Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Memorial Day Weekend to remember

Friday night at VA BBQ in Fredericksburg....all of the usual suspects were there....and a few new cars! A 52 Nash....some would say it's ugly....some would not, but remember it's contemporaries were also kinda round and bulbous. I had a 34 Nash and have heard many comments about our 'orphan' cars! This 52 was very nicely restored and it looks mostly original, a nice car and I bet it's comfortable! The red 63 split window Vette was the nicest 63 I have seen, the owner says he brings it out all the time but I have never seen it before? Then a 1960 Hillman....HUH....yeah a Hillman. I remember seeing it in Nov of 06 at VA Bazaar for the first time, it's kinda neat. It doesn't have a Hillman motor....grin If it is at a show near you check it out. Then I saw a nice red 67 Goat with a driver I'd seen before....actually he was out of place, I usually see him in his Red 36 Ford PU....the Goat is very nice but I like the PU better! Frank and Jim & Linda brought their Vettes....more about this later. Ron drove his 28 Dodge so the honor of the Mopar guys was intact! Silvia and her husband won peoples choice with their 34 Chevy 5w....again....Maybe they should just go up and get their trophy when they arrive, just to save the anticipation for the rest of us....hehehe If you haven't given their car a close look, you are missing something!

Saturday we drove to Weyers Cave, VA to attend a 40th wedding anniversary for a couple we have know for 28 years....It was a neat deal and I'm glad we went....but no hot rods....I think I was going into withdrawal....

We got back to Stafford too late to attend the show at Bruster's Sat night. From most of the people I have talked to say we missed a neat deal. Over 125 cars attended to the point some had to be turned away! Ed won peoples choice (no surprise here!) then Maria and Andrew took some pictures and it seems there were many cars there that don't normally attend Bruster's. Maybe some will come back every week now, we'll see. Ron and his 'crew' (Gary & Gary & Tony & you know who you are) must be applauded and thanked for all the work they put into bringing hot rodding to Stafford.

Sunday we met at Bob Evan's and departed at 8AM for Cuplepper Cruisers skating rink show. Andrew, Dan & Ramona were there as well as Linda & Chuck....Also in attendance was Frank and Jim & Linda in their Vettes....they came along and added a modicum of class and sophistication to our outing. It worked! At the show we found a 34ish Chevy 4dr that was real nice. Henry & Loretta brought their orange 39 sedan and parked next to us so we could visit with them most of the day, a good thing. Richard brought his red Chevy PU with the 409....It just gets prettier every time I see it. The best of show was a very special red 34 Ford with a SB Ford motor with a trick induction system, check it out when you can. He was totally surprised with the award...he walked past me muttering "I can't believe it, I can't believe it, I can't believe it" That was cool....and I want his hat! DJ Ron, as usual, did his magnificent job....the jail deal was fun, I hope he does that again at Orange....you have to be there! The show was down on attendance from last year, I don't know by how much but last year the parking lot was filled.

We broke camp and the Queen & Princess decided we needed to keep driving around while gas was cheap, $4.15 gal!!!! So we cruised to Glory Days in Lorton. Each Sunday the Prince William Cruisers hosts a cruise in there. We have been trying to get there a few months but something always comes up so today is the day! Steve and his crew were perfect hosts and provided us with discount coupons to Glory Days (Maybe he should have tried to bribe us last month and we may have cruised over sooner? hehehe). The food was great and they have a good variety to choose from. They also let us use the primo parking places with shade and grass....a nice touch. Since Frank had to leave for home from Culpepper we still had Jim & Linda and their 08 Vette. The PW Cruisers cut us some slack and let Jim & Linda park their 'new' Vette with us and the hot rods....and didn't banish them to the yonder parking lot with the porta jons and gravel! grin. The PW Cruisers were friendly, like most real rodders, and welcomed us and made us feel like old friends. There were some unusual rides too....71 Ranchero, a 62 Pontiac and a purple/periwinkle 32 Ford PU. If you see this PU you need to spend some time looking at it real close, it's really nice. AND the best of show winner from Culpepper was here too, I got a chance to look at that 34 a little closer, very nice car! Then a copper colored 34ish Chevy 3 window. This was a nice cruise and the traffic going back to Stafford was not bad....if you are looking for somewhere to go on Sunday afternoon, this could work out for you too!

