Daytona International Speedway

2016 Daytona Turkey Run Car Show Biggest in the U.S.

2016 Daytona Turkey Run Car Show Sunday …

The weather here at the 2016 Daytona Turkey Run Car Show could not have been any more perfect. You could tell the spectators here were having the time of their lives. So were we. There were over 151,000 spectators here during Thanksgiving Weekend.

Just how big is this 2016 Daytona Turkey Run Car Show, you ask? Well, we happen to have a video to show you.

We got a chance to review some of the cars in the giant Cars 4 Sale Corral where all the cars were for sale. There are a couple of bargain cars here you may be interested in. If you need more information about them contact us at Cars-On-Line.com and we’ll connect you with the sellers. Check these cars out:

1939 Ford Sedan Delivery with 392 Hemi
Hilborn Electronic Fuel Injection
1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator, 351W, $24,000
1958 Edsel Corsair Convertible
Every option possible w/ air. Asking $52,902.
2016 Mustang GT Premium Convertible from Petty's Garage
Special order, prepped by Richard Petty's team
1955 Chevy Custom 3100 for $45,000
1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 2-Dr Hardtop Fuelie
Now has fresh 350, 700R4, $70,000
1948 Mercury 8 Convertible
Asking $50,000
1957 Pontiac Safari Wagon
1933 Ford Vicky, Downs Body, $39,500
1972 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible for $38,500
1956 Ford Thunderbird, asking $39,480

Great Rides On The Showfield Today in Daytona Beach …

The 2016 Daytona Turkey Run Car Show is the largest Show and Swap in the U.S. So this weekend Cars On Line’s Car Show team is in Daytona Beach, Florida to bring you all the action from the Turkey Run. It will be held at the Daytona International Speedway, November 24-27, 2016. We always find some great stories and great cars here on Thanksgiving Weekend. Follow the photos and videos from our car show team on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

The Vanderbundt, fabricated from the imagination of J.P. Vanderbundt
Hand laid Mahogany wood boat tail
1940 Ford Custom Show Truck
Mercury Lead Sled at 2016 Daytona Turkey Run
1937 GMC Custom Dually

2016 Daytona Turkey Run Car Show Dream Build …

As a crowd of spectators waited for the unveiling of the Dream Build, the Saturday edition of the 2016 Daytona Turkey Run Car Show was well underway. Not only did they reinact the reveal of this one-off 1955 Chevy 3100 Custom, but they auctioned it off for charity right here on the infield of the Daytona International Speedway. The winning bid was placed by Loraine and Todd Dotson of Orlando, Florida. They paid $150,000, with the proceeds going to local charities. It was all captured for a special edition of the South Beach Classics TV show on the Velocity Channel. Here is how it looked:

2016 Dream Build before the reveal
Built by Complete Auto Body of Waldorf, MD.
They pull the cover off
1955 Chevy 3100 Stepside Shortbed Custom
Loraine and Todd Dotson of Orlando, FL won the auction
Paid $150,000 which will go to local charities
Todd Riddle, general manager of Complete Auto Body with the Dream Builc
The Shortbed has a "mini-me"
Ted Vernon (left), South Beach Classic TV star, and Todd Riddle, Complete Auto Body
Ted Vernon in Turkey Run mascot suit going in for the hug

They called it the “Grand Reveal.” Under the canvas cover on the infield here at the 2016 Daytona Turkey Run Car Show was a classic custom pickup built specifically for this year’s Turkey Run. In fact, all the parts used to build this truck were sourced from the parts vendors in the giant Turkey Run Swap Meet here at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Ted Vernon, from the South Beach Classics TV show on Velocity Channel was on hand. Then the builders, Complete Auto Body from Waldorf, Maryland, took the cover off this gorgeous 1955 Chevy 3100 Stepside Custom.

Celebrity Display of Tribute Cars from the 1960’s …

If you are a fan of 1960’s TV shows, you’re gonna’ love this slideshow. Remember the Monkees, Munsters and Green Hornet?

The Monkees' GTO
Dragula
The Munsters California Drag Car
Munsters engine
Green Hornet's ride

Some of the old Daytona area race cars will be displayed in the NASCAR pits. This year, they expect more than 6,000 cars to be on display in the show and for sale. There are always some great deals to find here. And the Swap Meet area is gigantic. Indeed, it takes up most of the pit area and infield at the Daytona International Speedway.

This page will be updated in real time. Be sure to bookmark it. We’ll be bringing you stories like these all weekend.

