Once I finished checking out the AACA show, I headed back inside the speedway to pick up where I left off with the car clubs. During the time I was gone, several cars had been parked around the Smith Heritage Invitational display, including the 1967 Ford Mustang seen in the photo above. I discovered that this is one of several cars from Paramount Classic Cars, a local dealership in nearby Hickory, North Carolina.

Several shades of pink paint were available for the first generation Mustang. In 1967, a Mustang could be ordered in "Dusk Rose," a darker shade that carried paint code "S". The other was "Playboy Pink," (sometimes called "Playmate Pink"). This was a lighter shade that carried no paint code on the door VIN plate, (that space was left blank). This 6-cylinder car is finished in Playboy Pink and shows 49k miles.

1969 Chevrolet Corvette.

This is another Paramount car and features a 350 CID V8 that makes 350 hp and a 4-speed manual transmission.

1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville restomod.

This car is actually a 1956 Cadillac body that is sitting on top of a 1976 Cadillac chassis. The interior color is listed as Maroon Parchment.

The exterior paint is Maroon and Cream.

Motivation comes courtesy of a GM 502 CID V8 paired with a Turbo 400 automatic transmission.

The Bentley Continental GTC I saw when I first arrived was now dry and had its top down.

I tried to get a shot of the interior and its many colors. But due to my camera deciding not to cooperate, I now have a wonderful clear picture of the stitching driver's seat headrest.

1967 Chevrolet Corvette.

This 427/425 hp car shows 83k miles. The non-original 427 is paired with a Tremec 5-speed manual transmission.

ToySports Unlimited.

The ToySports Unlimited club is for all things Toyota.

They made an impressive showing this year.

Up next was the Carolina Chrysler club.

1972 Dodge Charger SE.

The SE package was first introduced for 1969 and added a few cosmetic luxury items such as hidden headlamps, a vinyl roof, and an upgraded instrument cluster. This car is powered by the optional 2-bbl 400 CID V8 that makes 190 hp.

1969 Dodge Coronet Super Bee A12.

Dodge began using the name Coronet in 1949 to indicate the top trim level. In 1955, the Coronet name was applied to Dodge's entry-level line. Beginning in 1965, the Coronet became an intermediate sized car that shared its "B" platform with the Charger and Plymouth Road Runner and GTX. The A12 option became available mid-year 1969 and included the mighty 440 CID V8 topped with three 2-bbl carburetors. This "Six-Pack" arrangement was good for a rated 390 hp.

The A12 Super Bee and Plymouth Road Runner are extremely rare. A total of 1,907 Super Bees and 1,412 "Six Barrel" Road Runners were produced that year.

1966 Dodge Charger 426 Hemi.

The display sign told the story of the car. The current owner worked at the dealership when this car was sold new in 1966. He acquired the car in 1984 and began a 7 1/2 year restoration.

The window sticker confirms that this is an original Hemi car.

This is an extremely rare car, being one of 218 Chargers produced in 1966 with the 426 Hemi and automatic transmission.

1972 Plymouth Road Runner.

Even though the mighty 426 Hemi was gone from the Road Runner's option sheet after 1971, a 440 CID V8 was still available. Horsepower, though down from previous years, remained relatively stout at 280.

This a beautiful and extremely rare car. Of the 7,628 Road Runners produced in 1972, this car is one of a mere 672 cars that left the factory with the 440 under the hood.

Next to the Mopars was the Carolina Classic Pontiac club.

1972 Pontiac LeMans.

This is the kind of car I like to see at a show. It's not a GTO, or Firebird, or anything especially significant. It doesn't have anything special under the hood. It's 350 CID V8 with a 2-bbl carburetor makes 160 hp. It's nothing more than an ordinary 4-door sedan that happens to be in beautiful condition. But in the sea of muscle cars and rare special editions that get all of the attention, something like this tends to get left behind.

1975 Pontiac Trans Am.

Once again, my camera hates me.

