Control Your Climate
July 16, 2023
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
The poor Falcon.
Were it not for Ford’s inglorious first compact car, who knows what the early Mustangs would have been like, built as they were on Falcon architecture? Today, everyone wants a Mustang, yet Falcon fans are few. Fewer still are those who crave Falcon wagons, and initially, Norman Schmitt was not one of them, either. He wasn’t after a Falcon, or a wagon, but when a friend told him about an old wagon for sale, he went to check it out. What he found was a rare ’63 Falcon two-door wagon, and it was in great shape. The price was right, so he bought it, with visions of a wicked Pro Street Falcon in his head, and he set out to transform those dreams into steel.
STRAIGHT-AXLE FEVER
Gary Moore is no stranger to hot rods; he has owned literally dozens of them over the years. Past rods include no fewer than seven Deuces, a couple of altered drag roadsters, three ’40 coupes, three woodies…well, you get the idea. Like many hot rodders, Moore has an eye for the unique, and while his current stable holds a Deuce highboy roadster, a ’27 roadster pickup and a ’51 Ford woody, a couple of years ago he contracted “straight-axle fever.”
HOW TO PAINT SCALLOPS
We all know itʼs what lies beneath the paint that really matters—a good chassis, great metalwork, and great design. Yet, having said that, the paint job still remains the single most important element of any rod or custom. After all, even if the groundwork has been laid, your bodywork is straight and great, your design is fine and your mechanicals are flawless, a poor paint job can spoil it all.
Spotlighter
2026 Pigeon Forge Spring Rod Run
Part car show, part traffic jam—an all-out automotive takeover.
Author
Jamie Dent
Photography by Scott Killeen
When Pigeon Forge Spring Rod Run rolls into Pigeon Forge, it doesn’t just put on a show—it takes over the entire town.
From April 16–18, the LeConte Center at Pigeon Forge became ground zero for some of the cleanest, hardest-hitting builds in the country. Inside, it’s all business—high-end restorations, pro-touring muscle, custom cars, and serious contenders chasing Top 25, Ultimate 5, and King of the Hill. This is the polished side of the Rod Run, where the bar is high and the details matter.
The Parkway Is the Show
But that’s only half the story.
If you were stuck in traffic trying to get to the LeConte Center, you didn’t miss the event—you were in it. The Pigeon Forge Parkway turns into a rolling car meet that stretches for miles. Cars stacked bumper-to-bumper, lined up along every shoulder, spilling into lots and side streets.
This is where things get raw. Driver-quality classics, street machines, project cars, and off-the-wall builds that don’t care about trophies—all mixed in with the occasional jaw-dropper. No ropes. No judges. Just engines idling, people talking, and a constant flow of metal.
In Case You Missed It
Our galleries focus on what we could reach—in and around the LeConte Center at Pigeon Forge. That’s where the heavy hitters show up. The builds that came to compete, to be seen, and to push the standard.
But make no mistake—the Pigeon Forge Rod Run doesn’t stay contained. It spreads across Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, turning the entire town into one massive, unfiltered car culture experience.
Bottom Line
This isn’t just a car show—it’s slightly controlled chaos with horsepower.
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