The wife and I got there Tuesday. The first folks we saw that we knew was Bob K ... he must go everywhere and attend every event. He was cruising in his Chevrolet with the top down. I really like his new grille treatment. I met a lot of Hambers ... some were vendors and others were just participants like the wife and I. The parts and pieces that Krylon 32 had on display ... were very nice. He was also very nice to talk to and very knowledgeable about 32's and all the flathead to T-5 conversions. Very impressive display. I thought that the " Welders Series " of parts and pieces was very nice also. Talked with them ... seems to be good folks. Of course Dennis O'Brian was there with his plaques and parts. Saw his green panel there also. It must have a million miles on it cause I have been seeing it at the Nats for 30 years or so. It still looks as good as it did ( great ) as the first time I saw it. I saw and spoke with so many Hambers ... I could not list them all. As for the event ... I loved it. Lots of cars and folks. Who can tell the difference between 8 thousand cars and 10 thousand cars anyway ? Lots of folks carrying parts and catalogs. The only downer was the swap meet was off ... but there was a lot of decent stuff there ... just no 32 Ford grille shells for $300 ... I have bought them there before for that price . There was a wide range of cars ... something for most any taste. From Ratrods to Pro's Pick trailer queens. Lots of flatty equipped cars. Bunches of 32 - 33 - 34 Fords. Tons of 39/40 Fords and plenty of the little more unusual rides also. It was warm ... but not unbearable. It was actually very nice at night riding around in the roadster with the top off. I bought some parts and pieces. Looked at some other stuff I plan on buying ... and looked at some decent prices on asome decent cars for sale. All in ALL ... cannot wait for the 2009 NATS ...
I was there from Wednesday - Sunday. I look forward to this show every year (I'm like a kid at Christmas). What ever your style there is something for you to check out. There is just no way to see it all!! I'm glad its staying till 2020.
Not a bad thing just hard on a country boys brain to take it all in. So many ideas so little time and money!
my opinion...it was a off year... some decent stuff ...some stuff that was ... i think the word i used was saturated...that covered a lot of things but i'll be back next year... brandon
I was there on Wednesday moning. We took a friend's car down and planned to come back Friday for the weekend, but as usual life got in the way and they returned to Louisville without for the weekend. At least I got a few pictures - http://www.cartercountycruisers.com/forums/index.php?topic=423.0
i was there Wednesday through Sunday. while i have been to the Louisville nationals 4 previous times as a spectator , this was the first time there as an actual participant ..i was a passenger in a `32 Ford roadster. maybe some of you seen it...red oxide primer , flathead engine with McCulloch supercharger and Columbia rear end. not my car and i didn't build it it was just SO much more fun driving in and out the gates and cruising the grounds in a hot rod than standing there watching them go by we did have a few problems with the car , and found a place in Sellersburg Indiana called Dixon Racing Supply. it is a real old time type speed shop. plenty of hot rod parts in the display area and a full machine shop in the back. the owner was boring a 283 chevy when we got there . the owner , Gerald Dixon is a real great guy to deal with..even if he talks funny (actually he said "you yankees talk funny" after i told him what we needed and he didn't understand ) we had fun with that one all weekend . we needed more parts the next day and some tools so we made another trip , and fixed it there. we were not the only ones to find him , another rodder was there on our second trip with driveshaft troubles you guys in that area should take advantage of his services...place like that are special and hard to come by. Dixon Racing Supply , 601 so Indiana ave , Sellersburg In 812-246-4478 another thing i noticed was how friendly other participants were. parking was no problem..total strangers asked if we wanted to squeeze in? sure we will move over and let you in. need to borrow a chair? no problem , we have extra...need a beer? the cooler is right here. saving parking spaces for you buddy was no big deal...."lawn chair" parking is the norm with no problems. this is about 100% different than Back to the 50's saw and talked to welder series , JimA , Krylon32 at Cornhuskers , O'brian Truckers for Hambers talked to Jason from Pete & Jakes...that is always interesting caught Bob Drake at a slow time and had a VERY long conversation with him...he is a character. some of the stories he told were amazing. i told him i'm still waiting for the rest of the pages for my $25 catalog....was told that will be a long wait. he does plan an making a `40 Ford coupe body in steel. he is only 65 years old and will get it done. i'm sure he will saw some really cool new products..also saw some crap. i won't mention names...but you have to wonder what they were thinking also for new products...Steve's Auto Restoration `34 3 window coupe. i was impressed , but as of Saturday afternoon had not taken any orders for one i thought the swap meet was ok , but i wasn't really looking for anything. i thought the prices were high , as expected. there was a 36 3 window project for $18,000 .the best thing in the swap was that girl in the bikini splashing around in the kids pool...i KNOW some of you took pictures of that , how about posting them i say it was a good time
Went everyday, really enjoy this show because its close to home, 20 miles, Have a lot of friends from out of town that park with us, yeah we put up one of those circus tents every year. We had 16 32 fords parked with us on sat. just friends some local some out of towners. Steve Coonan parked with us fri and sat, he flat towed a 32 chassis across country behind his roadster but I will let him tell that story, pretty neat. Randy look us up next year out in the lot near pole# 46. Had a good time.
