honest charley

The success of the Chattanooga Cruise In has been overwhelming and we're so happy to announce that it's almost that time of year again! Our annual event is scheduled for Saturday, April 1, 2017, and we're confident that it's going to be bigger and better than ever. We have secured even more space to hold all of the participants, and we're expecting upward of 2,000 cars and more than 10,000 spectators throughout the course of the day. The event starts at 8am Eastern Time and the streets of Chattanooga fill to the brim within a few hours. We are now occupying the entire Finley Stadium property, as well as the First Tennessee Pavilion, offering hundreds more parking spaces and an awesome vendor area. The event is free to the public, and we will have lots of added attractions and offers in addition to the massive amount of hot rods, muscle cars, custom trucks and high performance cars on the premises. We will have special event T-shirts on sale for only $10 each, and our Coker Tire showroom

Our local car community here in Chattanooga, Tennessee is one of the best in the nation. The Chattanooga Cruise In Toy Drive is proof that we have a bunch of hardcore car guys and gals in this area, and we're so proud to have raised a bunch of money and collected hundreds of toys, so that local kids can have a better Christmas. The weather always plays a part in the overall attendance for car events, and we were shocked with the excellent turnout, considering the rain overnight and the cold and windy conditions that followed. It certainly wasn't ideal car show weather, but we enjoyed it nonetheless, because we were giving back to the community. We ended up with approximately 150 cars, which resulted in a total of 232 brand new toys and $1,782 in cash. We'd like to thank the staff at Coker Tire and Honest Charley Speed Shop for volunteering to help, as well as the folks at Custom Werks Graphics for donating the event T-shirts. Every dollar from our event T-shirts went straight into the Toys

The Posies Driven Dirty Tour is a very cool, very relaxed event that involves driving a hot rod across the country with a destination of the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. It's been going on for a few years now (10 to be exact), and it's a cool tour of the country, which includes shop tours, good food and lots of hanging out. All of this leads up to the SEMA Show, which a little more fast-paced. The Posies Driven Dirty Tour starts in Pennsylvania, so it takes quite a detour for a Southern swing into Tennessee, but we offered a warm welcome, as the guys rolled into Chattanooga on Saturday, October 24th. We gave them a tour of our headquarters here at 1317 Chestnut Street, as well as a bus ride to our Distribution Center a few miles away. Then, we had a fried chicken dinner from Champy's and toured Honest Charley. We had an awesome time showing them around and we wish them safe travels on their adventures. The bad thing about the Posies Driven Dirty Tour is...well, that we're not on it! Have fun guys!

Emotions are at an all time high on the grounds of Coker Tire and Honest Charley on this cloudy day in March. We started the day by putting the final touches on a 1912 Thomas Flyer, and revealing it to the car's new owner. You see, this Thomas Flyer was our founder, Harold Coker's last project car, before he passed away suddenly in November of last year. It was a long way from being finished at the time of his passing, but Corky Coker encouraged the guys at Honest Charley to complete it in time for the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance coming up this weekend. The car was passed down to Corky's brother, David Coker, who saw the finished product for the first time this morning. Lill Coker was also on hand for the reveal, and it's safe to say there wasn't a dry eye in the house when the Coker's saw the tag that Howard Horn hand-lettered to finish off the build. Keep reading for a touching video of the reveal and a bunch of pictures of Harold's Last One.

Groups of gear heads visit our place on a regular basis, and do so by the hundreds during our Chattanooga Cruise In events. But we also cater to smaller groups and car clubs for special tours of our facility. We love opening the doors to our place and showing off our collection of cool stuff. In this case, the Rat Rod Tour, a group of rodders assembled by the folks at Rat Rod Magazine, visited our place on their way to the Redneck Rumble in Lebanon, Tennessee. Part of the tour involved the Rat Hard Build-Off, which involves a $3,000 budget and 30 days to build it--otherwise, there are no rules. There is no doubt that this was the most diverse group of cars, trucks and motorcycles to visit Coker Tire in quite some time, so we shot a bunch of pictures and video to cover the visit. Check it out here and enjoy lots of photos of some of the wildest rat rods on the planet!

When we started the Chattanooga Cruise In, it was a simple get together of local car guys but it quickly blossomed into a well known event that brings folks from many states to the Scenic City of Chattanooga. We have put a lot of effort into the Chattanooga Cruise In to make it bigger and better, but we realize that the cool factor of this event isn't always related to what WE do. It's about you. It's about your car. It's about your friends. Word of mouth has caused this event to grow in popularity, and we're proud to say that the fall 2014 event was a great one.

When we started the Chattanooga Cruise In a few years ago, we had no idea it would grow into one of the biggest Cruise In events in the Southeast. On Saturday, April 5th, 2014, we expected a great turnout, but when our blocked off streets were full by 11am (and the event didn't technically begin until noon), we knew this event would be huge. It was impossible to get an actual car count, but our estimations are 1,200. All of the surrounding streets and parking lots were packed with overflow hot rods, muscle cars and motorcycles. To say we are running out of room would be a major understatement...but that's a good problem to have!

