The Keeneland Open Class

The Open Class at Keeneland is just that, open to just about any type of vehicle. Often overlooked at Concours events are trucks but there are some pretty amazing ones out there, such as this 1948 Ford F-1 Series Pickup. The original design for the F-1 was for the military but after World War II, Ford began making them for civilians. Some of the parts used to restore this truck were once owned by the owner's grandfather.

Not all farm vehicles were trucks or tractors. Leave it to Crosley to make a combination farm vehicle. This is a 1950 Farm O Road. It was sold with various implements that could be attached to work around the farm and then in the evenings or weekends you could just hop in it and ride into town.

Another small car is this 1951 Crosley HotShot. Believe it or not, this car is considered America's first sports car (http://turnerbudds-carblog.blogspot.com/2014/03/americas-first-sports-car.html). It was styled to appeal to returning GIs who had become familiar with European cars. Notice a certain resemblance to a "Bug Eye?"

Imagine being able to buy a new car for under $450. That was the case with this 1939 Bantam Roadster. The car has a 45 cubic inch four cylinder engine that could hit a top speed of maybe 60 miles per hour with a tail wind. It did get 50 miles per gallon, though. The current owners found this car in pieces at a meet in Georgia.

More expensive but able to handle bigger payloads than its Ford or Chevy counterparts, this 1948 Diamond T 1 Ton Pickup was, at the time, considered the Cadillac of pick up trucks. The Diamond T company started hand building cars in 1905 and by 1911 exclusively made pick ups.

There were many firsts for this 1955 Chevrolet Second Series Pickup Truck. This was the first year they used a 12 volt electrical system. It was also the first year with the key start (as opposed to the floor push button start) as well as tubeless tires. It was also sold on its value as the base price was $1620 and a fully optioned model still cost under $2000.

Military vehicles were also represented by this 1940 Dodge VC 1 Command Car. Built on a half ton truck frame, this was used to drive around high ranking officers. During restoration it was learned that this car was assigned to the Second Infantry Division which landed at Omaha Beach during the invasion of Normandy.

You don't often see customs or hot rods at a Concours event but then Keeneland always seems to go a little beyond the norm. For example, here is a hand built 1932 Chrysler Rumble Seat Coupe. Containing all Chrysler parts this car was chosen for the Winner's Circle at the 2000 Street Rod Nationals in Louisville (if you're unfamiliar there are over 10,000 cars at that event) and was named one of the 100 Best Street Rods by Rods and Custom Magazine.