These photos of beautiful vintage cars help me relive happy memories of a car show I attended in downtown Greeneville, Tennessee in June 2009. Part 1.
My Favorite Vintage Cars from a Former Car Show in Greeneville, Tennessee
Do you like vintage cars?Late one June day of 2009, my husband and I went out to a restaurant to eat breakfast. The restaurant, called Tipton's Cafe, was located on West Depot Street, in downtown Greeneville, TN. Much to our surprise, the road was roped off due to a car show that was going on at the time.
Fortunately, I had brought my digital camera with me as I wanted to take a picture of this amazing pie they sometimes made at that restaurant. After we ate, we started strolling along the roadway looking at the various cars.
I didn't realize how much I enjoyed vintage cars until that day. I shot pictures of the cars that attracted me the most.
Sadly, my husband died in August of 2015. I enjoyed re-living that happier day as I looked back at these photos.
Here are the cars listed from oldest to most current by car manufacturer. This particular blog will only show off the Willys Coupe, the Plymouth, and several vintage Chevys.
At the end of this blog will be the link to the blog featuring vintage Ford vehicles. It will open in a new window.
Please note: On any of the pictures where you see the Associated Content logo at the top, please be aware that was a site I used to write for before they shut down. I had short videos of each of these vintage cars posted on that site. Sadly, when the site shut down, all those videos were lost. Sigh! These photos are the only things that was left of that happy day.
1936 Willy Coupe
I really loved this bright yellow vintage car. I was amazed at its unusual car name that I had never heard of prior to that day - Willys.Here is a picture of that 1936 Willys Coupe.
1936 Plymouth Coupe
I really loved this black old-timey looking Plymouth Coupe. My husband loved it, too!Here is a picture of that 1936 Plymouth Coupe.
1931 Chevrolet 5 Window Coupe
I really loved this maroon Chevy. The engine is so shiny, it looks like it is brand new. The car shines as well. What do you think? There is a comment section at the bottom of this blog if you would like to share your thoughts.Here is a picture of that 1931 Chevrolet 5 Window Coupe.
1955 Chevy
Until that long ago 2009 day, I had never imagined that I would like this kind of thing - old vintage cars. Some of the cars, to my eyes, were like "eye candy." I especially liked this yellow and white confection of a car that I found out was a 1955 Chevy.My first car ever was a silver Chevy Nova. It was decidely NOT eye candy. My father had bought it for me spring quarter of my senior year in college as I was going to need it to take one of my classes that was 50 miles away from the college campus. I was also going to need it once I graduated to pursue job-hunting leads and when i got my first teaching job. I had a double major in Elementary Education and Sociology; however, I intended to pursue a career as an Elementary School teacher.
My father bought this car from a leasing company and surprised me with it when I flew home from my Midwestern college for spring break. I had told him my price range. He more than doubled that and expected me to pay him back. I had told him my three stipulations.
- "Make certain it has air conditioning." The air conditioner died right before i spent a summer in St. Louis, Missouri teaching summer school. Two hundred (200) people died from the heat that summer. I remember driving home from my job in the hot pervasive heat in the middle of the afternoon to take my second shower of the day, trying to survive this horrible heat."
- Make certain it is an automatic and not a stick shift car." He at least followed through on that.
- "Make certain it is not purple or pink." He also followed through on that as it was silver.
Unfortunately, the car turned out to be a real lemon. It would stall out at red lights or in traffic jams. We had to fork out quite a bit of money to get it repaired. I was so grateful when I could finally trade it in a few years down the line.
Here is another memory about my former car.
Wouldn't you know that not only was I having to deal with that heat, I had also gotten a really bad case of poison ivy on my hands. I was teaching a summer elementary school nature studies class. We decided to make Sassafras Tea. I found a Sassafras Tree and dug around the area - not realizing that it was housed within a poison ivy vine. My hands blew up like balloons. So I would have to take my oven-mitt size hands and place them on that molten-lava hot steering wheel in that car. I would have the windows open, trying to catch any cool breeze that might exist. Dust would blow into my eyes giving my hard contacts a real work-out. As you can probably imagine, I was not overly fond of this car that did not protect me from the heat and the dust. The summer of 1980 was decidedly not my best summer.