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.

If you've been following Corky Coker, then you know that he's been on TV multiple times. He's provided tours around the Coker facility, showed how our tires are made, and he's even dragged a few old jalopies out of the barn. The entire crew here in Chattanooga is very excited to announce that Corky's new TV show "Backroad Gold" will debut on the Travel Channel on Wednesday, February 5, 2014, airing at 9:30pm EST.

The Glidden Tour is an event that relives the early years of the automobile, when American Automobile Association (AAA) decided to hold a touring event in the 1900's to prove the reliability of the automobile, which was in its infancy. The original Glidden Tours were held from 1903 to 1911 and they were named after Charles Glidden. Then, in 1946, the Glidden Tour was revived by the Veteran Motor Car Club of America (VMCCA) and continues to this day, visiting a different city each year. For 2013, we were lucky enough to have the 68th Revival Glidden Tour visit Chattanooga, Tennessee to see what the Scenic City has to offer!

Once again, we blocked off all of the streets in Corkyville, and invited a bunch of our friends to join us for a great day of car guy fun. We had blue skies and LOTS of sun, so folks arrived early in the morning to claim their parking spot. We knew going into the day's event that our overall turnout may be smaller than the April event, due to the schedule conflict with Shades of the Past in Pigeon Forge. We did have a few less cars, but we still had approximately 600 vehicles on hand for the fall Chattanooga Cruise In!

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!!!

Alright guys and gals, we're super excited about our event, the Chattanooga Cruise In, coming up this Saturday, April 6th from 2-8pm Eastern time. If you're anywhere near Chattanooga, you need to check it out! Several hundred cars will be on display on the streets surrounding the Coker Tire headquarters here in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. We'll also have an open house for our facility, as well as an open house at Honest Charley Speed Shop and Honest Charley Garage. Please join us!

A couple weeks ago, our cohorts across the street at Honest Charley alerted us of a very cool project that we might want to document. So, we did just that and the car is now finished, complete with a brand new set of Michelin TB5 tires!. It's a 1980 Fiat 131 Abarth tribute car, and it has lots of cool parts on it. The wide fender flares and paint scheme are in-your-face aggressive, and super-wide Michelin TB5 tires are a perfect fit.

If you've been keeping track of our Cruise In events here at Coker Tire, then you'll quickly realize that we have officially given it a name: the Chattanooga Cruise In. This event has taken off with great success, and we plan to hold more of them in 2013. We will soon be creating a website specifically for the Cruise In, so that we can efficiently handle requests for clubs, parking, etc. All of that aside, we prepared for a big crowd this past Saturday, and boy did we ever get one! With 700 cars on hand and more than 2,000 spectators, we had our hands full all day!

It was exciting news to hear that the Model A Restorers Club National Tour would be Hosted by the Scenic City A's and based right here in Chattanooga, Tennessee! They're calling the event "Ahooga in Chattanooga" and it has truly been a pleasure to see hundreds of Model A's riding around town for the past several days. The event is based at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, but the members have spent some quality time at Coker Tire. Big groups came through for visits and we've seen our share of Model A's this week. Check it out!

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

Among our fondest memories and during the most impressionable time of any gearhead's life are the teen years when cars were the coolest and the mysteries of hot rodding were just beginning to reveal themselves. Many of us had a shop class in school and piddled the hours away imagining how fast that Camaro would be if we could just afford a new set of aluminum heads all while learning to change the spark plugs in the assistant principle's Camry.

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]

If you follow our Facebook fan page, then you know we blasted the page with live photos from the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a great event and we had a blast, as always, so it's time to wrap it up and get ready for the winter season. We met lots of great folks at SEMA, some new to the industry and some old timers like us. We debuted new booth artwork for our indoor booth and a brand new full wrap on our tractor trailer rig, which was positioned outside of the convention center. With new products on display, as well as the completed Marmon Wasp and Honest Charley rat rod truck, our booth(s) were a big hit. Check it out! [caption id="attachment_2277" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Our updated SEMA indoor booth with new counter artwork, and TV\'s!"]

In case you haven't heard, Corky really, really likes vintage motorcycles. About a year ago he picked up an unrestored 1917 Harley Davidson with sidecar. It was basically all there but the sheetmetal on the sidecar was pretty rough so our guys, Richard Marter and Delton Scott, completely built a new sidecar body using the bones as patterns. These guys can do anything! The knucklehead sittin in the sidecar is our main man Hal Everett. He is a dang good mechanic...not to be confused though with a dang good sheet metal man...that title still rests on Delton and Richards shoulders! Maybe you saw Hal on our Barn Finds episode of Hot Rod TV recently. Hal's a mess and a fun part of HCG! The bike? It's at Dudes getting the restoration completed. It'll be Dude-ified, restored, finished and shown in 2012.

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!"]

