It’s no secret that recent years have been grim for many car shows. Meets that used to be considered “the party of the year” in the Mopar community have reported steadily declining attendance, and with every passing year the passion supporting these events seems to fade further away. Maybe this is why I was so overwhelmed with my first experience at The Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals!
The energy at MCACN was something I’ve never experienced firsthand, but only heard of in regards to years passed. The atmosphere was lively, participants were enthusiastic, and spectators filled the aisle ways in numbers I had never before seen. Stepping into the showroom you’re immediately greeted by some of the rarest muscle cars in the world, low mileage Daytona Chargers, one off prototypes and of course the long-awaited Rapid Transit System Plymouth’s that initially convinced my attendance. As a plethora of muscle machines dazzled under the neon glow, it almost felt as though I had taken a step back into a simpler time, the times older hot-rodders consider the “glory days”. Original memorabilia, old school advertisements and garage art covered the showroom. The smell of Jax Wax and chrome polish filled the air, and elder faces light up with joy as they relived their youth (even if it was just for a weekend).
As I made my way down the red carpeted walkways I felt like a little kid that had been given free reign at a candy shop, I was surrounded by every kind of muscle car imaginable. All original, date coded rarities that rested on factory poly-glass tires sat beside freshly bug spattered drivers that rocked rusty Cragars and BFGs. Perfectly polished, concourse level restorations shared space with dusty barn finds. From drag cars to factory prototypes, there truly was something for everyone at MCACN. Being my first year attending the event I foolishly thought it could all be seen in one day, let me warn you now this is a two day event for a reason. As I pushed through the crowd hunting for Mopars I couldn’t help but stop and chat up nearly every show car owner I bumped into. I was enamored, not only with the stories behind the cars but also the enthusiasm in the eyes of their owner’s as they shared their favorite memories with me. Truly the best part of MCACN was the comradery shared between the car people (yes, even the Vette guys) as they displayed their treasures among the community. Aside from awesome car owners I also had the pleasure of speaking with a few good friends of the late, great Steven Juliano and even the builder of the Rapid Transit System cars, Chuck Miller! Keep an eye out for more content, including more details on the RTS cars, coming soon! In the meantime, check out some of the most badass Mopars from the 2018 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals!
Sandy and Frank’s one owner Superbird restored by Hodge’s Dodges. When Frank turned 17 his dad took him to the local Plymouth dealer and told him “pick one”! Like any sensible 17 year old boy, Frank picked the brightest, boldest, and wildest car he could find. The car served as a daily driver for sometime (he even used it to pull around his highschool’s homecoming floats) but after years of hardwork this one of a kind wing-thing now lives the pampered life.
This Plum Crazy ’71 GTX tribute has been with Randy Lowe since 1974. In ’84 it was in a bad deer accident, taking it off the road for years. In 2002 Randy was able to begin rebuilding the car and resurrected it into this top of the line muscle machine.
Included in the barn finds display was the obscure ’64 Plymouth prototype car the “Satellite 2”. The current owner informed me this one of one piece of Mopar heritage actually spent some of it’s life as a highschool shop classes’ project car.
