Club Tour

Driving Tour – October 12, 2022 – America’s Senior Heroes’ ’22 Appreciation Tour

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HRR’s wrap up tour for the 2022 season, America’s Senior Hero’s ’22 Appreciation Tour, was a triple treat. It began with a visit to Charlie’s Custom Creations and Machines in Murfreesboro, where the group was given an insider’s view of the in’s and out’s of the custom fabrication process used to create show stopping rods capable of supercar speeds. Especially impressive was their use of 3-D printing to fabricate grills and other car parts. 

 Next, the tour followed scenic backroads for lunch at the Barrell House II BBQ restaurant located on the premises of the Nearest Green Distillery just on the outskirts of Shelbyville.  This tour member gives it a four Michelin star rating in the BBQ category.   It would have received five stars if they had toothpicks at the register.  The highlight of the lunch was Cindy Jones conducting the 50/50 raffle just as she and Rick had done for so many years.    

Finally, the tour swung by assisted living facilities in the Shelbyville area.  As has been the case in years past, the residents were enthusiastic and extremely grateful for the classic car parade in their honor.  The tour was held up for about 10 minutes at the last stop to allow the residents to finish their bingo game.   This leg of the tour was especially meaningful since it was scheduled as our May event but had to be cancelled due to the weather forecast.   Thanks to Greg Faulk and Sally McKay for organizing the tour.   An extra loud shout out goes to Russ and Pat Barnes for mapping out a pastoral tour route and dealing with the logistics of creating a time table involving a rod shop, a restaurant and three assisted living facilities.   The club should consider giving them a bottle of Nearest Green’s finest.

March 12 Driving Tour – We Made “Lemonade”

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The weather was not the most cooperative this Saturday….  not that we got the 3 to 6 inches that were “possible” according to the forecasters.  But……

we did get enough of a “skiff” of snow that it made the roads a bit less than desirable.

We had a low turn-out at Loafers Glory that morning, but 14 folks enjoyed the hot fireplace, hot coffee and conversations before the decision was made to postpone the Falcon Rest Mansion cruise until a later date.  Hopefully the weather will be much better and more folks can join in for the day!  Perhaps it wall be at a time when the gardens will be in full bloom and glory.

As we were already gathered, we decided to head on over to the Boulevard Bar and Grill for more conversations and lunch.  After a good time there, we all headed on our separate ways.

August 14, 2021 Driving Tour to Columbia

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Our tour to Columbia to visit Mefford Motors turned out well despite the cloudy weather. We had 36 members attend with a good selection of classic cars on the run. We enjoyed visiting a working garage that specializes in classic & custom cars of all types. Our host, Mike Mefford, was able to show us a number of the project cars they’re working on. Then we moved on to Catfish Campus for a really good catfish lunch and lots of socializing. A number of the members went to visit some of the other Columbia shops & attractions after lunch. Thanks to all who attended.  – Greg Marshall

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

April 24, 2021 Driving Tour

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What started out as a threatening day weather-wise, actually ended up supporting the much-maligned Butch Roth premise. It actually did not rain on us during our stops. We had left loafers glory slightly behind schedule but quickly made that up driving east on country roads. As usual, the countryside was “worth the watch”.

At our first stop, Graveyard Restorations, we met with Mark Seybold and his team. Club members will remember the Antique Automobile article in the Jan/Feb ’21 issue, about his restoration of a very rare 1937 Chrysler imperial convertible coup. There were only 351 built with the whereabouts of 4 not known. We were amazed when we were shown another 37 Chrysler convertible coup being restored there presently. It was obvious that things move slowly in his shop, because of many factors. Hand-made new parts, search and find missions for others, slow the restoration process greatly. Eventually, on average a quality restoration may take at least 2 or more years.

That stop aroused our need for “rest and recreation”. This was obtained nearby at an Amish Deli. It is called Four Corners Bulk Food & Deli. They provided us with deli sandwiches, drinks, and all the fixings, plus, soft-serve ice cream. I noticed many other items which left the store in our cars, as well. Why not, THEY even take credit cards. 

After traveling on Route 70S back to Murfreesboro, we visited Powder Pro, a powder painting shop owned by Richard Shehane.

He provided us with the history of this painting technique and showed us examples of its many uses.  He had done many car parts including wheels, which piqued our durability interest. However, when he showed its versatility when applied to lawn furniture, special gates, as well as interior furniture, everyone’s interest piqued. In this era of “save the planet”, I was very surprised and thankful to learn from Richard that the painting material used is totally inert and eco-friendly.

Another trip is in the book, thank you for attending. 

William Bucher

Russel Barnes

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February Tour to Woodbury

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The first Honk Rattle & Roll Tour of 2021 is in the books!   We had 29 folks on the tour and what an age range in attendance;  from the youngest at (nearly) 15 months to Tom’s mom who is (older than Tom)! 

It was a beautiful drive to Woodbury under a clear sky with the snow-covered hills glistening in the bright sunshine.  The roads were clear with no troubles from earlier in the week’s snow and ice.  Tour guru Russ made a ‘Plan B’ to avoid some of the less-traveled back roads and had already road-tested this new route to be sure all would be in the clear!

After a quick rest stop in Woodbury, we arrived at ‘The Wooden Boatman’s’ place.  He designs, builds, and restores fine wooden boats and counts singer Alan Jackson as one of his customers. Refurbishing one of these classics includes rebuilding the hull, making any needed structural repairs, engine rebuilding or replacements, upholstery repair/replacement plus any other needed work.  It’s all done right there by one man in his shop.

We viewed boats that were in process of restoration and an as yet untouched boat ready to be started on.  Travis had pictures of boats he has designed and built and explained the processes he uses to bring these boats back into prime condition.

Leaving his shop we headed to lunch at DJ’s Pizza and Steakhouse in Woodbury.  They were very accommodating in keeping us ‘together, but separate’ in their outside enclosed and heated patio space.  Although they specialize in pizza and Italian meals, they have a varied menu, including excellent burgers and sandwiches, and great service.

Once all were finished with lunch, we hit the trail again heading toward McMinnville and ‘Third Gen Automotive’.  This family-owned and operated shop stocks, sells, refurbishes, rebuilds, and repairs all manner of ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s Ford autos and parts.  They have quite a collection of spare parts of all kinds, from fenders, wheels, engine parts, etc.: bumper to bumper (including the bumpers)!  Many parts are refurbished originals but he also has NOS and new parts.  Anything you need down to the correct nuts and bolts that hold things together!

They also had several cars in the shop that he was in the process of working on.  One of his next jobs involves going to Michigan to pick up a few cars from a collection that need to be refurbished for sale.

Selling parts mostly by the website they are kept busy packaging and shipping parts all across the US and the globe and doing restoration work on customer (and his own) antique Fords.  In his “spare time”,  Michael is searching out old cars, parts, collections, and anything else he can find and procure for the old cars.

They hope to be holding an “open house” and antique car meet later this year and he has promised to invite us back for that.  This would be a great opportunity for one of our “off-schedule” extra added attraction tours!  

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Tour at Edgar Evins State Park

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WOW our first off schedule Driving Tour of 2020 was well attended we had 27 members & friends attending. Thanks to William & Kathy planning skills we all had a great time on selected roads and we picnic together. We hit a few short rain falls but when arriving at Silver Point in Edgar Evins State park the rain stopped , sun came out making the view and picnic great !!!! When viewing tour pictures taken by Arleen Timbs you will see we had 27 in attendance with 14 vehicles on tour which included 10 Old Iron & Classics and 1 Motor Cycle. Please take the time to thank William Warlick, Kathy Warlick and Arleen Timbs for trip well planned.

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Feburary Tour to Tommy Ring’s Rat Rods

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If you weren’t some of the 44 members that showed up this past Saturday, then you missed another great day, road trip, lunch & tour !
Most of us met and left from Loafer’s Glory, after a little coffee & donuts, but some joined us along the way. The weather started off cool, but it got better, and overall it was great day for a ride.

Russ & Pat found a great route, that tuned out to be one of the most trouble-free, directionally un-challenged drives we’ve ever had. We managed to keep together and make the best speeds we’ve done before, on some great roads, and I hope all of you enjoyed it as much as Cindy & I did !

We arrived at Farmers Restaurant in Columbia with-in 15 minutes of our plans, and they were ready for us with plenty of help and so much food ! We proceeded to get our money’s worth of lunch and left there pretty much on time for our short drive to our destination.

Once again, we found that where we went, looked from the front, nothing like what we found in the rear. And in the rear was Ring’s Rat Rods, where “Rat Rods Are Born”. Tommy Ring & one young grandson were there waiting for us.