Daytona Turkey Run Swap Meet

It started here on Friday. When they opened the gates to the Daytona International Speedway parts hunters burst into the Daytona Turkey Run Swap Meet area link ants swarming an ant hill. I never saw so many motorized carts carrying away fenders, doors and miscellaneous parts fit to finish a project. This was one of the finest swap meets we’ve seen.

Gordon's Engines — Gordon’s Engines & Machine Shop from Sherman, Texas showed performance roller motors ready to drop into your street rod.

454 big block engine — My favorite was this 454/450 hp motor with CFM 750 Quick Fuel 750 cfm carb, Keith Black domed pistons and Performer RPM intake. Listed for $5,360. They were selling a lot of 383 stroker motors.

Heidts ifs — Two different styles of Heidt’s Independent Front Suspension pieces from Little Joe’s Rod Shop.

father and son — A grandfather and his grandson check out a ready formed altered front nose at a pre-fabricated body parts display.

old school intakes — One swap vendor had a huge selection of old school hot rod intakes and carburetor setups.

great sounding exhaust — At the Pypes Performance Exhaust display we spotted this hipo exhaust system. Would really like to hear how this one sounds.

Mosler 9 rear end — We found a both that not only had Moser 9-inch rear ends but also had the nodular 9-inch case s;lit so you could see how the s;lines look.

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Daytona Turkey Run Car Show

The Daytona Turkey Run Car Show started in 1974 when one of the founders decided there had to be a place for custom cars to be shown. After he was denied entry in a parade in Ormond Beach, he started the Thanksgiving Day event with just 45 show cars that year. The show has grown to become the largest car show and swap meet in the Southeastern United States. You don’t know how big this show is until you try to walk around it. It completely covers the infield of the 2-and-a-half mile Daytona International Speedway.

Here some of the show cars we saw this weekend:

A Gonzo Blown 1941 Willys Pro Street has a presence that explains itself. Grab your earplugs when this one starts up.

That is a beautiful Tucson Bronze & Berry Pearl metallic 1935 Cadillac Town Sedan. It’s the kind of car that people just stand around and smile at. Time stands still. It has a 1969 Cadillac 472 ci big block engine with a Cadillac Turbo 400 transmission. The subframe is from a ’78 Camaro. It as air bag suspension.

Foryota, a '23 Ford T Cab — You gotta have some fun! Victor and Victoria D’Agostino of Hastings, FL brought their “Foryota” to the Car Show. It is a combnation of a 1923 Ford Model T and a Toyota truck, chassis, driveline and All-Wheel-Drive.

1983 Chevy El Camino Extreme Custom — So unique that we had to show it to you here. This is a 1983 Chevy El Camino with unique blower positioning and retracting lift off hood. The over-the-top spoiler is mind blowing.

1940 Ford Custom — Never saw a 1940 Ford Coupe done up like this one. So many body mods. But the pearlescent yellow paint really makes it pop in the sunlight.

backdraft cobras at the Daytona Turkey Run — A lineup of Backdraft Cobras were in the Blue Garage area, where on NASCAR weekends racing teams usually set up shop.

1932 Packard 900 Light 8 Sedan in the show area of the Daytona Turkey Run — An elegant 1932 Packard 900 Light 8 Sedan in the show car area at the Daytona Turkey Run. Under the hood is a Chevy 454 mated to a TH400 automatic transmission.

Row of classic microcars at the Daytona Turkey Run — Classic Microcars in a row at the Old Field at the Daytona International Speedway.

Smokie Yunick 1966 Chevelle tribute — In the Yellow Garage area there are a whole bunch of cars that were built by NASCAR fans to pay tribute to great race cars back in the day. This one is a 1966 Chevelle 427, a replica of the one Smokie Yunick built to capture the pole position at the 1967 Daytona 500. The owner says this car is fast. It is signed by Smokie Yunick.

1939 Ford actually driven by Cotton Owens in his last NASCAR race. — On display at the Yellow Garage is an NVRA Limited Sportsman race car, a 1937 Ford Slantback Sedan, which they say was actually driven by Cotton Owens. They say it was the last time that the legendary NASCAR driver raced. It was raced in Georgia and South Carolina in the late 1990’s.

Bobby Allison’s 1950 Studebaker Pickup

How do you show your appreciation to a NASCAR legend? Our Dream Restorations out of Mooresville, North Carolina had an idea. Tim Walker, an automotive body expert at Our Dream Restorations, knew that Bobby Allison had a Studebaker R2 pickup truck that he had dearly wanted to restore. So Tim Walker and Our Dream Restorations decided it would be a fitting tribute to restore Bobby Allison’s 1950 Studebaker Pickup for him the way he wanted it done. Bobby had seen drawings and artist renderings of what his truck would look like, but until this week he had not seen his dream project completed. Friday here at the Daytona Turkey Run was going to be the day.

