36th Annual Shades The Shades of the Past Car Club is well known for their annual Hot Rod Roundup the weekend after Labor Day. This group of Tennessee hot rodders has for the past 36 years directed this event into becoming one of the premier rodding get-togethers in the country, and most assuredly one of the topflight events in the south, only surpassed by the Nats in Louisville. Held in Pigeon Forge, home base for the past few years, is Dollywoods Splash Country with Dollywoods DreamMore Resort as the headquarters hotel. And, we might add, it sure looks as if the event will be housed here for years to come a big plus. Shades club members handle all of the enormous details required to pull off a two-day event (Friday and Saturday), which includes a car show with some 2,500 hot rods, a swap meet, and a manufacturers row. While all of this is being enjoyed by rodders from all over the country, there is the Top 25, Magnificent 7, STREET RODDER magazine Best Ford in a Ford sponsored by Ford Performance Parts, and numerous other awards. But for the past two years the award that is gaining in popularity and competition is the Triple Crown of Rodding sponsored by Painless Performance Products and presented by STREET RODDER . (Founding TCR sponsors are Advanced Plating, Classic Instruments, and Vintage Air, along with this years title sponsor Painless Performance Products and supporting sponsors PPG, ARP, Art Morrison Enterprises, and Wilwood Engineering.) --> For years now hot rodders have paid attention to the Hot Rod Roundup Top 25 as this grouping of builds is as fine a collection of cars and trucks as at any show in the country outdoor or indoor! From the Top 25 comes the Magnificent 7 and thats exactly what it is. Also out of this collection of outstanding hot rods come the three winners making up the Triple Crown of Rodding: Best Street Rod, Best Street Machine, and Best Street Cruiser. In the world of the Magnificent 7 the following hot rods really set the stage for the incredible collection of craftsmanship that was on hand. The Magnificent 7 are: Mark Mariani with his 1929 Ford highboy sedan (two-time STREET RODDER c over car, featured hot rod at Detroit), Debbie Walls (of Lokar fame and future SR feature) with her 1940 Ford convertible, Vic Buraglia with his 1969 Dodge Charger, Kyle Tucker with his 1969 Camaro (overall winner of the 2018 SEMA Battle of the Builders, Pirelli Great 8 at Detroit, and future SR cover car), Bruce Ricks with his 63-1/2 Ford Galaxie (debuted at Detroit and a future SR feature), Charles Baxley with his 1957 Chevy, and Danielle Lutz with her 1934 Ford highboy pickup (winner of the Dollywood VIP Pick, a category finalist at the 2018 SEMA Battle of the Builders, Pirelli Great 8 at Detroit, and future SR feature truck). --> The Shades event has long been known for its generosity to local charities and to those rodders in attendance. Once again, a 1932 Ford highboy roadster (built at Alloways Hot Rods) with numerous industry support was given away. The PPG Competition Orangepainted giveaway roadster was won by Keith Weatherby of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, who was present with his own hot rod (registration #1683). Another of the big winners from the weekend was Michael Hastings with his hot rod (registration #1510) of Hendersonville, Tennessee, who took home the $10,000 check given away to one of the early registrants (May 15) for 2018. Theres also the 50/50 drawing, which historically divides up with the winner taking home in the vicinity of $24,000. This year the total 50/50 jackpot came in at $48,265 meaning one lucky hot rodder went home with $24,132.50.The remaining funds, along with other event earnings, go to local charities of all kinds. (Its no wonder this event is well supported by the locals.) For us it comes down to the Painless TCR. This year amidst thunder, lighting, and rain the awards ceremony was completed but everyone did have a watchful eye on the inbound weather as the awards were finalized. Mother Nature did hold off long enough to allow us to announce the Triple Crown of Rodding without having to duck between raindrops. The cars that win the TCR are no strangers to hot rodders as they have probably been seen elsewhere competing for prestigious awards all year long. The nice thing about the TCR at Dollywoods Splash Country hosted by the Shades Car Club is you get to see them all at once. (The judging panel is made up of Shades Car Club members who have been involved with car judging for years, if not decades!) --> There are three categories: Best Street Rod, Best Street Machine, and Best Street Cruiser. Taking home top honors in Best Street Rod was Mark Mariani with his 1929 Ford Model A highboy sedan. It was artfully crafted by the staff at Rad Rides