Check out what we found. It's...
Check out what we found. It's a whole room full of original musclecars.
In the modern age, we all look back quite fondly on the era of Detroit's most notorious performance cars. The Hemis, the COPOs, the Bosses, and the Judges-so many of the vehicles we owned or wanted to own have now disappeared, erased by time or youthful indiscretions. Another bummer is the remaining examples have more recently climbed into financial oblivion for many enthusiasts and are now playthings for well-heeled investors, sometimes worth as much as a modest house in most of America.
But this car hobby we all enjoy is also a bridge between the money guys and the rest of us. When we are not fighting to make a bid or trying to measure up for the judges, a lot of us can sit with any other car guy in North America and talk about how hard it was to find an N.O.S. grille or who the best guy to rebuild a motor is, no matter how the numbers may differ on our paychecks.
This row shows all the Camaros...
This row shows all the Camaros to actually pace the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which were on hand courtesy of GM. Bill Werthiem of Kenmore, New York's Paddock Chevrolet made the arrangements for this.
It is this environment that Tim Lopata wanted to facilitate when he started the Forge Invitational Musclecar Show five years ago. Leave your ego at the door, pal, because this deal is not just about your deal . . . .
The show is about heritage, the glory days of Detroit running roughshod on Main Street, and, as an invitational event, is always different. As a result, the Forge gets a very eclectic mix of iron each year. Held in 2007 inside the multimillion-dollar Sevierville Events Center near Knoxville, Tennessee, the two-day event brings together some of the rarest musclecars in the nation. By carefully selecting the show field beforehand, Lopata and his family let the cars and their stories speak for themselves, so the money men are on equal footing with single-car-owning families, one-owner survivor examples, and others. One saying has been that "everyone leaves here humbled," because no matter how rare your machine might be, someplace in this room is something that may equal or exceed it.
That's original paint, and...
That's original paint, and this Boss 429 Mustang has turned only 902 miles since it was new. Out of the spotlight for nearly a quarter century, Ford enthusiast Tom Flatey brought it down from Michigan. It was detailed by a previous owner with N.O.S. parts in the early '80s but is otherwise as original as they come.
The '07 show highlighted Chrysler's legendary Hemi and Six Pack cars, from the lightweights of '64 to the crazy-colored machines of '71. The event hall had room for just more than 100 cars altogether, and 50 percent of these bled Mopar orange. Still, the Lopata family had called out some pretty serious GM and Ford iron together as well.
The show is not judged, so there was no consensus on what the rarest or best car was on hand. We'll let the pictures tell that story for you, but if you can't pick a favorite or a winner, we'll understand. Everyone leaves here humbled . . . .
Like the Forge Show? For more info on this once-a-year event, jump on to forgemuscle carshow.com to see more photos and up-to-date info on the '08 event to be held September 12-13 in Sevierville, Tennessee.