The shop isn’t very big, and all the rods in it, belong to Tommy and his family. He admits now days, he spends most of his time as a writer for a couple of Rat Rod Magazines and renting out his music recording studio in the basement of his home. After some time looking and talking, we learned more about his musical background and we were invited to see his studio space; so off we went.

Tommy was gracious enough to let all of us, traipse thru his home and down the stairs to the studio, where we were greeted by a beautiful black grand piano. Since Tommy sat down at the piano and started telling us about it, it didn’t take much to get him to play & sing. As I said at the time, our club just celebrated twenty-one years of age, (thanks founders!) and we had been a lot of places and seen a lot of things, but never had we been serenaded !

After that, we thanked our host and most people started leaving on their own. We made it home safe and hope everyone else did also.

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October Tour to Shelbyville

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The Honk, Rattle, and Roll Saturday, October 19, 2019 is now in the books. The morning’s AACA tour started out at Loafer’s Glory with a warm fire and ample coffee and donuts for everyone. The weather and temperature was just perfect for an hour and half drive to Shelbyville via Russ Barnes’ ingenious directions – Russ can easily turn a 35 minute drive into 1 ½ hours and has a knack for selecting superb backroads with beautiful scenery, a talent I truly admire.
We had 49 members in attendance and 18 Antique, Hot Rods and Classic Cars, setting an attendance record for the number vehicles driven!!
Our first stop was at Street Rods by Michael in Shelbyville. Michael, Michael’s wife Rosemarie and his technicians showed us their many projects in various states of work from Street Rods to Corvettes, Model A’s, vintage trucks, and many classic cars and engines and parts!! Several HRR members bought T shirts and no doubt made appointments with Michael regarding the possibility of Michael doing some work on their car. Michael can perform most any task from building frames, building engines, designing and duplicating parts to superb paint work.
Next we had lunch at Legends Steakhouse and many of us chose to treat ourselves to their delicious hamburgers via their Saturday special of $3.99 each !! Although Legends was short staffed because several employees were out with illnesses, it actually gave us all more time to socialize and hear various tales that we had never heard before. Then the rain set in, yet it didn’t dampen our afternoon tour.
Our second stop was in the afternoon at Gary King’s Museum of Bedford County. This Museum was actually started by Gary’s father, Garland King, the Chief Fire Marshall in Shelbyville for many years. The Museum had a vast array of memorabilia from Bedford County including too many Fire Engines to count, antique, classic and historical cars both inside the building as well as outside the building. Displayed were letters, a video recording story that Channel 5 did many years ago highlighting the King’s vast display of Bedford County and Shelbyville History. Gary King and his son, Colin, answered any and all questions that our group asked. The Kings are in the process of renovating an abandoned school close by where they will move their historical collection to in the near future, where I’m sure that it will beacon another visit from the Honk, Rattle and Roll Club.
Again, thanks to all who attended and we hope to see you at the next HRR adventure!!

Robert & Janet Shadoin HRR Board Member & Host

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August Tour Pictures

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The HRR August tour was a well-attended event with 37 members/spouses/guests participating.  It was a “Two-Stage” tour with each stage being optional.  The first stage was the “Cars and Coffee” cruise-in at the AMC Dine-In Thoroughbred 20 (movie theater) in Franklin, TN which started at 8:00am and wrapped up at 10:00am.   This cruise-in has been going on for years and if you’ve never been you owe it to yourself to go, especially on the first Saturday of the month.  There are usually around 1,000 rides that show up and several of our club members are organizers and warmly invite other HR&R members to attend.  

The destination for the second stage was the Amish community in Ethridge, TN.  The group left at 10:30 am from the parking lot of the Kroger Grocery on Columbia Ave in Franklin, just a few miles from “Cars and Coffee”.   The 60 mile journey to Ethridge consisted mainly of back roads that wound through the beautiful country side of Tennessee.  The first stop was Bob’s Café where we dined on a traditional “meat and three” including dessert, drink and tip for $13!  Then the members were left to their own to meander among the Amish farms and peruse and purchase their wares using a handy map provided at the visitor’s center.   Among the myriad choices: fresh vegetables, peanut brittle, jellies, jams and sorghum molasses, baked goods, furniture, rugs, baskets, walking sticks, cutting boards, birdhouses and even caskets.  As with Cars and Coffee, if you’ve never been to the Amish community you owe it to yourself to go.

Greg Faulk & Sally McKay

 

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