T-Town Rumble Classic Car, Truck and Vintage Trailer Show

The 11th Annual T-Town Rumble took place on a beautiful warm, sunny, clear day Saturday, October 17, at Country Oaks Baptist Church. The event had been postponed from its original August 22 date because of poor air quality due to the California fires. The annual T-Town Rumble is one of Heritage Oak Christian School's premier fundraising events.

The cars, trucks and trailers ranged in age from those built in the late 1920s to 2019. Some participants arrived even before 6 a.m. to set up their vehicles. The entrants numbered between 130 and 140 vehicles. Between participants and visitors, it was a serious car loving crowd of roughly 600 people. Everyone was thrilled to be able to attend a car show as so many events have been canceled.

Many of the vehicles had been beautifully restored. Some were presented in various stages of restoration. The majority of the older vehicles were custom restorations, some were stock and a few were original.

Among the cars featured was a 1964 Jaguar E-Type owned by Ron Hamilton from Lancaster. Dave Wolim of Bakersfield presented his "American Graffiti Car," a yellow 1932 Ford Coupe Hardtop, which was built originally as a road racing car. A blue 1933 Ford three window coupe owned by Robert and Marie Proctor of Bear Valley Springs was the type of vehicle originally used when NASCAR first started, known as a salt lake racer. Amy Mulligan entered her 1981 DeLorian DMC-12 which was originally owned by Kenny Rogers. Aaron Abbott, the local face of Save Mart, was present with his 1966 Mustang Coupe, all original. He mentioned that he received it as a graduation gift on his 18th birthday and has used the car as a daily commuter ever since. One of the more notable new cars entered was a 2019 Acura NSX hybrid with a sticker price of $169,900 owned by Jack and Yolanda Atkinson, recently transplanted to Tehachapi from South San Francisco.

Mother and son team, Peter and Kathy Bloom, of Bakersfield and Arvin, respectively, brought several older, unrestored vehicles to display. As Kathy says, they receive the vehicles in pieces, her son puts them back together, gets them running, and that's as far as they want to go. Kathy drove a 1983 Peterbilt semi with a Cozad 1980 trailer attached, loaded with a 1926 Caterpillar 60, the biggest built at that time, and a 1931 Ford Model AA hydraulic dump truck. They also gave rides in their 1946 Jeep CJA with military trailer attached around and through the aisles of vehicles.

Oldies songs permeated the show environment from strategically placed loud speakers, adding to the festive atmosphere and food was provided by a great "Tako" truck and a snow cone truck.

Many categories of winners were awarded, from sponsors' choice and people's choice to the judges' awards. 2020 Best of Show, King of the Rumble, was awarded to John and Dawn Krueger's 1956 Chevy 210 Sedan. Congratulations, John and Dawn!