John and Elaine Henderson have a lot to smile about. Their big-block powered '67 made the trip from Greenwood, Indiana, without incident. The southern hospitality and smoky barbecue ain't bad, either, huh, John?

The "Midway" is jam packed with everything from restoration parts to memorabilia and T-shirts to transmissions. Bring money (or credit cards), 'cause you're sure to find something that you just can't live without.

If you read last issue's STEERING COLUMN, you know that we had company to cruise with to this year's event. For those that missed it, John and Elaine Henderson brought their beautiful, black '67 Super Sport down from Greenwood, Indiana, hooked up with us in Nashville, and together we blasted on in to the "Bluff City."

Spring showers greeted us as we hit the outskirts of Memphis, but they did little to dampen our spirits or enthusiasm for the event. We were there to see and be seen, so, precipitation notwithstanding, we immediately set about cleaning the road crud from our Chevelles. A good bath and some detail work were sorely needed by my '66 convertible, since I'd decided to press it into service only a couple of days prior to the event. I had anticipated bringing my '67 El Camino (which bears more than a passing resemblance to the Henderson's SS coupe), so the folks at the Memphis show could see a pair of "book end" cars. But the four-piston calipers developed a leak over the winter, and having them sleeved on such short notice was next to impossible. In a way, I'm kinda glad it happened that way; it forced me to get the convertible in shape for the upcoming summer.

Sue and Rich Brodtrick brought out their rare 300-horse, 327-powered '64 El Camino from Hillsboro, Missouri. They're the original owners of this 1 of only 1737 built with the L74 engine option. Sue also enjoys bangin' gears in the four-speed!

ACES member Billy Thacker owns this black and beautiful '69 SS396 El Camino. It's loaded with options and by the looks of the bed, hasn't hauled anything (but bootie) lately. Billy hails from Scottsville, Kentucky.

Saturday morning found us in line with several hundred other Bowtie enthusiasts, waiting to get in the Memphis Motorsports facility, and, once inside, jockeying for the best parking places. A final wipe down and we were off to the swap meet. I think there are two good times to visit any swap meet: Early on the first day, to get to the "good" deals before someone else snatches them up, and late morning of the last day to make your own "good" deals before the vendors begin packing up to head home. It paid off for me, as I managed to pick up a few needed items without having to make an emergency trip to a bank's money machine. The rest of the day was spent ogling at Chevys and talking to their owners. I even managed to bump into several ACES members at Memphis; Sue and Rich Brodtrick, David Feezor, Steve Mauer, Larry Richardson, and Billy Thacker are all ACES members who had a good time in Memphis.

Gonzales, Louisiana, probably can boast having the highest number of two-door '65 Chevelle wagons per capita, in the country. These exceptional examples belong to Randy Mire and Poto Babin.

Another Chevelle that got plenty of attention over the weekend was this Pro Street '69 owned by Phil Stamis of Tipton, Indiana. A blown rat motor provides plenty of punch, both visually and at the rearend.

If you're an ACES member and attended Memphis, but I failed to bump into you, I apologize. I tried to check back at my Chevelle at even hours (10, 12, 2, etc), and plan on doing so at the other SUPER CHEVY events I'll be attending: Indianapolis, Maple Grove, and Rockingham. If you plan on attending any of these events and want to get together, please give me a call on the club hotline (615-773-2237) to set up a specific time/date so we can meet.

The weekend passed too quickly, and we found ourselves headed back to Nashville by mid-afternoon Sunday. We saw lots of beautiful Bowties, talked with lots of enthusiastic owners, had a ton of fun, and even managed to remember to take a few pictures. Here are a few of them...

Camaros comprised a large section of the show, too, with several unusual examples in attendance. We really ogled Mick Price's unique Daytona yellow Z/28 with the prototype canted-valve and cross ram-inducted 302ci small block.

We like '64-72 Novas, too, and there were quite a few that made the Memphis event.

The competition was fierce for bragging rights among the classic '55-7 Chevy bunch, as evidenced by this lineup.

All the competition wasn't on the show car field, either. For fans of quarter-mile competition, there was plenty of action. Here, a rare '65 two-door wagan gets ready to make a pass.

The Memphis swap meet has plenty to offer Bowtie fanatics. Get there early for the best deals; we did, and it paid off with decent prices on some items we'd been trying to locate for some time.

Electronic pages by Al