We met at Bob Evan's on Monday and left at 8AM. The Vettes were not with us so it was an unruly, noisy, unsophisticated, bunch of hot rodders who left Stafford for Goldvein. The show is on grass and we got a line next to the road....which is normally a good deal....more about this later! There was a nice 57 Chevy PU that was new to me. A purple 39? Pro Street Ford PU that was very cool, check out the bed! Pauls evil looking lakester....did you know he has a class III hitch receiver welded to the rear end? Hmmmmm Maybe he does yard work during the week and hauls his equipment around on a trailer behind his 34?....hehehe Mike and his Angilia was there too. But the neatest thing was the old, I think 29-31, Ford produce truck. There were four 'old' cars....they all look the same and I can't tell the years apart, one of my many failings as a 'car guy'! I took a pic of the line up in front which is my try at artsy fartsy photography that day! One of the 'old' cars was Sam and his wife with their 1920 Model T touring car....Sam and his wife won two trophies. Ron won one, Dan & Ramona won one, Ed won one, Henry & Loretta won one, Mike one one....Pete won one and got a nice flowery bag of something....and the Princess....Hmmmmm....The Princess says it's not about winning and loosing, it's about the fellowship and camaraderie of like minded outgoing people, about being outdoors and not cooped up indoors, about sharing her passion of the hobby with others, about meeting old friends, making new friends....I think she's lying....I think she is a poor looser....Dom always says if it's not best of show it's a looser! The Princess thinks that is funny when they say that about me? She isn't laughing....I asked her if it would make it better if I polished her trophies twice this week instead of once? The look she gave me burned off my eyebrows.... don't ask me why I had to fix one of the old trophies.... don't ask! The day was post card perfect and the advertising was good but attendance was down from last year....I hope this isn't a portent of things to come....

Be sure to check out the pictures of the weekends events





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WARNING SERMON FOLLOWS WARNING
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On a serious note there was a person at the Goldvein show that was driving a ratty old green and primer 4x4 PU that did an out of controll burnout, in front of the Fire Dept and spectators sitting on the roadside then lost control and got crossed up and was coming toward the participants and their cars, barely missing the orange fence. This is so stupid, childish, infantile and dangerous to others. It's not about it being a PU, it could have been the same idiot driving anything. This is the kind of behavior that most 'non car people' think we all do anyway.... There is a time and place for everything, even burnouts....that was NOT the time OR place for that kind of stupid and rude activity! Please do not condone, support or encourage this type of behavior at car shows where it puts people in danger. Shows can and will get a reputation as a place to avoid.
Those that know me know that I don't usually get too upset about dumb behavior or stupid drivers....God will sort them out in His time....But putting the lives of 30+ people at risk just should not have happened!
..................I'll get off my soapbox now..............
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Monday, May 19, 2008

Country Roads

A small contingent of Stafford Classics met at the Bob Evans on Sat morning at 6AM! Tony, Kevin, Andrew, Tom, Linda & Chuck.We ate breakfast, formed up and drove to the Sheriff's show in Culpeper, on the way we picked up Dan & Ramona (the Queen says if you don't eat breakfast you can sleep one hour more?). The show was held at Culpeper HS on asphalt, a good thing after all the rain we have had. When we arrived Dallas & Carol and John were there from Custom Cruisers. As the show began unfolding, there were many cars that were new to us and a large group of Culpeper Cruisers with their beautiful cars. There was a red 56 T-bird with a puzzle in front of it, really neat deal. The music was perfect and the food was OK....other vendor activities kept things moving. My sister-in-law brought my Mom to visit....I gave Mom a ride in the RedRat, she didn't understand why it made so much noise! I just said because it can! I thought it was a neat ride since my Dad had a 34 when they were very young and she said she remembered riding in his. The award ceremony went very well....over 1/2 of the top 50 went to vetts and the best of show....another vette? Anyway a lot of other nice cars got recognition especially the blue and yellow 51 Chevy PU....you have to see that one! Of the five Stafford Classics cars that were there we got 5 of the top 50 trophies!....not bad?

