Trump Charlotte Concours d’Elegance 2018
Richard | Nov 18, 2018 | Comments 0
Let me start off with saying the folks who put on and sponsor the Trump Charlotte Choncours d’Elegance of 2018 really had their hands full but did an excellent job of putting the show on. The big show was scheduled for Saturday Noveember 10th in Mooresville NC on the shores of Lake Norman. It is a great location with beautiful facilities. Unfortunately, they had heavy rain the days and night before. We were to set up at 6:00 AM on the 18th green with non-judged cars at other locations on the golf course. You can imagine heavy rain and big heavy cars don’t mix well with golf courses, especially the greens! On show day it started out very cold but soon began to warm as the sun came out and the day turned out beautiful.
Not only were there ruts in the fairways from early trailer parking but the wet greens were as slick as ice. The organizers immediately parked all cars by class in temporary parking lots and began to develop strategies for alternative show fields. This was a formula for disaster but within two hours all the cars were located on new beautiful higher ground show sites. Cars were parked a little closer than planned but that is the only complaint.
The judges began their judging on time and did not judge the underside of cars since many, like ours, had to drive in over less than desirable wet soggy ground.
The quality of the cars in the various classes was outstanding with many vehicles I had never even known about and others I had only seen in photos. It was a real thrill and for the most part every volunteer and every participant was friendly and understanding of the difficult show conditions.
Below are some of our favorite cars from the show. In addition there were a number of show fields with non-judged yet outstanding cars that we just never had time to go see due to time constraints of car cleaning and judging.
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- We were thrilled to receive the Sponsor’s Choice Award for our Daytona. It was one of only four Special Awards given out other than Class Awards.
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- This Hemi Cuda was an outstanding example.
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- The 1970 Mercury Spoiler with 429 is a rare piece and was good to see at the Concours.
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- Lee Holman brought out his HM built 63 Galaxie.
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- This is a 1930 Packard 745 DeLuxe Seven-Passenger Touring. This Raymond Dietrich bodied Packard was fitted with multiple options which included dual side mounted spares, dual spotlights, Pilot Ray lights, and original fitted luggage.
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- 1931 Auburn 8-98A
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- 1930 Duesenberg J, powered by a 420 cubic-inch double overhead-cam engine. No two cars were exactly the same. At a time when a Ford Model A sold for under $500 a top of the line Duesenberg could cost $20,000.
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- 1928 Auburn 80115 Boattail Speedster; it is the Wade Morton car driven on February 20, 1928 at Daytona Beach, FL setting a production car record of 104.347 MPH.
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- 1952 Muntz Jet capable of 125 mph.
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- 1957 Dual Gia
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- 1953 Cadillac Elegante. This airplane inspired two seater has a retractable hardtop. It was built from the remains of a burned out 1953 Series 62 convertible. Believed to be the first retractable hard top convertible!
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- 1913 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost
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- 1928 Isotta Fraschini 8ASS. Powered by 160 hp straight eight guaranteed to go 90mph.
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- 1925 Rolls Royce Springfield Picadilly Roadster. Previously owned by Howard Hughes. He purchased two giving the other to screen star Gloria Swanson.
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- 1937 Mercedes Benz 540K Cabriolet. Powered by 5.4 liter supercharded straight eight with a top speed of 110 mph.
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- ACO Spec Ford GT race car. This is a 2007 model that competed at the American Le Mans Series with a podium finish in the 24 hour classic in 2011.
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- 1936 Ford Woodie. Started life as a one ton truck, back cut off and the passenger area added.
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- 1991 Pontiac Grand Prix NASCAR stock car by Penske Racing for Rusty Wallace.
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- 1976 Ford Torino NASCAR stock car. Junie Donlavey car for driver Dick Brooks.
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- 1984-86 Chevy Monte Carlo NASCAR. This is one of the original Childress Racing speedway cars used during 1984-86.
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- This “vintage gasser” and several others were on display and a highlight of the day was when all of them fired up at the same time!
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- 1952 Packard Pan American
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- The sun was not yet up when we arrived on show day but the view over Lake Norman was breathtaking.
About the Author: I grew up and lived in Iowa for nearly 40 years before moving to Southern California and now live in Tennessee. I have been into cars since I was old enough to remember. I don't have a brand loyalty although I do prefer American Muscle especially the 1969/1970 NASCAR Aero Cars. (Check our our www.TalladegaSpoilerRegistry.com page) As long as it has four wheels on it I get excited. Few men are lucky enough to be able to share their passion for cars with the woman they love. Fortunately, my wife Katriana is also a gear head and many of our activities revolve around the cars. We have a small collection that includes at least one car from each of the Big Three. Katrina prefers all original cars while I like to modify them so we have a few of each. When we aren't playing with cars we are out with our miniature donkeys. You can see more about that part of our lives at http://www.LegendaryFarms.com.
