I had planned on going but kids Rugby games and the need to press forward on my 39 is keeping me home this time. Killer show and Camp North End is an awesome place to have it. I had my Roadster in the first one they did with all the Iron Lords and a some other Local guys. Here are some pictures from the very first one during load in at the building in Camp North End.
And the floor is not brick, it is wood blocks cut to brick sizes and used to cover the granite floor for when the building was used as a bomb factory during WWII.
The building is so cool to stand in and think about all the Fords that came out of it almost a hundred years ago!
According to the local Historian in the Iron Lords it was originally built as a Model A assembly plant. They would have relatively completed chassis and bodies shipped to the location from Detroit and the remainder of assembly was done there in the building. That's why it has the Granite floors, for the assembly line to have a precision flat floor to run on. It was closed as an assembly plant in 1931 and was used for storage for a time then was empty until the War Effort kicked in and then it was converted into the bomb plant. That's why it has the wood floors, if a bomb fell off a transport cart onto the wood floor, it would have less of a chance to detonate then it would it if fell onto the granite floor. The Fire Marshal for the city had an absolute shit fit when he got there to inspect before the show opened. Since it was an old bomb factory and all the floors were wood there was no way to know what all was soaked into the floor. He made us tape or fuel caps onto the cars with duct tape and disconnect the batteries in all the cars and on all the bikes, before he would let people come in for the show.
Thats hilarious I noticed that tape when walking around and wondered what the heck was going on. hahahaha
I took my Roadster last year at the invitation of The Rodder's Journal. Primarily a bike show. A lot of rain/storm around Southern States kept people & cars away. The wooden floor resembles brick.
I was going to ride ol' Buffet Racer down to the show for the day, but the weather doesn't look too hospitable.
Looks like we all will need canoes by sunday. I had planned on hanging out at the congregation for a few hours then scooting over to shady side for the SEGA race, but looks like I'll just be staying in charlotte
WOW!!!! That show looks to be worth the flight down from NJ to take in. What is the building used for the rest of the year?
Thanks for reminding me. I will be there. I have lived in and around Charlotte all my 74 years and that building is holy grail to antique car enthusiasts.
Good show. My skills and the lighting didn't make for great pictures. View attachment 4251931 View attachment 4251931 View attachment 4251931 View attachment 4251931
I've been trying for a while to get over to this show and as luck would have it this was the year. As others have said the venue is really cool and it is HUGE! Almost half of the space was empty. I kept thinking, Damn, what a great music venue this would be. It's easily the size of a small stadium. I'll definitely go back again. The lighting left a lot to be desired, so these pictures aren't the best and I didn't shoot as much as I normally would.
This show should grow. It is different, has plenty of unused space and admission is reasonable. The weather is only a factor getting there. You just have to see how big the building is. Didn't see you Seadog. You did a great job on the photos. Mine don't look that good.
A great show at a great venue, I thoroughly enjoyed & will be back next year possibly enter a couple of my bikes & cars. Put next years on your "Must Attend" list folks. Cheers Tony
Seadog your pics put us all to shame! I had a great time drooling over everything there. And like everyone else has said the building is just awesome to be in and imagine the cars that were built where you were standing, you could almost smell it in the soaked into the brick and wood.
The black '40 Ford Coupe was a real sleeper. Had the hood closed most of the day with no information sheet. Later I walked by again and the hood was open. It warmed my heart to stare at the '57 Cadillac Eldorado engine complete with 2x4 barrels and factory air cleaner. It harkened back to the days in the 1950s when I actually saw moonshine runners in Charlotte just like it. There was a shop in Mooresville that built them. My friend Ralph worked there and unloaded complete engines with air cleaner delivered by the Cadillac dealer to be installed.
Thanks all for the photos! I really wanted to make it, but previous commitments and weather kept me close to home. NEXT YEAR!!!!!
The Jalopy Journal
