Some Old and Some New At the Back the Heroes Rumble Car Show

Weather, especially early rain, hampered the turnout at the 6th Back the Heroes Rumble Car Show. Held on the campus of West Clermont Schools and established to raise money for various fallen first responders and military personnel, the show had in previous years brought out as many as 300 cars and trucks. This year, though, only a little more than 70 turned out. Still, there was an interesting variety of old and new in the school parking lot. Among them was a 1964 Chevy II. The "Deuce" was Chevrolet's basic compact car first introduced in 1962. It lasted through five generations until 1979. The Deuce was essentially made to compete against the Ford Falcon when the Chevy Corvair couldn't out sell their cross-town rival. For the first generation Deuce Chevy offered a trim called Nova which would go on to become a line unto itself. This 1964 Chevy II is the two door hardtop Nova trim example. Also on display were a 1955 Oldsmobile 88 in Holiday trim, a 1964 Chevy C10 pick up truck, a restomod 1939 Chevy Thriftmaster pick up, a couple of new Audi A5 models, a newer Chevy S-10 pick up.

A Show To Support Fallen Heroes

The Back the Heroes Rumble Car Show was formed six years ago after a Union Township Police detective was tragically killed in the line of duty. The original show was a fund raiser to ensure the detective's children would be taken care of. It has since expanded, raising funds to support all first responders and members of the military. This year's event was hampered by morning rain but still saw a nice variety of over 70 cars and trucks roll onto the campus of West Clermont Schools. Among the cars on display was a 2013 Subaru WRX, a Hurst/Olds W-25 which was a performance trim of the already performance heavy Oldsmobile 442, a Chevy Chevelle, a beautiful third generation Corvette, a 1969 Camaro SS 350, a restomod Ford Pinto, and a custom Subaru SVX.

There Were Classic American Machines At the Back the Heroes Rumble Car Show

While early rain and the threat of more kept the turnout low at the 6th Annual Back the Heroes Rumble Car Show on the campus of West Clermont schools, of the more than 70 cars and trucks that did attend there were some classic American automobiles that helped raise money for first responders and military personnel. Among the vehicles on display was a beautiful 1969 Shelby Cobra GT500. Shelby American, the company owned by Carroll Shelby, began transforming Ford Mustangs into ultra high performance machines in 1965. By 1968 the demand was so high that Ford began making the modifications themselves. The 1969 GT500 had a 428 cubic inch (7.0 liter) V8 engine but had undergone changes, mostly cosmetic, without input from Shelby himself. He terminated his agreement with Ford that year. There were other impressive rides on display including a 1962 Oldsmobile F-82 convertible, some examples of unmodified Mustangs, a third generation Chevy Corvette, and perhaps the most impressive of all, a 1972 Ford Pinto Runabout that has actually survived.

Some Of the Usual and Some Unusual At the Back the Heroes Rumble

Though some early rain limited the number of folks who showed up at the 6th Annual Back the Heroes Rumble Car Show held on the campus of West Clermont Schools, the 70 or so cars and trucks that did show up brought a number of the usual suspects but also some unusual ones as well. For example, there was a 1980 Phillips Berlina coupe. This is not a kit car. Pompano, FL based Phillips would buy a new Chevrolet Corvette and would transform it into a replica of a 1936 Mercedes Benz 540K Special Roadster. This particular car is number 8 of more than 200 ever made. Also on display was a Chevy Chevelle Super Sport, a 1966 Ford Mustang, a Chevy Camaro, a Corvette, a 1961 Studebaker Hawk, and a 1957 Ford Fairlane.

Weather Dampened the Crowd For the Back the Heroes Rumble Car Show

 Morning rain and the threat for more dampened the turnout for the 6th Annual Back the Heroes Rumble Car Show. Held on the campus of West Clermont High School and Middle School, the event drew in around 70 cars and trucks. In past years. this event has brought in between 200 and 300 vehicles, all to raise money to support fallen first responders and military personnel. This year's event saw a Ford Model A flat bed truck, a Chevy Cavalier,  a 1939 Chevrolet Master Deluxe, a Ford Mustang Mach 1, a 1966 Ford Fairlane, a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, and representatives from two different generations of Corvette.

The 6th Annual Back the Heroes Rumble Car Show

In 2019 a police officer in Clermont County was shot and killed while doing his job. The tragedy never should have happened but it spurred a number of people in the community to join together in an effort initially to raise money for the fallen officer's family, especially his children. After the first year's success a not for profit group was formed to raise money to help other fallen heroes, including first responders and military personnel. This year, the sixth for the Back the Heroes Rumble Car Show was held, as have all, at West Clermont schools. Unfortunately early rain and the threat of more kept away most of the crowd but still about 70 vehicles rolled into the school to support this worthy cause. Among them was a Plymouth Duster, a highly modified 1972 Plymouth Barracuda, a C7 Chevy Corvette, a Ford Mustang, a Hyudai WRC, a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro Rally Sport, another Vette, and a Holden, which is the Australian arm of General Motors.

Wrapping Up Rollin' On the River For Now

 In order to move on to other shows and events this is the last post from the Rollin' On the River Charity Car Show for now. Trust me, with over 300 cars and trucks that came to beautiful Fernbank Park to help the Delhi Kiwanis and their affiliate Boy Scout Troupe raise money for local youth charities, there are plenty more great rides to see and I will be posting them once our season ends. For now, there was a 1966 Ford Galaxie 500, a 1951 Ford Custom racer, a 1949 Customline, a 1957 Thunderbird, a 1972 Buick Gran Sport convertible, a Jaguar XJS, and a 1969 Shelby GT 500.