After the show we all packed up and headed for the monthly cruise in Orange, VA. Steve and his son got to the Culpepper show late but went with us in his Mustang to Orange. It wasn't far from Culpeper so we thought what the heck, why not go and see what the deal is all about. The cruise 'officially' started at 5PM and we got there at 4 PM so we had the pick of most of the parking lot. We chose a long line with grass and trees behind the cars and with a good view of one of the entrances. I think we must have parked in some of the 'regulars' spots because we were looked at very intently by some as they drove in! This is a very neat cruise, I think it's nicer than the BK in Manassas because in Orange they have music....good music! All oldies you could remember, very cool and the DJ was "filling in" for the regular DJ, DJ Ron, who was attending a major show/cruise on the Right coast with his Camaro. Almost all the cars were new to us! That's a pretty big deal because we have been going to shows for almost 4 years now and thought we have seen just about every car around, boy were we wrong! I have never seen so many tubbed cars at one time. The cars ranged from rat rods to bonified show cars to street racers brought in on trailers! Trailered cars are kinda weird for a drive in cruise but it was neat. There was a silver Chevette....a Chevette, I owned one of those anemic puppies in 1976 and thought they had all died off and gone the way of the Yugo. But in true Hot Rod fashion someone decided that their Chevette needed to live a little longer and go a little faster, what a deal. The tubbed green 47 Ford was nice, the orange 37 Chevy conv PU was....different....but the workmanship and detail was pure show quality. The dark blue and silver Chevelle was very cool looking. There was a restored 1945 Army jeep which was very nice too. We talked to some of the locals and they said attendance was off? There were easily over 150 cars there that night and most that we talked to said there were always over 250 to sometime 300! They thought that the threat of rain was keeping them away. We will have to go back next month and check it out again. I would highly recommend that you attend this cruise when you get a chance, you won't be disappointed! You have to check out the pictures. And don't forget to check out Dan's pics....he was in the back of the parade and was able to get some moving images....hehehe A long fun day ended up driving in the rain, a little, not too much....didn't even have to use the wiper!....grin And the sunset was magnificent in the rear view mirror....123 miles of fun!

Sunday found us back at Bob Evans for 6AM breakfast again....we struggled with the rain forecast which was not good. We decided to go to the Harry's Tire show in Orange and see what the weather would do. The trip to Harry's was uneventful but when we arrived they wouldn't let us park on the grass because of all the recent rain and the forecasted rain for that day! Dan's 55 doesn't have a parking brake so they moved away from us to leveler ground....so we were separated and the Princess had to go sit with the Queen and I stayed with our cars most of the time. After we arrived Tony and his wife Janice arrived with their Charger then Ed came in in his 39 and parked with us....a good deal. Later on Paul and Evelyn came in their white Caddy, I bet it's comfortable to ride in that car! The Good Times Cruisers put on a great show, it's well organized and they provide things for the kids to do and they have a very complete silent/Chinese auction. Most of the cars that attended we have seen but like always there are some that are new to us! And it was curious that not more of them would be the same ones we saw at the cruise the night before? How many times do you get to see a bug eyed Sprite? Or a Corvair convertible? Or an early Falcon Ranchero? The other nice thing about this show is that it is for driven cars....only one car showed up in a trailer, the rest were driven to and from the show....which is the way it should be. It sprinkled off and on all day, we dried the cars a lot, if fact we ran out of dry diapers for our cars! But the hard rain held off....for a while! The Princess missed an opportunity to meet a new friend....you will have to ask her about it!
Dan/Bob/Robert/Animal and Ramona got a top 25 plaque and also Best Paint award, Ed got a top 25 and peoples choice, no surprise here! Tony got a top 25 and accepted the club participation award! We need a place to start accumulating our club awards so Ed said he would find a place for our clubhouse, so we could store our awards and work on them cars....hehehe Something with a nice view Ed and a large parking lot and no close neighbors and real cheap and a lift and compressor and nice bathrooms and maybe a paint booth....why haven't you found it yet Ed? The Princess and chuck got a top 25 award too, I knew I would get an award because I had my magic socks on!.... Sooooo, we had 6 Stafford Classics cars at the show and we took 8 awards....I like the math! The show was cut short a little by the rain as it started in earnest when we were leaving. It really started to rain the closer we got to Culpeper and continued all the way to right outside Stafford. It was just sprinkling when we got home so we washed the cars and dried them before putting them away. WE drove 98 miles for the day! Next week I'll have to live under them cars again to clean the road film off....fun fun fun.

Driving around the beautiful Virginia countryside all weekend with friends in cool cars....can you spell nirvana? Drive them cars....don't drag them around in a white box!

