[PICS] The 10th Anniversary Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals Show

Nov 27, 2018

4413

[PICS] The 10th Anniversary Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals Show

It’s hard to believe it, but the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN) is 10 years old already. The Annual November mega show celebrated a full decade of horsepower and chrome November 17th and 18th in Chicago. Once again we were reminded why this is the hobby’s premier event.

Bob Ashton and his team continue to assemble the best-of-the-best muscle cars and Corvettes each year and this year was no different. They essentially reinvent the show each year with a fresh batch of invitational and special displays not seen anywhere before. The Mopar Rapid Transit Caravan display was the main attraction greeting visitors as they entered the show. Elsewhere a lineup of 1968 Hurst Oldsmobiles paid homage to the first edition of Olds’ big dog while W-31 equipped Oldsmobiles filled the center portion of the building. Adjacent to them, Studebakers drew crowds throughout the weekend. Buick GSX’s got their special display as well including the freshly restored GSX prototype which just happened to be one of the 18 Saturday morning premier unveilings. The Class of ’68 salute also showcased Hemi Darts and Barracudas in addition to Chevy II’s. Other great displays included a selection of Pure Stock Muscle Drag cars, Vintage Certification for unrestored cars, and the Mustang and Shelby Pinnacle display and competition.

Of course, we attend MCACN each year to see the Corvettes and that portion of the show never disappoints. The freshly restored Corvette SR-2 greeted patrons front and center just after walking in the door. Once again Kevin Mackay’s Corvette Repair crew did an over the top job of refreshing one of Corvette’s most significant racers. We’re glad to see it out on the show circuit being shared with the public.

What’s got nearly 4,000 horsepower and visible moving parts? The 2018 Corvette Legends display does. This year Dr. Pete Gimenez’s gallery featured 6 total L88 Corvettes from 1967, 68, and 69 in addition to a blue 1964 styling car and the 1965 Corvette functional Autorama cutaway display. The cutaway, shown without its Nassau Blue body, was originally used back in the day to showcase all the Corvette’s moving internal and external parts.

Over on the far side of the building near the Barn Finds and Hidden Gems display sat a dust covered Elkhart Green 1972 big block coupe. The car was being shown in its as-found condition which just happened to also include 489 miles on the odometer. The car even still sits on its original tires.

Corvette Central’s Triple Diamond competition is the main event for the Corvette portion of the show. This year featured a record 38 cars ranging from a 1958 fuelie to a 1994 ZR1 all vying for Concourse Gold and subsequent Triple Crown honors. Your author was one of those Triple Diamond competitors so stay tuned here later this week for the next installment of On the Campaign Trail.

With ten years of MCACN behind us we can’t wait to see what the next ten years have in store. With a seemingly endless stream of new and fresh displays there seems to be no end in sight for this spectacular show. Mark your calendars now for November 23rd and 24th, 2019 for the next installment of the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals. We’ll see you there.

Below enjoy our gallery from the 2018 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals.