Tent dancing with the guys

Linda and I drove to the VA BBQ cruise in on Friday the 18th in Fredericksburg. The traffic on Rt 1 was bad at the Falmouth light, we had to wait 3 lights to get through….the RedRat was creeping up on 210 and I was a nervous camper. It runs perfect at 185-190 unless we are stopped, it likes to move! As soon as we got through the light all was well again and the temp quickly dropped to normal. Steve was driving his Maverick beast and was goading Linda to go faster in her 33 but the Princess was not tricked….the Maverick is pretty quick and I always tell her not to race anyone she can’t beat! And she always listens to me….right! We got to VA BBQ and the lot was filling up quickly, we got our spots and saved one for Dan & Ramona who showed up later. There are always some new and/or unusual cars that show up and tonight was no exception. A white Jaguar XKE that looked original was there with the one-piece tilt front end, a neat deal for a late 60’s production car. It even had it’s original porcelain exhaust manifold….I got burned a few times checking the oil on these in my Signal Gas Station in SoCal in the 60’s. Yes we checked the oil, radiator water, battery water level, windshield washer water level, fan belts, tire pressure and washed the windshield….while I pumped the gas for you! And you paid me 17 cents a gal for regular, leaded gas….what a deal. And I gave you green stamps which you saved up and got stuff for free….like blenders, toasters, lawn mowers, barbecue grilles and more. So many memories from a Jag dipstick burn! An old school high boy coupe with a flathead rolled in and Dom’s model T was there….with three pedals on the floor and not one of them is the gas pedal or parking brake pedal! Ya gotta ask Dom about his car. Then there was a 49-50 Chevy 2dr that was a classic hot rod to me. It had a SB Chevy that looked like it came out of my Mom's 57 chevy that they replaced the 235 6 banger with and most of the original under hood stuff like the heat ducts, heater core, cables etc, was still there. The engine compartment wasn’t cleaned up and smoothed out like we do now, it was all about making the motor work in that car….that’s all. Kinda refreshing. Claude won the trophy with his orange 55….I think we need to investigate this deal, he won last week with his drop dead gorgeous 34 Chevy coupe….that car will stop conversations when it rolls in! We cruised home and got ready for the McLane show the next day!

A few hearty souls gathered at the Stafford Bob Evans at 6:30 AM for breakfast before leaving for the McLane show. We had a minor photo-op in the parking lot then drove to the show on 95 getting off on Rt. 17 heading west then turning into the complex. After registration we all lined up on one end of the parking lot….we almost took up the whole end of the parking lot. There were 10 cars that registered as ‘Stafford Classics’ but and additional 6 could have. I think that’s one pitfall of belonging to two different car clubs, you have to make decisions like that, but that’s OK. It’s all about taking your car out and enjoying the show or cruise and the people that are there. Brent originally had his car sitting with us evil Fords and Mopars but later moved down with those other GM cars….the Camaroe boys…. They all huddled together, like Harley guys….in fact I think I saw a Sportster parked by Rocky’s awesome white Camaro. It is interesting how that worked out, most of the GM on one side, most of the Mopar on the other side and three Fords in the middle….we need more fords in the club, I’m beginning to feel intimidated!

Then we tried to answer the age old question ‘how many guys does it take to put up a tent?’ Why of course it takes as many guys as you have tent poles! Everybody knows that….and you have to have one extra guy to watch and wave his arms around, another guy to stand still and look real deep in thought and a gal to read the instructions that the guys won’t listen to! After we got Bill and Dolores’s tent up we stood there like Tim the tool man, acknowledging our handiwork…. I even think I heard someone grunting like Tim….Be sure to check out the pics for this deal!….it was worth the cost of admission….grin

The show had many cars that would have been comfortable at a national NSRA or Goodguys show and many that are driven everywhere on a weekly basis to local shows. There were some racecars and one nostalgic stocker, Bounty Hunters….a Dodge. I have seen cars like this run in their heyday; they are always fun to watch. My friend, Lee, had a Plymouth 426 wedge that he ran on the street. My wife had a 72 440/4spd RR GTX that was a hoot but I think Lee’s wedge could take her but we never raced each other….I don’t know why. Please check out the website for pictures of the cars that were at the show, I took a picture of every car that was there except a few that came in later….about 150 or so! The Stafford Classics got the ‘Club Participation’ trophy and almost every one got a trophy too….except the Slacker. The weather was warm but nevertheless better that the cold/wet weather we have been having on the weekends. We need to get used to the heat, this is the way it will be for 5 months! This was a well-run show that we would like to return to next year.

After the show we formed up at the commuter parking lot nearby to cruise to Colonial Beach, about 35 miles away. There were 11 of us that started out on our adventure. We got strung out after one of our group had trouble and some of us stayed with him till help came and the rest of the group continued on. We caught up with them about 14 miles away….that was a real hoot trying to form up as a group to continue the cruise. When we arrived in Colonial Beach some of us had dinner at Ledo’s Pizza, some went to seafood restaurants ….what’s wrong with that picture, going to a beach town and eating Italian food? But hey, we are car guys, we aren’t normal…grin On the way back to Bruster’s, Brent’s son, Brandon, hitched a ride with me in the RedRat….It was a good thing because I had always wanted to have another pair of hands to take some ‘action’ photos of other cars while I was moving….Brandon had another pair of hands….hehehehe I usually take the pics one handed while trying to keep the RedRat between the lines. I think he enjoyed the ride, we didn’t go too fast, the motor never went above 3000 rpm….wink wink….and the rear tires never lost traction….grin….yeah dad that’s what happened…. When we arrived in Stafford the temp gauge started to climb, it pegged down at the bottom where it says ‘Water Temp’….Brandon started getting a little nervous but I knew the temp gauge was acting up again. It did the same thing last year….the temp climbed too fast to be real. The builder, Don Stanley, had the forethought to put a temp gauge on the water pump so when we stopped at Bruster’s, I checked the engine mounted gauge and it read 195….I love this car! I did find out the driver’s headlight is malfunctioning again; I will have to troubleshoot that next week. The hot rods usually give me something to do between naps during the week!

There were over 50 cars at Bruster’s again this week, this thing is really growing thanks to Ron’s leadership and dedication to the deal. There was a 34-36 Ford PU that I had not seen before as well as a red Ferrari that was new. Most everything else belonged to the usual suspects. Ron called the evening closed and we cruised home….a very long 16 hrs playing with cars!

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