Somernites Cruise hosts Corvette showcase
Sep. 25—It may be fall, but at this weekend's Somernites Cruise, it was still a "Corvette Summer."
"Hey, it's a beautiful day at Somerset. It's Somernites Cruise. We've got a bunch going on. We've got the Corvette showcase... A lot of cool displays. Have a good crowd," said Keith Floyd, Executive Director of Somernites Cruise.
There were just over 900 cars Saturday. This number may seem low compared to past cruises, but Floyd says the low nine-hundreds aren't bad for September, late in the cruise season.
The cream of the crop, according to Floyd, was a 1966 Chevrolet Corvette. The baby blue beauty wasn't a typical '66 Corvette, as this limited edition was made specifically to race on road courses. Only 66 of these cars were ever made.
The 427/390 horsepower car was driven by Paul Robertson of Russell Springs, who drove it down from the Terry Stephens antique car museum.
Robertson said the car was often called a "big tank Corvette." It's called that for its 36 gallon gas tank.
"The reason they built that big tank, is when you're running a road course, you'll stop less frequent for fuel," said Robertson. "That's what this is all about."
Robertson said that the car is good to drive "if you've got the nerve to drive it."
"It's like a jet plane. You stomp on it, you're gone," said Robertson.
Another vehicle that turned heads was a turquoise and off-white '57 Chevrolet Bel-Air hauling a '54 Terry Canned Ham camper. The camper was tiny by today's standards but somehow fit in four beds.
Owner Michael Muller has received the car from his grandfather and refurbished it for his wedding to his wife 21 years ago. Eleven years later, Muller bought the camper and gave it a paint job to match the Bel-Air.
"My wife and two children have travelled (all over)," said Muller. "This camper has been to Texas, Montana ... all over the Southeast ... It's been great."
Muller said car/camper combo was small and quaint, "but it handled all of our needs."
Connect Community Village (CCV) had a large display to promote their ranch for veterans in need of housing. Their booth had two large boards for visitors to sign the name of a loved one who is a veteran or in active service. These boards are to be hung in the front office of the ranch once it is built.
The display featured a 1946 military jeep adorned with an American flag. CCV worker Kevin Caudill drove it to the show. He said it handled great, but it certainly attracted a lot of attention as he drove it to downtown Somerset.
The vehicle that had many people staring was the modified M939 series truck. The truck was five tons and painted jet black. Owner Kermit Brock of London had Line-X put spray-on bedliners on the interior.
"They said 'We've never done that before.' I said, 'Let's try it!'" Brock recalled.