by Troy under the watchful eye of Troy Trepanier. Best Street Machine was awarded to Kyle Tucker of Detroit Speed. It was there in his shop that Kyle and crew built whats arguably the most fantastic 1969 Camaro ever built. Rounding out the Triple Crown is the 1963-1/2 Ford Galaxie belonging to Bruce Ricks and built at the shop of Steve Cook Creations. Each of the car owners will receive a $5,000 check from STREET RODDER , along with the one-of-a-kind trophy designed and built under the cooperative direction of Classic Instruments and Advanced Plating to go along with a $1,000 gift certificate from each of the award sponsors to help with current or future builds. As an added thank you, Vintage Air awards each builder a beautiful plaque to give recognition for the efforts each has spent building these amazing hot rods. Should you want to go to a summer event this should definitely be on your bucket list. If you think you have a pretty nice hot rod and would like to compete for a Top 25, Magnificent 7, or beyond, attend and have at it. Or better yet, you want to have some family fun at Dollywood and take in a few thousand hot rods? Then this is the place to drive to the weekend after Labor Day. (Dollywoods Splash Country will again serve as host to the Shades of the Past Hot Rod Roundup. For more info on Shades #37, September 6-7, 2019, go to shadesofthepast.com .) Youll be glad you did. --> Best Ford in a Ford The Ford Motor Company changed the entire automotive landscape in 1964 when the Mustang made its debut. While that signaled the start of the ponycar wars, Ford was putting their small-block V-8 in a small lightweight a couple years before the Mustang came on the scene. While Ford introduced the Falcon in 1960 as an econo-car, by 1963-1/2 they were putting their 260 ci of small-block power under the hood, creating the first lightweight economy car with a V-8. While the Mustang dominated the collector car world there is a small but growing group of enthusiasts who realize the Falcon is a car with clean lines, great performance, and the big advantage of being somewhat rare and unique. None of this information was lost on bonafide Falcon guru Dale Brown. With a Falcon Ranchero and another Falcon Sprint sharing garage space with this 1963 Falcon Sprint convertible, Dale has a Falcon for every occasion. This particular Falcon was found just 25 miles from his home, resting outside a garage, top down, and settling into the ground. Remarkably the car was still savable. Dale wasnt certain if the car was for sale so he simply left a note in the mailbox expressing interest in purchasing the car. About a week later his phone rang and much to his surprise it was the owner of the Falcon, and yes, he would be willing to sell the car. A deal was made and the Sprint was soon in Dales garage. After rummaging through the car, inventorying the parts, and giving the car a good cleanup, Dale did some suspension work but then decided to bring this car well past driver quality. With that thought in mind he hauled the Falcon to The Hot rod Syndicate in Buford, Georgia, where Brad Shadburn could work his magic. All rust repair, fabrication, wiring, and final assembly were handled by Shadburn, resulting in one of the finest Falcons we have ever seen. The front suspension was swapped out for a Heidts adjustable coilover suspension while out back an 8.8 Ford rear is located via a Heidts four-link and coilover shocks. Under the hood 408 inches of Holley-fed Ford Windsor motor connects to a Ford T-5 transmission. This combination provides more than enough power and the joy of mixing your own gears. Wilwood brakes are found on all four corners and rolling stock comes in the form of BFGoodrich rubber wrapped around American Rebel wheels that measure 155.5 front and 158 rear. The proper hot rod stance and traditional wheel combination let you know this is not your grandmas Falcon. Inside the car Dakota Digital monitors the Ford engine while Vintage Air keeps the rich red interior cool. A factory center console has been restored to perfection and the Hurst shifter protruding through the console sends a real performance vibe inside the car. Of course in the end it is the packaging of the entire car that brought us in for a closer look. The PPG silver paint and tasteful blacktop accents the clean lines of the Falcon and provides the perfect contrast with the deep red interior. The car is built to the perfect level, highly detailed with excellent craftsmanship, and yet the car can still be enjoyed on the street. For that reason we found Dale Browns 1963 Falcon Sprint convertible to be an easy choice for the Ford Performance Best Ford in a Ford Award. SRM The post Triple Crown of Rodding Crowned at Shades of the Past Event appeared first on Hot Rod Network .