always enjoy louisville,yep seemed a little off especially the swap meet.but what the hell i look forard to this show more than any other.cant wait til next year...............dave
I was there all day Friday, had a great time, talked briefly to Deuce Roadster and picked up a few parts for my never ending 5 window build. It was hot, but the shear number and quality of the cars in attendance helped make the heat bearable. Of all the cars on display inside the exhabition hall, both in the lobby and in the vendor area, the one that impressed my the most was the roadster on display by Cornhusker Rods, a Deuce with flathead power. Of course I didn't have my camera. Did anybody get any pictures of this car?? If you did, please post.
I got there thursday morning , weather was nice and cool , compaired to Texas ! I scored a 46 ford hubcap for coupe , a set of fender skirts for my wifes 51 fleetline , and a set of 49-50 ford tail lights for 5 bucks . Had a great time ! I think they could have mowed the freaking grass for the event , as much as it cost to be there , was wet till 9:00 am everyday . Had a great time and met a lot of cool people !
Ups: Seeing "old" friends of 30 years like Max and Tim, Lenny, Cliff. Meeting new folks like Randy (thanks for the tour of the 32) and Josh.(thanks for the tires) Great guys! Finding some much needed pieces for my 33 in the swap meet ($$) Bigger and better inside vendor display More subtle, well finished cars of all years. Downs: Hot! What else is new? But it was 10* hotter at home! Car count down, but you can't see them all anyway. Motel prices going up. Didn't bring my car; hitched a ride and split a room to save the $$
Hot (in my opinion), car count down a little but I didn't countem. One part I really enjoyed was getting to meet and talk to hot rodders from all over the country. Talked to a couple of rodders from Australia. I'll be back next year sweatin, the good Lord willing.
A friend of mine saw you trying the 32 roadster seat out ... after you left he came over and asked If I was selling the 32 ?? He said I thought you would never sell it ... I told him it was not for sale and I was letting a friend just try out the seating ... Enjoyed talking with you also ... .
I was there wed-sun. There were more people there than what I expected.I only got to meet a few of yous guys but im sure I got pics of some of yalls rides. As soon as I get them loaded and down sized I will post what I got.( well some of what i got.....i took 581 pics.) It was a very interesting week/weekend. We were on the way home sunday comin outa louisville on 64 where the roads broke radiator mounts and the fan went into the radiator! this was the second time on a NATS trip! this was in a yellow '36 willys coupe, I was followin in my grampas grey '40 ford p/u. we whipped em to the side of the highway and tried to make arrangments to get the car to a hotel lot and go back to the house in Tennessee and get a trailer to come back and get it.....well during this we had soo many people to stop and offer help that it made me realize that this is about the people and getting to hang with friends and family and the cars are just an added bonus! well we were being taken care of by the good Lord above because after we had sat there for an hour or so waiting on a friend of a friend in louisville to come get the car with his trailer, a street rodder from our town in tennessee happened to go by and see us. before we knew it he was there and offered to take his car outa the trailer and drive it home so we could put ours in and get home that night! I guess what im saying is that we are around a super great bunch a guys and gals in this culture. they can either be into high buck billet rods, or the good ole traditional stuff we still have a common bond......hot rods!
C'mon, now. I don't think that's appropriate swap-meet behavior even if there is a girl in a bikini splashing around in a kids pool.
I spent the week down there as i always do. Good to see you again Randy. Get the 3 window on the road for next year.
I thought it was great. Some were saying car count was down but I saw windshield numbers as high as 10,800 so thats plenty for me. We were busy in the booth from opening Wednesday to closing Sunday! Tuesday after setting up we took a little side trip to Lynchburg to get a tour of the World's Best Whiskey distillery and then over to Knoxville to pick up a trans from Hamber Harrison, then back to Louisville. 800 miles in an afternoon. Apparently Kentucky Troopers don't take kindly to 87 mph on the interstate though. $20.00 fine with $143.00 "court costs". Oh well still cheaper than shipping the trans, almost. I loved seeing Coonan's roadster and Geoff's chassis that they flat towed out with all the light rust on the tow bar and hitch. Steve says they had fun and while he doesn't want to do it every year, he would do it again if there were a reason.
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