Back on the road Saturday morning, the teams headed to Dunlap to start their day's route. From the starting point, the vehicles headed straight up the mountain on a twisty two-lane road, before ending up on top of Cagle Mountain. From there the route was rather tame, but a few narrow roads made it tough for racers to keep on their strict speed and time schedule. The lunch stop was held in Sparta, Tennessee, then the racers came down off the mountain and into Pikeville, Tennessee, where they would climb once again as they headed into Dayton on Highway 30. On the home stretch, racers headed down Highway 58 before arriving at the Coker Tire headquarters in Chattanooga,

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]

If you think all police officers hate drag racing, think AGAIN! An organization called Beat the Heat is composed of active and retired police officers who reach out to the public through a very popular hobby.....drag racing. They race in all sorts of cars, all of which have police department-style paint jobs and working lights, just like regular patrol cars. The goal is to teach children and young adults the dangers of street racing, and the fun and excitement that comes from racing at a legal drag strip. It's an awesome way to reach out! Beat the Heat has a World Finals event once a year, and for 2011 it is held right here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We were proud to have them cruise into Corkyville Thursday evening, so we opened the doors, so the racers could see everything we have to offer, including Honest Charley Speed Shop! Local police officer and drag racing enthusiast, Marty Dunn organized the event, with racers coming from all over the

On his way through the Chattanooga, Tennessee area, Ken Gross decided to make a stop here, to pay a visit to Mike Goodman at Honest Charley and take a look at our recently finished Marmon Wasp. Ken is a well-established journalist, working for many, many big-name magazines. He's a true hot rodder, and he's one of our associates in the Collectors Foundation, so it was nice to catch up with him! We stopped long enough to get a picture taken, and continued on our way...we had a great time on his short visit, and hope to see him again soon! [caption id="attachment_1539" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Corky Coker alongside long-time friend and fellow car guy, Ken Gross. "][/caption]

It's hard to believe, but it's been nearly a month since the deadly tornado outbreak hit the Tennessee Valley. Devastation was unbelievable, and our region was absolutely shocked by the damage. Just south of us, Ringgold, Georgia was hit hard, leaving a path of destruction, and just to the East of us, Apison, Tennessee received lots of damage. Joe Lombardo, a longtime Honest Charley Speed Shop employee is near and dear to us here at Coker Tire, and his Apison home was leveled during the storm. His property had many trees on it, which are now gone, and his barn is now in pieces.

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]

That's right! All of the hard work by the guys at Honest Charley Garage is paying off because the rumble of the massive T-Head engine is filling the shop! Hal and Delton teamed up and installed all of the necessary components to fire this thing up, and boy does it sound awesome! We're really getting pumped, as the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500 draws closer and closer! At the same time, we know there's a lot of work left to do on the Marmon Wasp, so we're really leaning on our guys at HCG to get the job done. [caption id="attachment_1444" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="YES, that is fire coming out of the cylinders! Hal is over there controlling the throttle, while we soaked up the exhaust fumes and enjoyed the fireworks display!"][/caption]

With most of the painting complete, Hal and Delton could get busy on reassembling the Marmon Wasp chassis and getting it back on its wheels. Speaking of wheels, Richard worked his magic on the wheels to recreate the original look, and had help from J.D. Scott to machine a few necessary parts for the hubs. The end result is a perfectly matched appearance, down to the intentional dings in the wheel covers. [caption id="attachment_1414" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Not so mellow yellow...this thing is bright!"][/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!

If you guys follow along with our blog, or Coker Tire in general, then you know we built a replica of the Marmon Wasp, the winning car from the inaugural Indy 500, which took place in 1911. That's 100 years ago, if you hadn't already done the math. So, with this year marking the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500 it's the perfect time to unveil the Marmon Wasp in finished form. [caption id="attachment_1347" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="The old engine--A Ford inline six-cylinder....not exactly period correct!"][/caption]

We have groups of people come into our facility for tours all the time, but it's extra special when they show up in a cool car! Take for example, the Bandit Run--this event came through Chattanooga a couple of weeks ago, and made a stop right here at Coker Tire. Many Trans Ams surrounded the area, including over a dozen "Bandit" Trans Ams, which parked in front of Honest Charley Garage, across the street.

Last week, we posted a couple pictures of Squindo and his gang as they made the trek to the Lonestar Round Up in Austin, Texas. Now that the event is over, these folks from the East Coast need to make the long drive back home, so we had a few more visitors stop by as they passed through. Yesterday it was "Scary" Larry Garland and his crew piloting a killer Deuce roadster and a '34 five-window. Scary Larry puts on a very cool nostalgia car show called the Jalopy Showdown, one is held May 21st at Latimore Valley Fairgrounds in York Springs, Pennsylvania, while the other is held October 1st at Beaver Springs Dragway in Beaver Springs, Pennsylvania. Check out www.jalopyshowdown.com for more information on the shows. Here's a couple of shots of their cars....

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.