Last weekend we did some of our favorite things; we got in an old car, drove, ate a great meal in an old “mom and pop” restaurant and toured a car related collection. We also got to tour a small town, visit antique shops, eat ice cream and visit a home made candy store. What could be a better day than that? Our local AACA group took one of its regular road trips to Ragtop Picture Cars outside of Lebanon, TN. Owner David Tinsley provides cars to the stars. Although most of his cars get used in the growing film industry in Nashville he also ships some of his rare cars all over the Country for use by studios. You will see some of his cars in the TV show Nashville as well as a lot of music videos, commercials and movies.
David opened his storage area up for us to look things over and it was a blast. On some of the more well known cars he actually included a sticker on the window as to what movies etc. we may have seen the vehicle in. This is not a collection of Condition #1 Concours cars these are cars you will see in the big screen. They look like they did in the day and the way we remember them on the street with their imperfections, dirt and other badges of everyday use.
- Some of the movie cars are stored inside a large building,
There were some cars in terrific condition that would do well at most shows and those are treated with a little better care when on set. He did have a Honda that he just “rolled” while doing a commercial with Earnhardt Junior this past week.
- Even some old Police Cars were spread around.
Everyone also had the opportunity to have themselves and their cars photographed in front of a vintage gas station on his property. Although it looks old and has been used for some photo shoots it was a recent build and does double duty as his office. There also walls of signed photos of the many music, TV and movie stars he has worked with over the years.
Taking a prized show car to a show maybe rewarding, going to a cruise-in and visiting with friends can be fun but hitting the road with 25 other collector cars and 50 friends is far more rewarding and fun for us. We will still do the other activities but I just love to drive our cars and hang out with other car folks even if they don’t all drive a Ford or Merc! Here are a few of the photos from our visit.
