Corvette Expo and Chevys in the Smokies 2025 Coverage

Every spring, the foothills of the Smoky Mountains come alive in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The tourist town offers several great car shows throughout the season, and it all kicks off with the Corvette Expo and Chevys in the Smokies. For nearly 50 years, the Corvette Expo has been a hot spot in East Tennessee, and it continues to thrive with the inclusion of other Chevrolet icons, including Chevelle, Camaro, Nova, C10 and more. The Chevys in the Smokies portion of the event features a great selection of restored and unrestored Chevy muscle cars, as well as high-end customs. We made a few laps around the LeConte Center to check out all the action and wanted to pass along a few of our favorites here. 

Dale Flynn's incredible 1957 Corvette "Airbox" is one of only 43 built in this configuration. This car raced all over the world and is now restored to perfection. It rolls on a set of Firestone 670-15 bias ply blackwall tires, a perfect fit for the special 15x5.5 wheels that were part of the big brake package.

Lemonwood Yellow is a perfect color on a '66 Chevelle, especially when paired with body-color steel wheels, dog dish hubcaps and Firestone bias ply redline tires. This immaculately restored Super Sport convertible is a top-notch show car with documentation to prove its pedigree.

The Corvette Expo is always packed with a great variety of Corvettes, from the earliest C1's to the latest C8. It's hard not to love the lines of the C2 generation and this 1967 Corvette convertible (with optional hard top) looks great with side pipes, Rallye wheels and a set of our BFGoodrich Redline radial tires.

One of the very special cars in the Chevys in the Smokies display was Jeff Helms' 1965 Chevelle Malibu Super Sport Z16. There were only 201 of these cars built in 1965, and this one is meticulously restored with all the right stuff. The rare Chevelle rolls on BFGoodrich Silvertown bias ply tires with Gold Stripes, a staple of the Z16 package.

This early Corvette is packed with practical upgrades, such as electronic fuel injection and of course radial tires. It rolls on a set of our Coker Classic wide whitewall radials, sized at 205/75R15, a perfect fit for the original steel wheels and full wheel covers.

Here's a rare one that might catch you off guard. This is a 1967 Chevelle Malibu convertible, with the potent L79 small block engine. It's one of very few built with this combination of parts, and it looks just right with those Deluxe mag wheel hubcaps and Firestone redlines.

1968 was the first year of the C3 Corvette and this one looks awesome with the Smoky Mountains in the background. Chrome side pipes set the tone on this lightly modified Corvette, and it features a broad stance with a set of 15x8 Rally wheels, wrapped in extra wide BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires.

The end of the C1 generation saw many changes that would hint at the future body styles. 1962 was the end of the stainless steel trim around the cove area, and it was also the end of wide whitewall tires. This example rolls on a set of our American Classic radials with 1-inch whitewall, a great replacement for the original bias ply tires.

Chevy enthusiasts love the styling of the 1966 and 1967 Chevy Nova and this one is extra special. It features L79 horsepower, and an absolutely stunning restoration. It rolls on authentic BFGoodrich Silvertown bias ply tires, sized at 695-14. 

This 1961 Corvette features a great color combination and rolls on a set of our American Classic bias look radial tires, sized at 670R15. 

One of the stars of the show was this very special 1965 Chevelle 300. Although the body and interior are as simple as it gets, this car was specially ordered (COPO) with a 395/425hp big block. This is the only one of its kind, and it features an M22 four-speed and outrageous 4.88:1 gears with Positraction that would turn those BFGoodrich gold stripe tires into dust.