Charlotte Autofair
Written by Keith Fudge

Last April, Dennis Gage and the crew from My Classic Car traveled to the east coast and to that Mecca of racing, Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Charlotte Autofair.  This event is one of, if not the largest car of shows in the country, and features such great happenings as a swap meet, car corral, a car show, vendors, and an assortment of fun!  When he arrived, Dennis spoke with Mel Carson, the Director of the Charlotte Autofair, who gave him a rundown on the event.  Mel called the Autofair the “premier event” of its kind, stating that in the beginning in 1977 there were 300 spaces for vendors and now that number has grown to 10,000!  This year he said that there were approximately 2,000 cars for sale in the car corral with 1,500 for sale inside the speedway and another 500 for sale outside!  Mel also mentioned that this event is held twice each year and just seems to keep growing!

Dennis also spoke with Humpy Wheeler, the President of Lowe’s Motor Speedway, who told him about the history of this event.  Humpy mentioned that the first Autofair was held twenty-eight years ago (1977) and there were 300 vendors, 15 cars for show, and an auction consisting of 50 autos.  He went on to say that today the event is the largest of its kind and that more than 4,000 cars were on display for this year’s show!  Humpy also noted that the show has changed somewhat over the years and now includes a section dedicated to sports compacts.  Other changes and additions include a tremendous interest in parts and this year there were cars and parts for sale on an area of 150 acres!  Humpy also said that he was pleased that so many young people have started coming to the shows and that the hobby is gaining so many young people who are interested in classic cars.  Soon, Dennis no longer could resist the urge to go and see some of the outstanding cars that were on display, and with that in mind he headed out for the show area.

First, Dennis found James Brown and his outstanding 1969 Hurst/Olds two-door hardtop.  This car was factory correct inside and out and was a sight to behold.  James told Dennis that there were 912 hardtops and two convertibles produced and that there were approximately 200 left.  Powered by a 455 Olds Toronado engine and hooked to a Turbo 400 transmission, this beast was rated at 380 horsepower and 500 ft/lbs of torque from the factory!  The interior also boasted state-of-the-art appointments for its day such as an AM/FM, 8-Track tape player!  Next, Dennis came across an unusual ride:  Wayne Dean’s 1956 Ford Crown Victoria.  While on the outside this cool car was vintage Crown Vic, underneath and inside it was actually all Lincoln Mark VIII!  Painted in the factory original colors of Mandarin Orange and Colonial White, this car was the best of old and new, right down to the 4.6 DOHC V-8 under the hood.  Wayne is from South Carolina and drove the car to the show here at Charlotte!  Later, Dennis ran into a hybrid of a different sort:  an Italian-American hybrid!  This 1972 Iso Grifo is owned by Mark Masters.  Designed by a Ferrari engineer, this bad boy is all European on the outside and all American underneath featuring a Corvette LS5 and 5-speed tranny from the factory!  Rated at 390 horsepower and 500 ft/lbs of torque, this all steel, unibody ride is literally a rocket given that it only weighs 3,300 pounds!  Mark said that top speed is supposed to be around 175 miles per hour.  Mark said that he has owned the car for approximately one year and from the way he talked about it, we saw no indication that he is going to give it up anytime soon!  Finally, with all the cars that were on sale that day, Dennis couldn’t resist the urge to do some haggling of his own and he set his sights on Scooter Coleman’s 1959 custom purple Cadillac.  Scooter had his asking price of $65,000 on the windshield and while Dennis started his bargaining, he was going to have to be convinced to come up to the asking price.  Scooter then took him on a brief tour of a car that stretched out to approximately 23 feet long including the Continental kit!  This classy cruiser was low and lean and also featured an air-ride suspension system, a louvered hood (with 300 louvers to be precise), and a custom purple leather interior, Dennis began to increase his initial offers; however, we don’t think that Scooter was going to budge and as beautiful as this custom ’59 was, we don’t blame him.

The Charlotte Autofair is one grand event and we had a great time while we were there.  If you would like to learn more about the show, just give them a visit on the web at www.charlotte-autofair.com. That’s it from beautiful Charlotte, North Carolina, so until our next trip, “Honor the timeless classics.  Happy Motoring!”