garage

We deal with a lot of classic cars, and we love to see them restored to stock condition. Ford Thunderbirds are highly regarded as a classic car, and it's not often you see one with the custom treatment. However, the 1958 through 1960 Thunderbirds (also known as Square Birds) don't get quite as much respect as the more popular 1955 through 1957 models. With this in mind, we love the '59 Thunderbird that Honest Charley built, as they took advantage of the unique body lines of the Square Bird and gave it a traditional "Watson style" look. Keep reading to see how they did it!

With the filming of "Backroad Gold", Travel Channel's hit new TV Show, just across the street at Honest Charley, we got an inside look at some of the cars being built for the show. One such car, featured in the second episode of season one is this 1940 Willys sedan that was brought back from Corky and Greg's adventure to California. The Willys came back to Tennessee and received a full rebuild with a heavy military influence. And though Willys didn't enter the military market until World War II, this sedan has a cool look and pays tribute to all of the men and women who have served in the United States military. Keep reading to find out more about this distinct Willys.

We promoted the Chattanooga Cruise In to be the coolest Cruise In in the Southeast and by the looks of the turnout this past Saturday, we were right! It was HUGE! The crew had its hands full with trying to get everyone parked, and keep everyone entertained, but it was a great event for Chattanooga, and a great event for Coker Tire. We plan to host many more of these events right here at Coker Tire, including a big block party after the Power Tour stop in Chattanooga on Thursday, June 6th, as well as another one on Saturday, September 7th. The Chattanooga Cruise In brought out nearly 1,000 cars, trucks and motorcycles to Corkyville. It was hard to get an official count of spectators, but we estimate that more than 5,000 people were in attendance. It was incredibly packed all day, and we all had a great time. Take a look at some of our favorite pictures here, but visit our Facebook page and Instagram feed for many more shots! Also, keep an eye on the Chattanooga Cruise In website for updates regarding our future events!!!

Last year, we decided to hold a Cruise In event right here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We held it in conjunction with the Coker Tire Challenge, which is our annual rally event. For a first-time effort, we did pretty good and had about 250 cars surrounding the Coker Tire complex that we affectionately call "Corkyville". Then we decided to have two Cruise In events per year, so we planned an event for April and 500 cars came out to join us! For the next Cruise In, we're hoping for even more, so come check it out on Saturday, September 29th, 2012! That's right, we're just a little over a month away, so go ahead and make plans to join us! We close off all of the streets surrounding Coker Tire and we also reserve many of the nearby parking lots, so we have plenty of room for this event to grow! In addition to hundreds of cars, trucks and motorcycles, we'll have live music by "The Other Guys"! There are restaurants positioned very close to our Cruise In area, but

There are plenty of cool things going on around here, but one of the coolest is the fact that the Honest Charley Garage crew will be making their TV debut this Wednesday night on the Speed Channel! That's right, our boys across the street are going big time! They were approached with the idea to appear on the TV Show, Car Warriors, which is a weekly program on Speed, airing on Wednesday nights at 9pm EST. Of course, HCG obliged and built a killer car while out West for filming. We don't want to spoil the surprise, so tune into see the HCG crew turning wrenches and building an awesome car in just 48 hours!!! Just as an FYI, Honest Charley Garage is part of the Coker Group, and does high quality automotive restoration

Last year, we had our first cruise in here at the Coker Tire and Honest Charley headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee! We had experienced a few tour-related cruise ins, such as the massive Hot Rod Power Tour cruise in, but our event last fall was the first standalone cruise in for us! We had great results, so for 2012, we're having TWO cruise in events--one in the spring and one in the fall! Go ahead and mark your calendars for April 21st and September 15th! [caption id="attachment_2371" align="alignright" width="500" caption="Join Us for the Spring Cruise In....April 21st!"][/caption]

A few weeks ago, we discussed the idea for a cruise in right here in Corkyville. Deciding on a date was a daunting task with so many events going on this time of year, but we knew it needed to be on Chestnut Street, and we knew an event of this nature would bring in a crowd no matter the date. So, our decision was to hold the Cruise In on the Saturday of the Coker Tire Challenge, which happened to be September 17th. We knew going in that this date would be somewhat of an issue, because it's the weekend of the Grand Run in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, but we had an awesome turnout, all things considered! [caption id="attachment_2076" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Cars and trucks lined up on Chestnut Street, 14th Street and any vacant parking lot they could find!"]

My grandsons have already figured out that tires are cool. Heres a picture taken this past weekend while Greg and Casey had them down to Honest Charley Garage. In the picture are Grandsons Taylor, Joseph and Benjamin Cunningham with one of our Phoenix drag tires. My folks told me that I played in tires when I was that age too. Seems only yesterday! [caption id="attachment_1996" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="The Three Amigos....Taylor, Benjamin and Joseph Cunningham!"][/caption]

Ya know, the funnest part of building an old car is driving it for the first time. Anybody that has taken the time to build an old hot rod or vintage race car knows the first drive is always the most exciting, even if the car is barely hanging together. In fact, the less complete the car is, the more fun it is to drive! We've definitely taken a few drives around the block with unfinished cars, and this one was extra special. If you recall, we drove the Marmon Wasp quite a bit in its earlier configuration, but with the new engine and drive train, it's a whole new animal. [caption id="attachment_1459" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="It drives!!! "][/caption]

The guys at Honest Charley Garage are still hammering away (literally) at the Marmon Wasp rebuild. Lots of metal work happening right now, with the chassis nearing completion, but Zane is also hitting it hard in the body shop. We're going to be providing daily updates of the car's progress, and show you guys its debut at the 100th anniversary Indy 500, which is just a few weeks away. We're counting on the guys at HCG to get the job done in time, so follow take a look at some of our latest photos to see exactly what these guys are capable of... [caption id="attachment_1357" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Delton Scott making a bracket for the revamped Marmon Wasp chassis."][/caption] Click to see lots more cool photos of the fabrication process!

It's that time again! Every winter, the World of Wheels comes to Chattanooga, inside the Chattanooga Convention Center, which is right around the corner from our headquarters on Chestnut Street. It's an indoor car show that always draws a big crowd because of its attractions, and of course the great collection of cars being displayed! This year, our neighbors at Honest Charley Garage are showcasing a few buildups at the show, including the recently-finished 1952 MG TD owned by Wes Kliner.