On Saturday afternoon the downtown neighborhood known to some as "Corkyville" became a car enthusiast's fantasyland as 2,500 custom cars, classic cars, hot rods and rat rods were on display for the fifth annual Chattanooga Cruise-In.
Thousands filed through the blocked-off streets around Coker Tire headquarters on Chestnut Street. Noses filled with the aroma of gasoline and ears hummed with the revving of torqued-up engines as eyes feasted on row after row of cars. Most of the cars had their hoods up, daring passersby to scrutinize. Some rows had several cars of the same make and model; other rows were more random.
On Main Street, an unassuming tan Studebaker held its own, parked between a blue and white Shelby GT 500 and a classic red Corvette.
The cars were pristine, gleaming in the sun. A silver and black Camaro SS showed off immaculate chrome guts cleaner than most people's dinner plates. Its 598 Chevrolet high-performance engine elicited reactions from several onlookers.
"Whooo!" one exalted, shaking his head.
"Now that's an engine!" another said to two friends.
Harrison, Tenn., native Jere Moore stood proudly next to his pewter-colored 1964 Corvette Stingray. Moore calls her "Lydia" after a 4-your-year-old girl he met who "killed all the boys in pedal car competitions."
Moore said he paid $11,000 for the car, which needed significant body work after its previous life as a race car. More than fixing it up, Moore had a vision for the car. He wanted it to have a unique body, more distinctive than the "male-shaped" lines he said Stingrays usually have. He motioned to Lydia's Coke-bottle shape.
"We transgendered the car, made it more feminine," Moore said. "That's why it's more beautiful than other Stingrays. The eye is telling you it's female."
Derrill Haney, who owns an alignment business and is a member of the National Street Rod Association, drove his blue 1940 Ford four-door down from Knoxville. He said he was enjoying his first Chattanooga Cruise-In.
"I like to walk around at these shows and look at other cars to get ideas," Haney said.
Attendees also got a chance to tour Coker Group CEO Corky Coker's museum of more than 60 classic cars and motorcycles. He owns a 1912 Nyberg (the only automobile ever mass produced in Chattanooga) and the Ferrari that Tom Selleck drove in "Magnum, P.I."
Coker, whose company is the world's largest supplier of tires and wheels for collector vehicles, said he conceived the idea for the cruise-in five years ago for a variety of reasons.
"We wanted to create a family event, free of charge," Coker said. "It's also meant to build an interest in cars, to create awareness of Chattanooga, our downtown, and our business."
Matt Graves was at the cruise-in representing the company he works for, Cookeville, Tenn.-based American Powertrain. He decided to bring his wife and kids with him and make a weekend of it in Chattanooga.
"This is just a nice place to have it," Graves said. "I go to these kinds of events all over the country, so it's nice to bring the family to one."
Coker said the cruise-in has grown considerably over the years. In addition to the tri-state area, he said people have come from Indiana, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia, and this was the first year the city closed off Main Street for the event.
He said several people begged him to make the cruise-in a two-day event in the future, and he said he was considering making it a biannual event. For Coker, the cruise-in is mostly about sharing his passion with others.
"We have the best job in the world," he said. "We get to deal with people that are passionate. When they hand money over to us, they do it with a big smile on their face, because then they get to go home and play with their new toy."
Contact Will Healey at whealey@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.