This is from the time period when the Trans Am started to really take off in popularity. The Trans Am was introduced in 1969 as a special high performance version of the Firebird, but only found 697 buyers. Things improved for 1970 to 3,196 cars before dropping for two straight years. Production recovered to 4,802 cars for 1973.

After Pontiac stylists tweaked the car's nose for 1974, production more than doubled, reaching 10,255 cars. Sales nearly tripled for 1975 to 27,274 cars. The Trans Am had reached the point where it became the most popular Firebird model. This exponential increase in sales would continue through 1979 when Trans Am production topped 117k cars.

2002 Pontiac Trans Am Collector Edition.

This was both the 35th anniversary year for and the final year for the Firebird/Trans Am. A limited Collector Edition car was offered that featured a dedicated paint scheme and colors, special wheels, interior upgrades, and a host of standard features including the WS6 Ram Air package. A total of 2,391 were produced and have become quite collectible today.

1979 Pontiac Trans Am.

For 1979, Trans Ams equipped with the W72 Pontiac 400 CID V8 received a "T/A 6.6" decal on the sides of the hood scoop. Cars equipped with the L80 Oldsmobile 403 CID V8 received a "6.6 LITRE" decal. This car has the W72 Pontiac V8 that makes 220 hp.

Since this car has the Pontiac 400 CID V8, it also has a 4-speed manual transmission. For 1979, RPO W72 was only available with a manual, just as the L80 Oldsmobile 403 was only available with an automatic.

Several late-model Trans Ams.

A rare Trans Am Firehawk.

1966 Pontiac Bonneville (L), 1969 Pontiac LeMans convertible (R).

I remember seeing the Bonneville at previous events. I love the design of the interior. This one is in beautiful condition.

Eighth generation Pontiac Grand Prix equipped with the 303 hp 5.3L V8.

1970 Pontiac GTO Judge.

This car was displayed with a copy of its build sheet which shows it's a real Judge with a 4-speed and a/c.

Since it has a/c, it is also equipped with the 400 CID Ram Air III V8 that makes 366 hp, (a/c was not available when the Ram Air IV V8 was ordered). This judge is quite rare, being one of around 3,639 Judge hardtops produced for 1970. A total of 3,054 GTOs were produced with the Ram Air III V8 and manual transmission that year.

1977 Pontiac Trans Am, Y82 SE.

The special paint with gold accents identifies this car as an "SE" or Special Edition. Since it also has T-tops, it can be identified as an RPO Y82 Special Edition, (non T-top SE cars fell under RPO Y81 for 1977). The hood scoop on this car says "T/A 6.6," which indicates the W72 Pontiac 400 CID V8. The W72/4-speed manual transmission combination was good for 200 hp. As near as I can determine, all of these factors make this car extremely rare, being one of 2,699 produced for 1977.

1972 Pontiac LeMans convertible.

This is a rare car, being one of 3,438 produced in 1972.

1967 Pontiac GTO.

1964 Pontiac GTO.

I remember seeing this beautiful Pinehurst Green 1964 GTO last year. Of the 32,450 GTOs produced for 1964, only 7,384 were Sport coupes like this car.

Carolina Plymouth Owners.

1966 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S.

The phrase "Pony Car" is most often associated with the Ford Mustang. Introduced on April 17, 1964, the Mustang was a runaway sales success with around 22,000 cars sold ON THE FIRST DAY. One million cars arrived 18 months later.

What a lot of people don't realize is that the Plymouth's Barracuda was introduced on April 1, 1964, beating the Ford Mustang to market by two weeks. Unfortunately, it didn't really matter as the Mustang outsold the Barracuda by more than 5 to 1. By the end of 1966, the Mustang's lead had widened to almost 16 to 1.

This is a very rare car. Of the 38,029 Barracudas produced in 1966, the Formula S accounted for only 5,316 of them, and only 2,970 came with the 4-speed manual transmission like this car.