Beatersville 2009 Post #7

I've got an interesting set of pictures for readers today. The first was taken inside part of the Phoenix Hill Tavern in Louisville, KY. The tavern once again played host to the Beatersville Show. The building itself is enough to make it a stop on any trip through Kentucky. I really wish that I had taken MANY more photographs inside this place. The room next to this one housed an antique bar and contained the stage in which the bands performed throughout the day. The sound deading within the walls was incredible. One could literally walk out of a shoulder to shoulder packed room with the highly amplified sounds of some great Rockabilly and Blues bands, go down a short hallway and turn into this tropical tiki paradise to a group of folks that could have no clue of what was happening next door.

It's always great to see evidence of the Hub Garage at shows. I noticed a couple of vendors with some Hub Decals to give away. Saw a couple of Hub tee-shirts, and noticed this Hub decal. If you haven't checked it out yet...it's one of my favorite online "hangouts". It's like a Facebook for gearheads and a virtual car show all wrapped into one! Check it out!

I really like this picture because of all the photographs I took at Beatersville, this one really captures some of the kulture. I absolutely love bikes with sidecars, and the WWII Flying Tiger graphics on this one were very kool!

Well, I've got to admit, this was a first for me. I've seen some pretty wild floor shifters in my day, but I've never seen one this wild "growin' on the tree" !!!

Beatersville 2009 Post #6

Alright, for those of you who endured the ramblings of yesterday's post, thought I'd shut up today and just let you enjoy some more kool pictures for the Beatersville Show. Heck, I even uploaded 7 PICTURES for today's post instead of my traditional 5. Enjoy.

(Editors Note: Just found out today that the rat rod pictured above belongs to a guy I know! I had heard he was building a rat rod, and had wanted to stop and see it. Today, (June 6th) he showed me a picture and I said...."Hey! Did you have this at Beatersville!?!?! I not only saw it, I took a picture of it! Too funny! GREAT lookin' car Adam! Can't wait to have a chance to look it over again now that I know who it belongs to!)

Beatersville 2009 Post #5

Hey, traditional hot rods and kustom kulture isn't all about rat rods. It's about a simpler time. Restoring vehicles and/or hot rodding them the way the would have done it in the 50's and 60's. It's a statement against the high dollar billet aluminum, pastel paint job, high dollar crate engine craze of the 80's and 90's. It's the common man saying, "We're taking hot rodding back to it's roots!"

The traditional hot rod scene is about kats (and kittens) building something that they can afford. It's about doing it yourself (or getting the help from your buddies). It's in direct contrast to the guy who pays a shop $100,000+ dollars to build him a trailer queen that never sees the pavement.

Yeah, you may not "get" some of the outrageous rides on the fringe of the movement. Rat rods and/or layin' frame may not be your cup of tea. But the "can do" spirit and and creativity that can be seen in the blood, sweat and tears of these builders labors makes these types of shows among my favorites.

I've got to admit, it's been my experience that the type of people that build traditional hot rods and/or attend this type of event are in general much more enjoyable to spend time with, and more pleasant to be around than most of the owners of trailer queens and trophy winners. My advice to these folks is.... "Loosen Up and Enjoy the Show We Call Life!!!"

Beatersville 2009 Post #4

Man, I love the Nifty Fifty, but there is definitely a part of me that would love to own a rat rod. I really enjoy looking at each individual rods unique features. There are A LOT of creative builders out there!

Traditional Hot rods, patina, shop trucks, it's "all good" in my book. I love the whole Kustom Kulture scene as well.

I get real tired of the guys at other shows that spend the whole day polishing their cars and worrying if someone gets too close to their spotless rides. To a lot of those guys, shows are all about the trophies. The koolest thing about shows like Beatersville, Hillbillies and Hotrods, and the Road Rocket Rumble is that its more about enjoying driving your car, hanging out with your friends, and meeting new ones.

Another great thing about the Kustom Kulture movement is that it has allowed owners of cars that may have never been considered as "show cars" to bring them to the shows for everyone to enjoy. I love seeing an increase in station wagons, pickup trucks, and other models at shows.

I'm also seeing more and more Gassers at shows these days.