Next weekend....we have other commitments on Sat but then back to Culpeper on Sunday for the Culpeper Cruisers show and Goldvein for the Fire Department show on Memorial Day. Be sure to thank a Veteran on Monday (and every other day too) for his/her service, they are the ones that make it possible for us to enjoy our hobby.

Monday, May 12, 2008

How fast can the RedRat go on ice?

Saturday the the 10th....we were scheduled to go to Peggy's. HS show in Falls Church but when we got up at 4AM it was raining....at 6AM it was raining....at 8AM it was raining....at 10AM it was raining....I think I see a trend here. So we waited and the rain stopped before noon but it was too late to go to Peggy's show....so we waited to see if it would dry up so we could go to the Bruster's cruise that night. We decided around 4Pm that it was dry enough to bring the cars out and we ventured to Bruster's. The sky was partly sunny till we got everything set up at Bruster's then the sky turned black. We all sat and tried to decide whether to stay or leave and beat the rain....we stayed. The clouds left quickly and it was so sunny we started to look for the sun block. A lot of people stayed away because of the threat of rain but we still had over 30 cars! Ramona the 'professional trainer' and the Princess was instructing Ron how to park his 28 Dodge....I thought it was going to get ugly....but Ron finally managed to get it right! Check the pics! Marshall brought out his 64 Rambler with the TPI small block....it's kinda special. Allen drove his Tin Indian Grand Prix Super Stocker, 421, 2x4bbls, a real throwback to the SS wars in the 60's. He has a 'spool' in the rear end so when he turns a corner the suspension loads up unevenly and it lifts the rear of the car up crooked, kinda weird but Allen says it's normal? I bet it's a lot of fun on ice and snow! Then a blown blue 60 Chevy came rumbling in....it was a car I had not seen around, it's nice and you don't see a lot of 60 Chevys. The motor made it special....Ron called the cruise around 9PM and some of us went to Sam's for dinner, a good end to a good evening.

Sunday the weather reports ALL say the rain will hold off till 6PM so we go to breakfast at Bob Evans and meet the other club members. After breakfast we journeyed to the show in Fredericksburg. We were a little early so we got to choose our parking area, I think we chose wrong. This show always amazes me with the number of cars that attend that I have never seen before. And the quality of the cars would make the judging very difficult too. There was an especially nice purple pro-street 49 Chevy PU, you have to see this car. The yellow pro-street S-10 was different too. After meeting some old friends and making some new ones the sky started to cloud up. It started to sprinkle around 1PM and the host club began counting the ballots early. The rain started in earnest around 1:30 or so and the awards were given out shortly after that. The FC&MCC got club attendance award(Stafford Classics please re-read the first part of this sentence, grin). Ed and his orange 39 Ford got top 25 and the best Ford award....with his secret new ford engine....The Musselman family got top 25 with their Nova and Nomad. Al got a top 25 with his very nice 32 Hi-Boy with a real Ford engine, take note Ed....Dan & Ramona got a top 25 award, as usual and AND the Princess got a trophy....life is good....she said she may start cooking dinner again now....she says the trophies give her energy....I said she could stick her finger in an electric outlet and get energy....I thought it was funny....I really do like to eat at restaurants....

The Fredericksburg Street Rods car club work very hard, all year to put on this show....Of the last 3 years we have gone it was cut short twice because of rain! The depth and leadership of their organization rises to the top when adversity such as rain hits....and this club just adapts and rolls with what it is given and turns lemons into lemonade! It is a pleasure to attend their function.... Well done!

Then I had to get the....(Don, quit reading this now).... very wet, RedRat home! The car has never been wet, it has very large M/T tires and no windshield wiper (it is in Falls Church)! Everything anyone has told me about the twitchieness of the M/T tires in the wet was true. Not only are they bad for acceleration they are bad for stopping too. It was like driving on black ice....plus what normally happens around here whenever it rains, all the pushy inexperienced drivers crash, so there were crashes everywhere. We took the less traveled back way home and made it OK. Now it will take about 25 hrs per car to clean them! Oh well what else do I have to do while the Princess is at work, making money for car parts?

Till next weekend I'll be rubbing on them cars....


Monday, May 5, 2008

And Away We Go!

