weather was mostly good and so was most the cars.

 

We walked around inside Saturday during the shower without bumping into anybody.....plenty of room. When it's raining, that room is usually packed. There definately was a conspicuous absence of some major vendors....one that always has a big presence and deals in mainly traditional style hardware wasn't there....don't know whether there was a statement being made or there were other reasons, but I know it's not like they had a long trip to get there.

I always enjoy the show but it was definately down in attendence but I am almost positive it be written off in most publications as a weather related issue.......trouble is, it rained last year too and people were still there.

 

We just got in from Knoxville and like others have said attendance was down,,some guys we normally see were absent in protest i suppose but it was their loss.

I'll be the first to admit that I hated the 30 year rule but it really wasn't that bad.

The cars were nice and if I talked to one guy I talked to at least 10 that were building 32-34 pickups and I tried my best to answer every question.

The weather was nice and hot,,with a brief shower Saturday and high winds Sunday,,but no rain.

It is always nice to visit with Hambers and I saw quiet a few and had the pleasure of meeting a few guys for the first time,,at the meet and greet and just walking around guys would stop me and say,,ain't you HRP,,

At the awards ceremony they said how many were registered but my tired ol' brain don't remember but it was something over 2000,, HRP

To the guys I missed,,hope to see you later in the years somewhere,,,

 

Yeah I agree attendance was down with both participants and vendors. I still had a good time and the weather was real nice aside from a few showers sat afternoon and night. I don't like the 30 year rule but it wasn't as bad as I initially thought it would be. It was nice meeting yall and i'm sure we'll run into each other on down the road

 

There were 2391 registered. I registered around noon Fri. and I was 2291 so only a 100 registered by cut off time Sat. I don't like the 30 year rule but at my age I don't have time to protest. I got to enjoy what I can when I can and if you din't like Knoxville, you don't like cars.

 

just got back home at 8:30 pm.hard rain from Lexington to Dayton Ohio.left the park at about 1:45.can't believe how much standing water in Kentucky.
had a nice meet and greet with everyone.congrats to hot rod ben for graduating from Tennessee tech next week.good luck on your interviews.for everyone that has never met hotrod ben,a great ambassador for our youth.his dad should be very proud.
we went to registration at about 1:30 Thursday and by the looks of that day it appeared there was going to be a record turnout..but it fell flat after that,so maybe the weather had something to do with it

 

that swap usually has some good stuff, its not big but a good diversity in stuff.

 

I think I agree. I went down friday--spent some time at the show and some time at the zoo with the kids, came back saturday to hit the swap and the model car building (again with the kids) and today went back over in the hopes of scoring a good super-prize (no such luck--even with numbers down).

The late model stuff in attendance would have generally acceptable at most shows, but I felt like there was just a different vibe with them there. It was all a bit contrived--especially the awards that were carefully chosen to "represent" the crowds in attendance--for my taste. Nothing personal, but seeing tri-fives and 60's goats around that show just grates on me--there's a time and a place and that ain't it.

I noticed several long-time vendors curiously absent--not sure if it was economics for protest--notably Honest Charlie's Speed Shop and Bob Drake--a big surprise with the new 40 he's got coming out.

On the upside, the swap was as good as I've seen it in several years and being that I missed charlotte I was glad to see that. Even picked up a few odds and ends myself.

weather held till after awards--we drove home in front of it.

all in all, I'm still on the fence as to whether I go back next year. Not bad, just not good to me.

 

thanks i'm sure everything will fall into place. nice meeting all yall friday

I feel the same way, i'll probably be back next year though unless i move off somewhere far away

 

I made it down Thursday and left around noon Saturday to make sure I avoided any rain issues.

For me it was an enjoyable weekend as I got to see some good friends and wouldn't allow my concerns over the new cutoff to dictate the weekend. Yes it was different and I admit to having a strange feeling all weekend with the new rides involved. Especially the (2000?) something corvette with the '53 body panels that was parked a couple cars down from me. Whats with that NSRA????

Also is interesting that we seem to judge swaps on how good we score. For me I scored a nice patinaed Chevy truck grille. Also had me eyes on two nice doors. I made three trips to the guys table and every time he was gone, on the third trip the doors were marked sold. Well I considered it good excercise as I was parked at the front of the park and made three rounds to the swap in the back.

In the end I can't say that I will never go to another NSRA event, but for me the attraction and unique feeling is gone. I could very well choose another event on the same weekend and not regret that decision at all. Not a dig on the post '49 vehicle owners at all, I own over 10 of them. Lastly for me its still all about the friends I get to hang with and the new ones made. The drive to and from and the chance to enjoy the passion that many of us love.

 

I agree w/you completely. I've been going for 20+ yrs & it sure was different.Was walking & looking & completely forgot about the meet&greet. Only found a few things in the swap meet, went 1st thing Fri. & Sat mornings. We left at noon Sat. to try & beat the weather home -ran into heavy rain about 15 miles from our home 30 miles east of Nashville Tn. Lots of damage & flooding there;6 confirmed deaths in Metro Nashville/Davidson Co.Some of our friends stayed until Sun. & had a tough time making it home.A fellow club member has a nice 32 Chevy coupe, it was flooded in his shop up to the hood.