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DeSotos First Kentucky Regiment Arrives in Chattanooga!
Northern reinforcements from the neutral state of Kentucky arrived in Chattanooga today in the form of the Stolowich's '57 Firesweep and the Kubancik's '55 Firedome. We dodged (or did we DeSoto'd?) a few rain showers and traveled US 127 most of the way from Frankfort, KY, to just north of Chattanooga. Aside from a few careless drivers, one pokey RV and a truck pulling a truck about to lose said truck, the trip was uneventful. We joined a motley collection of DeSoto enthusiasts already eager to partake in another annual gathering. Can't wait for the festivities to begin.
Mark
That's me hiding in the back. 
It was a very pretty drive thanks to Mark's great choice of route, and the DeSotos performed very well. We got some thumbs up, and generally left the good people of Tennessee stunned and amazed at the site of TWO, big, black and white beauties, sweeping through the countryside.
Some wonderful DeSotos have already showed up here at the host hotel, including a green and white '57 Shopper wagon which is in pretty much original. condition The intrepid owner drove it all the way from Santa Monica, California. Wowza!
And we met a man and wife from Sweden in front of the hotel. They just happened to be driving by when they spotted some FINS in the hotel parking lot and just had to stop, and now they have checked into the hotel to stay for the show! They showed us photos of the amazing, old cars they have back in Sweden.
More pic's to follow.
But now, I need more wine.
Later, Taters.
Wednesday, July 18 - The official opening day of the Convention and the word for the day was rain! It rained heavy overnight Tuesday; I was awakened by thunder and heavy rain around 10:30 p.m. Morning dawned reasonably calm so I dried off the drenched car. A few hours later it was raining again, albeit quite light to moderate. It stopped around noon, the sun came out and heated things up too well such that a major downpour occurred around 5:30 p.m. Most everyone whose car was out in the rain uncovered discovered new places where they did not previous have water leaks in their DeSoto. The show field is on grass but with a few more days of this and we may have to move the show to asphalt. Pray for the rains to stop and move to the drought areas. We've had plenty in Chattanooga, thank you!
1:30 am and we are here! The parking lot out front looks great.
I'm going to bed! What time is the wake up call?
It's supposed to be fun!
1949 De Soto Custom Convertible (project)
Rosy, I'm sure the '57 wagon is Ray Nelson's. Please see if you can get his VIN and motor number for me while you're checking out his ride. I have a pic of his cowl tag that I took many years ago, but at the time I didn't get hit other information. Also, tell Gary and Mickey that I said hello. Wish i could be there with you guys and gals.
Back home safe and sound! It was dry and sunny on the trip back home to Louisville, and the scenery was again, very lovely. We had a wonderful time at the NDC convention, and I'm pretty sure that we've been talked into attending next year's convention in Minnesota...or should that be Minndesoto?
The rains came most heavily at night, for the mostpart. We were lucky to have brought our HUGE tarp to the show with us, and other than a tiny bit of dampness in the trunk, our Desoto was spared other leakages.
During the show on Saturday we enjoyed pretty decent weather, other than the odd, short lived sprinkle or two, and these were nowhere heavy enough to affect anyone's enjoyment of the show. There were so many wonderful cars there to be seen. The '56 and '58 newly restored Adventurers were fabulous, along with a great three-tone Coronado, a VERY nice yellow convertible with hide-away headlights, and others too many to mention. Hopefully we'll get some photos posted soon.
The organisers did a really great job, and the fellow DeSoto owners were a really friendly and welcoming bunch! Thanks to all who put on such a successful show, and to the NDC in general for making us feel right at home.
Oh...and we have that info for you, Ed. I'll e-mail you.