They just unveiled Bobby Allison’s 1950 Studebaker Pickup Friday morning at the Daytona Turkey Run here in Daytona Beach, Florida. Being an old hot rodder, Bobby had started by stretching the cab and working on a special Grand National Buick Turbo V6 motor for the car. Then he had several friends who ran shops in the Miami area that did some work for him over the years. But last year the car was still all disassembled and it was looking like it might be one of those projects that just doesn’t happen. NASCAR legend Bobby Allison had been waiting since 1988 to see his dream come true. Finally today he was able to take his first look at the incredible custom restoration of his 1950 Studebaker Pickup truck they call “EJ.” And was he ever proud.

A large crowd of racing fans and interested spectators filled the Yellow Garage area of the Daytona International Speedway tha morning for the event. Bobby Allison and his wife Judy were there along with family and friends for the unveiling. The truck had been under a canvas cover here since Thanksgiving Day. Bobby Allison was introduced by Dave Chamberlain of Our Dream Restorations, the shop that custom built the classic pickup truck as a tribute to Allison, a man they consider a living legend.

Bobby Allison awaiting the unveiling of his 1950 Studebaker R2 Pickup — Bobby Allison (right) stood alongside his friend, Tim Walker, who helped build the custom pickup they call “EJ.”

1950 Studebaker Pickup truck restored for NASCAR legend Bobby Allison — After the unveiling spectators could see the intricately detailed custom work that was done in both the paint and body.

Bobby Allison's 1950 Studebaker Pickup — Bobby and Judy Allison get their first view of the beautiful custom interior work.

Buick V6 Turbocharged engine — Bobby Allison admires all the work under the hood done by Our Dream Restorations on his 1950 Studebaker Pickup. The motor is a Buick Turbo V6 Grand National engine all cammed and sounding great.

Special wood bed was designed and installed.

One-off custom wheels — One off custom wheels were designed for the truck

Custom interior — Detailed custom interior work done to a “T’.

Custom graphics took 150 hours to finish — The graphics make the design work. They say the striper spent 150 hours to create this look.

6-allison-signing-autographs — Bobby Allison enjoys meeting his fans and making new friends as spectators line up for his autograph.

We were told that this truck would be debuted last month at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. But as it turns out, Our Dream Restorations never completed the truck in time. In fact, the owner of Our Dream Restorations told us today that they just hung the doors on it Monday night. You don’t want to rush anything when you spent seven months creating it.

Bobby Allison is the storied NASCAR Champion that won many races and sacrificed much for his sport. In 1988, after winning the Daytona 500, he later hit the wall at Pocono and nearly lost his life. The massive head injuries from that crash have left him with no memory of his career. Bobby also lost both of his sons in NASCAR crashes within eleven months of each other. But it was also in 1988 that Bobby purchased this 1950 Studebaker pickup truck you see pictured here. Bobby was an old hot rodder from the Alabama Gang years. He always intended to restore the old truck but it sat in storage for all this time.

After the crash at Pocono, there were so many hospital bills that needed to be paid that the Allison family had to sell most of his cars and racing equipment at auction to raise money to pay the bills. Bobby and Judy Allison paid for the hospital bills out of their own pocket. About the only thing left was this 1950 Studebaker pickup and they couldn’t sell it because it was just there in pieces. It was the only thing that survived from a proud racers long career.

Recently a filmmaker and NASCAR fan decided to put together a TV program and possibly a movie celebrating the life and successes of Bobby Allison. The Allison family told us this weekend that the funding for the movie had been acquired. Barring any delays they tell us the filming may be done by next spring. The 1950 Studebaker Custom Pickup may be a featured part of that script. Our Dream Restorations owner Jeff Arnold said he wanted a new generation of NASCAR fans to get a chance to know Bobby Allison and appreciate his contributions to NASCAR. By debuting the Studebaker truck here at Daytona they believe it may rekindle the enthusiasm for Bobby Allison’s many successes in the sport of racing. Bobby and Judy Allison are scheduled to go on a nationwide tour of car shows to promote the movie.

Allison had given so much to the sport of auto racing, it was a fitting tribute to see so many NASCAR fans here this weekend during the Turkey Run to shake his hand and get his autograph. I think Bobby enjoyed it too.

Click here to review all the action here at the Daytona Turkey Run.