Trading Up to a Newer Model

            Johnny Renacker enjoyed driving his 1934 five window coupe around. He would take it to car shows where he knew a lot of the other car enthusiasts there. But he had one little problem. The car just wasn’t big enough for what he wanted to do; more importantly it wasn’t big enough to be able to drive around his grandkids.

            So Johnny went looking to “trade up.” What he eventually found and purchased was a 1941 Chevy chop top.

            “This car is heavier and has a lot more room to it,” Johnny said recently at the Kustoms of America Customs and Rod Nationals in Milford, OH.

            Since the car was in pretty good shape, he didn’t have to do a whole lot to make his new car a solid ride. “I did re-do the engine,” Johnny said. He took it to his friends at Smith Racing Engines in Frankfort to do the work.

            “The engine is a 355 Chevy,” he said.  “It has 525 horse power,” he added with a wink. “We’ve done a few things to it.”

            While the engine has only 55,000 miles on it, only 2000 are Johnny’s. “I like to drive it around to shows and when the weather’s nice. The grandkids like it.”

            A few other custom items make the car fun and easy to drive as well. It has leather seats, air conditioning and power steering.

            Don’t look for Johnny to be trading up from this car any time soon. “I think I’ll keep it a while,” he said.

            Look for Johnny at car shows around the region, especially at KoA events. He is the Kentucky director for the Kustoms of America car club.

American Power at the Ault Park Concourse d'Elegance

          As always, American muscle was on display at the recent Ault Park Concourse d'Elegance. One category in particular, American Performance cars from 1961 to 1971 was well represented. These represent some of Josh's favorite cars. When he was young and we were first going to car shows, he found the muscle cars to be particularly interesting. He flirted with Mustangs, then moved to Vettes and then to Mopar. Now we'll walk into a show and he'll look at a car from a distance and know exactly what it is.
          Take a look at some of the pictures taken of the American Performance cars at the recent Concourse. Let us know which one you like the best. Either leave a post or drop us an email at turnerbudds@yahoo.com.

Pre-War Classics from the Ault Park Concourse d'Elegance

          At the 2011 Ault Park Concourse d'Elegance there were four classes for antique and pre-war classics which allowed for a wide variety of these beautiful machines to be shown. The classes covered all antiques through 1924, all pre-war non CCCA vehicles, CCCA pre-war classics from 1925-1934, and then CCCA pre-war classics from 1935-1948.
          For those of you not making the connection, CCCA is short for the Classic Car Club of America, the premier organization for classic automobiles. To quote their web site, "The Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) is about vintage automobiles and the pleasure of the sport. Since its beginning in 1952, the Members of the CCCA have been dedicated to the collection, preservation and enjoyment of the world’s finest cars. As in the beginning, automobiles manufactured during the Grand Classic Era® from 1919 to 1948 remain the primary focus of the club today."
          You can find the CCCA on line at http://www.classiccarclub.org/. They have a very informative and easy to navigate web site.
          Also, check out some of pictures from the Ault Park Concourse and let us know which ones you like the most. Leave a comment or drop us an email at turnerbudds@yahoo.com. Enjoy.