Friday night, May the 2nd, finds the Princess and I at VA BBQ in Fredericksburg, VA....with most of the usual suspects already there. The night was great and the cars came out and overflowed the parking lot, to the point that there were cars parked in the bank lot across the street! There were two restored early 50's pickups, the green one was especially nice. And a pink 39 Ford PU also very classy. After a long hiatus Ed and Carolyn brought out their stunning orange 39 Ford....you have to check out this ride! The red deuce coupe hi boy with the FORD 460....Ford in a Ford, what a concept! But the high point of the evening was when VA BBQ's miss piggy got to meet piggy man Dan....check out the pics!

The inaugural circuit cruise began at Bruster's with Fred & Debbie's 57 Dodge, Cory's 02 Camaro, John & Debbie's 05 Mustang, Les & Peggy's 67 442, Dan & Ramona's 55 Chevy, Dallas and Carol's 31 Ford PU, Brian & Tonya's 73 VW, Ed & Carolyn's 39 Ford, Dale's 52 MG TDVW, Dennis's 72 Chevelle, Sam & Nancy's 87 Buick GN, Linda's 33 coupe and Chuck's 34 coupe. We left at precisely 4:10....on schedule, donchano! Ron and Gary stayed to set up for the Bruster's cruise later. These guys do so much to make the Bruster's cruise a success, be sure to thank them when you see them the next time! After a tense crossing of Rt. 610 from Bruster's to head east we cruised to Rt. 1 south....across the Falmouth bridge and on to Rt. 3 north. Rt. 3 was heavy with traffic....cars that tend to overheat beware! We arrived at the Home Depot shopping center and cruised through the Sonic....the people at Home Depot did not rope off the parking so we had to go to the end of the lot so we could park together. This made is difficult to go to Sonic's so we just stayed in the parking lot and stretched our legs. We also picked up Rick & Janet's 70 Torino....we waited a little while for a couple Mustangs that were getting there but we had to leave, they caught up later. Back out on Rt. 3 east to Rt. 1 south. We got a little separated by the traffic lights but we all reassembled at Foster's Grille. Sue and the FC&MCC had a cruise in progress at Foster's so we just folded in with them. As usual the music that FC&MCC provided was great, thanks for knowing what to play! We all had a burger & coke at Foster's then as the wind started to blow harder and the sky got real ugly we started to make fun of the cars with no wipers and/or inappropriate tires, hehehe. Then we added a couple more cars from Foster's and started our run to A1 Speed Shop. On the way a few cars left the circuit cruise for home but the rest of us drove on Rt.1 north to Butler Rd east and on to A1 Speed Shop. When we arrived at A1 their cruise was in progress with the Late Night Cruisers playing the music and parking the cars. Stuart brought out his red and white GT-40 and there was a nice 55 Packard that I saw last year only once. Dave and Ben always put on a nice cruise and remember guys, Mothers Day is soon and the guys at A1 have a lot of nice parts you could buy for your Mom!....grin. The sky looked worse so we decided to run back to Stafford and as we left JV and a few more decided to leave with us. The run back to Bruster's was great, no traffic, nice road, cool weather....nice. Back at Bruster's the evening was wrapping up. We got to see the evenings awards being given out and we mingled with our friends and made some new ones too. We called the night around 9PM....Whew. I have a few changes to make to the Circuit Cruise for next month....more on that later. Ya gotta try to make the Circuit Cruise next month....this could be big!

It was forcasted to rain Sat night and Sunday AM so when we got up Sunday and the ground was dry we knew it was going to be a good day! The Stafford Classics met at the Bloom's parking lot and ran to the Bull Run Street Rods show at the Burger King in Manassas, VA. We left Stafford a little after 7AM and cruised to BK the 'back' way, it's a prettier trip. When we arrived we found a place on the back row by the trees and set up camp. They ended up with around 150 cars and this is one show that always has a lot of pre 50 cars. There was a black and red Willys that was very nice and the orange Willys with the early hemi, it's a beast! Phil's Ford shined so much I had to go back and put the polarizer lens on my camera....The Custom Cruisers of NoVA were out in force as usual and won the club participation award. The day was exceptional and we were kicked back talking and didn't know the awards were being given out! The show ended around 2PM....That's refreshing to end that early, might catch on!? And since there were 150 cars at the show the Princess says they should have had a top 150!....she didn't win anything....her pouty self told me that I have to clean my own car next time, she says I have to hide my plaque too....boo hoo....she is so not happy with the outcome of this show! Hurry up next weekend!