But this car that my husband and I saw at the Vintage Car Show looked nothing like my first car. It probably also did not act like my first car. This car was pretty. Of course, it probably did not have air conditioning either; however, I did not even consider that point as I walked all around the car enjoying its high points. I don't know if you would call it a white car with yellow, a yellow car with white, a white and yellow car, or a two-toned car. In any case, this car was pretty. I have always loved that shade of yellow. This car was a 1955 two-toned Chevy. My former car was a 1978 Chevy Nova.
Here is a picture of that pretty 1955 Chevy.
1957 Chevy Bel Air Sport Coupe
Here are two 1957 Chevy’s that my husband and I saw at a Greeneville, Tennessee car show that we attended back in 2009. One of them is shiny black. The other is light blue.The black 1957 Chevy pictured below shows off its pretty engine. I imagine that this was not the original engine. Most likely, the owner replaced it for the purpose of helping this car get an even better showing.
My husband told me the 1957 Chevy was one of the most famous cars ever made. As I thought about it, I began to wonder why that would be.
I visited a site called "1957 Classic Chevrolet "Sweet, Smooth and Sassy." I wanted to see what their particular bias was pertaining to this particular car.
They mention that if you walk up to a group of people who really venerate old cars and ask the question "What is the most classic Chevy ever made?", they will immediately mention a 1957 Chevy. Do you agree? If you happen to be a car buff, is that what you would say? Please indicate in the comment section below.
Of the two cars, I really loved the 1957 light blue Chevy with the white roof the best. My husband told me that these cars, whatever the color, were known as classics. Wouldn't it be fun to go to a drive-in movie in a car like this? What do you think? There is a comment section at the bottom of this hub if you would like to share your thoughts.
Here are those two pictures of a 1957 Chevy Bel Air Sport Coupe in two different colors.
1969 Chevy Camaro
At the vintage car show, this 1969 Chevy Camaro was one of my favorites.It's possible that I selected this one as yellow is one of my favorite colors.
My husband, who was born in 1952, told me that this particular car was considered to be some of the first muscle cars. So he would have been 17 years old when this car was made. Most sixteen and seventeen year old kids would definitely know a thing or two about that.
The Merriam-Webster gives this definition: "Any of a group of American-made 2-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving."
Here is a picture of that 1969 Chevy Camaro.
Vintage Chevrolet Corvette
Check out the picture of this red with white Vintage Chevrolet Corvette below.When I asked my husband what he knew about Chevrolet Corvettes, he told me that due to their sleek lines and some other features, these cars helped change automotive history. They certainly do have very sleek lines. I think this car is really classy looking. What do you think?
Since the owner of this car was not around, I am not sure what year this car is. However, when I visited the Edmunds.com website, I discovered that the very first Chevrolet Corvette was produced in 1953. It sold for $3,498. I suppose that was a lot of money back then.
As I tried to trace what year this car might have been make, I learn that all the cars produced in 1953 were white. They called the color "Polo white." So, no, this car was not made in 1953.
I learned that in 1954, they came out with a red, blue, and black car in addition to the white cars. They called the red color "Sportsman Red." They called the blue color "Pennent Blue." They called the black color "Black." Smile. Very original color name for Black.
The only other possible clue is that if the tires on this car were original or reproductions of the original tires, "the wide whitewall tires" were only included as an option in the Chevrolet Corvettes made before 1960.
So based on those clues, I am guessing that this car was made between 1954 and 1959.
I wish the car owner had been around so I could have asked that all-important question, "What year was this car made?"
So, are there any car buffs out there who can solve the mystery for us? When was this car made? Please share your knowledge in the comment section below should you know the answer.
Here is a picture of that vintage Chevrolet Corvette.
Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray
At this car show, this Chevrolet Corvette String Ray really caught my eye. As I understand it, they primarily featured this type of car from 1963 to 1967. So I imagine this vintage car was made during that time frame. The owner of this car was not around, so we could not find out for sure.I thought the gold color was pretty. It reminded me a bit of the movie called "Grease" starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. I am not saying this is the same car that they drove in this movie, the one they called "Grease Lightning," but to my eyes, it had a similar look and feel to those cars. Why? To my eyes, it looked just like a car that would be used in a drag race or a car chase. It is kind of long and sleek and classy-looking. Check out the picture below to see if you agree.