Beatersville 2009 Post #3

Man...As I walked around the Beatersville Show with my wife and younger brother, I couldn't help but wish I had driven the Nifty Fifty to the show. But with the radiator currently out of the car, I'll have to shoot for next year's event.

Lots of kool patina graced the fenders of several of the cars at this year's show.

I remembered seeing this sweet little panel truck down in Nashville, Indiana at last year's Hillbillies and Hotrods event.

Talk about kool patina! This little rat had the right look!

Here are a couple shots of another great looking rod!

Beatersville 2009 Post #2

Here is my second installment of pictures from Beatersville Show in Louisville, KY.

This convertible Chevrolet was absolutely beautiful.

I took this picture for my 17 year old son because he likes the Gassers!

LOTS & LOTS of kool traditional hot rods and rat rods at this show!

WOW! This Chevrolet was probably in my top 5 favorites at the Beatersville Show. It was VERY KOOL!

Beatersville 2009 Post #1

WOW! I had heard only a few things about the Beatersville Show before I decided a couple of weeks ago to try to make plans and go, so I was pleasantly surprised at how incredible the event was!

The show is centered around the Phoenix Hill Tavern in Louisville, Kentucky. I believe this was the 4th or maybe 5th year of the show (I'm sure a reader or two can tell me for sure.) The Phoenix Hill Tavern is a very old, historic, kool building filled with enough ecclectic stuff to make the head spin.


The car and motorcycle show is an annual event that focuses on pre-68, home-built traditional hot rods, rat rods, and motorcycles. No billet, No trailer queens, just kool rides, kustom kulture, and sweet Rockabilly and Blues bands throughout the day.

Project '39 Update

Stopped in to see my friend Rocky this weekend. When I called him, he said he had just gassed up Project '39 and was bringing her home.

Well, when I got to his house, I finally got to see the project for myself. Avid readers of Suede and Chrome should recall the frequent updates on this project throughout the past few months. It's great to finally get a chance to look it over. There are LOTS of things to look at on this ride. Lots of parts from lots of different sources....lots of creativity too!

The final result is a pretty kool ride. Bet this thing looks pretty wicked coming up in your rear view mirror! Stopped in to see this rat rod on my way to the Beatersville Show in Louisville, KY. Lots of pictures to post in the next few days....the show was AWESOME!

Ran across this little Friki Tiki VeeDub on ebay this morning....thought it was pretty kool. (Not the calibur of Rocky's little VeeDub that won best Rat Rod at last year's Beatersville, but still very kool.)


Well, we got the results back from our son's blood work. Doctor's claim he didn't have a seizure yesterday at school. And he seems to be acting fine since home from the hospital last evening. That is certainly awesome news! Thanks for prayin'! The wife and I will be loading for Beatersville this afternoon and heading south to KY!

Nifty Fifty Down, Beatersville Trip on Hold....

Well, the wife and I am supposed to be packing our bags for Louisville tonight. EVERYTHING is currently on hold while the little guy we adopted a few years ago goes through some tests. I received a call from my wife at about 2 this afternoon. She was on her way to the elementary school. She had received a call that our adopted son was having a seizure. By the time she got to school, it was over. They said it lasted about 5 minutes.

She called our doctor and he sent her to the ER. We thought they would want to do a CAT scan, but now it sounds like they will just do some blood work. We knew that he had been on some seizure meds before we got him (he was 4 when we flew out to Seattle to bring him home). He's been with us for 3 years and he has never had a seizure. We'll have to wait to see how this weekend turns out. May have to scrap Beatersville trip.

The little guy has A LOT of health issues. Williams Syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Abused and taken away from his mother at one. Neglected in Foster Care....etc. We would appreciate your prayers!

Got the radiator pulled out of the Nifty Fifty last evening. Didn't have my digital camera, so I snapped a couple of pictures with my cell phone. As you can see from the photographs, I've got a leak in the center of the reservoir. I've got a buddy that's going to try to fix it before I have to spend a lot of $$$. There are a couple of shows in the next couple of weeks I wanted to take her to....We'll have to see how that goes.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend.

Scruffy