The year is already moving along and it’s time to kick the show season into high gear. That is exactly what the folks at World Of Wheels do every January at the Chattanooga Convention Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with its annual indoor show. The convention center is always packed wall to wall with some of the nicest cars in the country along with dozens of vendors.
We were on hand and ready to shake off the cabin fever all while searching the cars and trucks for all the cool Ford rides and there were plenty of them to check out. So follow along for our personal highlights and be sure to check out the full gallery below.
Nate Ross and his wife brought out a pair of cool Fords to the show. Their 1987 Ford Mustang GT features period-correct Fox mods with the Monster Tach on the dash and the drag wheel setup. It’s a look that will never grow old. Likewise, the couple’s 2003 Ford F-150 Lightning features thematic black wheels, black emblems, and black exhaust pipes. Both Fords are in great condition and definitely attention-grabbers.
It’s not often you get to see a Cobra R out in the wild, but seeing two together is nuts. Ben O'Brien is the lucky owner of these red beauties and was kind enough to bring them out to share with all the showgoers. While the ’93 started the SVT Cobra lineages, the 2000 took it to new heights with a 7,000-rpm 5.4-liter V8 under the hood.
While this one might not strike everyone’s fancy, it is hard to argue with the amount of custom work that went into building it. Harry and Linda Smith’s truck started out as a 1993 Ford Ranger but it became a crazy custom. In fact, at first glance, it is hard to tell what it started out life as, but once you spot the familiar Mustang wheels, you realize it was a Ranger. Then after looking under the hood, you see the beating Blue Oval heart, a supercharged, Four-Valve 4.6. Props to the Smiths for building something out of the ordinary, but 100-percent Ford muscle.
The "Shoebox" Ford has always had a timeless look. Sherrel Thomas of Boaz, Alabama, brought out two cool examples to the show. The solid-maroon car is a 1950, while the two-tone car is a bit of a custom creation. It features a 1949 body; a 1950 grille and trunk lid; 1951 Crestliner trim; 1949 convertible interior; a 1950 Crestliner dash; and a 1949 Mercury engine. All these parts come together to make one classic Ford.
Based on our experience, it seems like cool Fords come in pairs at World of Wheels, so we wrap up our look at the show’s Fords with a pair of Fox Saleen Mustangs. This 1988 Convertible belongs to Patrick Sims, while the 1989 Saleen SSC belongs to Ben O’Brien. Both are super-clean cars and feature a wide variety of rare Saleen-only parts. While the red convertible is a little more common, the white SSC Saleen is one of only 106 built in 1989.