Here is a picture of that Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray.
Some More Sad Tales about My First Car
Thinking back on my first car, that car would stall out at the most inconvenient times. I would be sitting at a red light and it would sometimes stall out. I would be in a traffic jam and it would sometimes stall out. Once I was driving through a small town as I was going on my way between St. Louis, Missouri to Kingsport, Tennessee. There was a long train going by. It was so long, i decided to save on gasoline and turn off the car. When the train was gone, I tried to turn my engine back on. No such luck! The battery was dead. Fortunately, it stalled out near a station that did car repairs. They helped push my car into their garage. Not so fortunately, they charged me “an arm and a leg.” Thankfully, I had a credit card and could charge it to that.One other bad thing happened to that car. My paternal grandmother lived in Anderson, Indiana. She had been born in 1900. When she was around 82 or 83 years old, I drove to Anderson, Indiana around Christmas time to bring her to Kingsport, Tennessee, to visit my parents and little brother for the holidays. Since she could no longer drive, I drove the entire way.
Thankfully, it was my habit to stop the car every 90 minutes or so to get out and walk around. Even so, I found it rather strange that both of us were fighting sleep.
After Christmas, my father took the car to be repaired. He was rather inquisitive. He decided to hang around while they worked on it. It was then that he discovered that there was a hole in the exhaust pipe. If it had not been for my habit of stopping the car so frequently on that hours-long trip, my grandmother and I might have suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning.
As you probably get the idea, that car was never my favorite. I was so glad when I was finally financially solvent years later to replace that used car with a brand new car.
What about you? Do you have a story to share, good or bad, about a Chevy car or another car that you have owned? If so, please share in the comment section below.
I have also owned a Dodge Omni hatchback. I cannot seem to recall what year it was. I think I got it in 1985 or so. It was white. Unfortunately, it was a lemon as well. It would stall out at red lights now and then. Eventually, the hydraulics on the hatchback ceased to work. That was another car that I was happy to replace.
In 1991, I bought my third car. It was a green Saturn. Third time works the charm. It was a wonderful car that lasted me ten years. Then I traded it in for a 2001 light blue Saturn. It also was a great car that lasted me ten years. In February 2011, When Saturn closed its plant, I changed over to a Nissan Versa as my car-of-choice. I’ve been very happy how reliable it has been.
What about you? What is your favorite car to drive?
How old does a car have to be to be considered a Vintage Car?
As I viewed all these cars at the vintage car show, I began to wonder. To earn the label of “vintage car,” what is the cut-off year?The car show I attended was back in 2009. So at that time, the 1969 Chevy Camaro car pictured above would have been 40 years old. Is that old enough? Did the owner of that 1969 car just get into the car show by the skin of his teeth? It really made me wonder.
I decided to do a little research with my favorite search engine – Google. So, I Googled the topic. I think that is now considered a real word. LOL!
To boil down all that I read and learned, on average, the car should be about 40 years old. The car also should be reserved for car shows and not used for the owner’s regular transportation.
So, on that topic, the silver 1978 Chevy Nova that I wrote about above would now be over 40 years old, should it even still exist. However, I attempted to use it for my regular transportation. Plus, it looked just like an ordinary car. It didn’t have that “old-timey” appearance. So, I think there has to be something more than being, on average, 40 years old.
There was actually quite a bit of controversy on that topic. What is your opinion? How does a car earn the title of being labeled a VINTAGE CAR?
Please note
I formerly had this posted on Hubpages. Due to one of my past videos disappearing when a former site I used to write for closed down, the hub went into draft mode. Now that I have my own blog, I decided to bring the article back to life minus the video. Sadly, the video has been lost for good as a past computer virus made one of my former laptops “crash and burn.” Sigh and double sigh!
What is your Favorite Vintage Car?
What is your favorite Vintage Car? Why? Please share your comments.By the way, what features do you most appreciate about your car? What is most important to you when you are picking out your most ideal car?
Also, if you were going to own a vintage car, what type would you most like to have?
Link to other Vintage Car Blog
This is the link to the other blog I wrote about vintage cars. It will open up in a new window.Vintage Ford Vehicles at Car Show
OR, you can click this button.
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