AS SEEN IN OUR F-SERIES BUILDERS GUIDE WINTER 2026 ISSUE – Buy Now!

Ford, Family & Friends

The 9th annual Grand National F-100 Show was the most successful event to date! The show’s headline sponsors, Dennis Carpenter Ford Reproductions and Fat Fender Garage, helped create the largest classic Ford truck show on the planet. With over 1,200 trucks attending; every conceivable vendor inside and out; the largest swap meet for Ford truck parts; fantastic weather; as well as being held in scenic Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, there was definitely a good time to be had for all!

 Associate sponsors Midwest Early Ford Parts, Kincer Chassis, Obsolete Ford Parts, TKM Custom Rods, SS Chassis Worx, Pro’s Pick, Morgan’s Auto Trim, Scott’s Hot Rods, and Smithy Customs were all set up in full force, providing the absolute best products and services for classic Ford trucks.

Located at the state-of-the-art LeConte Center right in the middle of Pigeon Forge, classic Fords were everywhere. Rows of beautiful trucks were on display inside, and over 1,000 were outside. The swap meet spanned over 200 spaces strong and was filled with the rarest Ford truck parts ever!

It all started on Thursday morning when the outside venue gates opened at 8:00 a.m. Pre-registered trucks entered, parked, and set up. By noon, the outside venue was filled with the coolest classic Ford trucks. Terry Mason’s Hot Rod Show then took over and set the pace with the best music, information, and vendor ads to remind all what was going on. Terry and Miss E were fantastic!

Friday’s cruise through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was an awesome adventure as always. This year, I was fortunate to have Noah French from the U.K. ride with me in Big Blue, my ‘53 F-100, leading the cruise. It was a little scary for us both. Once the cruise was underway, I noticed the fuel tank was at 1/8 tank! I’m positive the truck ran on fumes for about 10 miles. Regardless, we made it to Gatlinburg and filled up so Noah didn’t have to hike the scenic route! I don’t think he will ever forget that experience.

Registration and judging wrapped up at noon on Saturday, with all preparing for the awards ceremony inside the LeConte Center later that afternoon. The Green Briar room was filled with a couple of thousand to witness award presentations and have the chance to win the custom seat and chassis giveaway from Fat Fender Garage. Congratulations to Tim Smith, winner of the seat, and Mary Smith for winning the custom chassis!

The show presents over 150 awards every year, and this year was no exception. Congratulations to all award winners. With the number of trucks in attendance and the quality of builds that showed up, all award winners were special. Choosing just one Truck of the Year proved to be impossible, so a top 3 and a promoters’ choice award were handed out instead.