Here in Tampa and around the South and Southeast, the seasons are reversed when it comes to car shows and cruises.

A lot of folks Up North and Back East (and some of them Out West) are putting their Vettes and other fine rides away for the winter, or are starting on months-long updates that they hope to finish by the time warm weather returns, folks Around Here (Tampa), the outdoor-show-and-cruise season’s just getting going.

One of the “season openers” is the National Street Rod Association’s (NSRA) Southeastern Street Rod Nationals, held at the Florida State Fairgrounds which are just a few miles up the road from Corvette Fever World HQ.

In recent years, NSRA has opened this event, as well as several of their other shows, to ’49-later fiberglass and iron. That means that you’ll see some cool examples of “America’s Only True Sports Car—like these that we spotted during our rounds of the grounds.

This ’63 Sting Ray is what could be called a “full custom,” what with the number of body modifications like its bumperless front end with custom tube grille, flared fenders, scooped hood, and those big mesh grilles in the hood and front fenders. Add a big block under the hood, and true Candy Apple Red, and you have one of the least-subtle cars on the grounds!

Without a doubt, this shot of a ’65 coupe was the most difficult to get. We waited for something like ten minutes for the crowd around the car to part, so we could get this shot. Was it the color that drew the crowd? The quality of the paint? The fenderwell-filling five-spokes? Likely, it was a combination of all of those.

Big fairgrounds shows are prime locations for meeting up with friends and swapping good stories, regardless of how true they are. Any stories involving this midyear are likely true—unless they try to say those Rally wheels were on it when it left St. Louis.

This ’58 Vette had what looked like a risky parking place—near a food concessionaire’s trailer. Fortunately, we didn’t see any signs of soda spashdowns or any other food-related accidents that would have made this C1 unappetizing.

This smallblock-powered “rat rod” is presented here as a reminder of how traditionalists like working with vintage parts and whatever else they can find to build a distinctive ride. These folks have yet to discover the joys of making a fiberglass body--starting with making a plaster body buck, pulling molds from it, then using the molds to turn fiberglass cloth and resin into a body. (Must be afraid of all that itchy ‘glass dust or something.)

A swap meet and car corral was also on the Southeast Street Rod Nationals’ program, and there were more than a few Corvettes for sale. This ’73 convertible had a new crate engine under the hood and a price tag on the good side of $20K. Oh, for a winning lotto ticket—we’d have one less ugly convertible top in the parking lot here!

Now for another ’73 Vette. What does this one have going for it? It looks like it’s nearly complete, and it’s doing a good job holding down the trailer. Other than that, it looked like a MAJOR project, judging by the crunched-in rear body behind the left rear bumper. Who knows—maybe someone’s looking for one in just this condition.

Probably the newest thing on the grounds was this early C5, seen in the swap meet with over 100K on the odometer and a $16,500 price tag. The wheels in front of it may or may not have been part of the deal, depending on how badly a buyer wanted them--or the seller needed to move them.