Where did the weekend go?

Friday evening and we weave our way through the Friday get-out-of-town traffic to Fredericksburg, VA and the cruise at VA BBQ on Rt. 1. This cruise has been hosted by Fredericksburg Classic & Muscle Car Club for many years and never disappoints. It is a comfortable cruise with 50-90 cars each week….not like the MD cruises with 400-500 cars each week but a nice mix of local cars and some from the surrounding environs. About half the cars come out every week and the other half are infrequent visitors.

The car that spun my tires was the little yellow ’61 English Ford panel….I had one of these cars in ’63-’64 and drove the wheels off it! I had the original 4 cyl motor with four individual pipes coming out one side, like a funny car. I had a lot of fun cruising the beach cities in SoCal with that car….I can’t imagine how much trouble I could have found if I had a small block Chevy in it like the yellow one at the cruise. Jim brought out his ’46 Ford PU, “The Rotten Peach”, to share with us….he had it repainted and added a new fuel tank….ya gotta see this. Hoppy brought out his yellow ’55 Ford, the Chevy killer!? We had a great time talking to friends and making new ones….please check out the pictures at; http://rides.webshots.com/album/577539128XeTJKa

Saturday morning and we attend the 2nd Kate Waller Barrett MS show in Stafford, VA. The school opens its doors for the show so the restroom facilities are great and there was a good food vendor which helped since there were no restaurants close by. It was hot for this time of year, I think it went up to 274 degrees, which wasn’t welcome but we dealt with it. The heat crept up on me as I didn’t hydrate properly….I have to remember to do that better. The music was a victim to the many announcements and talking. After a while we just tuned out the “noise” since little music was being played and as a consequence we didn’t hear when the 50/50 was called and we probably missed other things we may have wanted to hear.

There were about 70 cars of all types from Sam’s original Model T to a 2010 Camaro….that why I like open car shows….everyone comes out! I have a few favorites….first is Brian’s red ’88 Fiero GT with the 3800SC motor! Brian had done all the work himself on this beast and it worked out just right. This type of car is often overlooked by hot rodders and I don’t know why. With its inherent great handling and killer motor possibilities this is a super street car if there ever was one! I also liked the dune buggy. I saw many of them in SoCal when I lived there in the 60’s….in fact I think the Meyers Manx was invented there. The one at the show was done flawlessly. And then there was the Noble….this is a rare car and you need to talk to the owner when it is at a show with you. It is so unique, and it’s 2000 lb weight and over 500 hp should make it a fun car on the street.

There was confusion at the award ceremony and some frayed nerves that could have been avoided but in the end most were happy with the outcome. The Princess got a plaque so she is all giggly and happy. Please check out my pictures at; http://rides.webshots.com/album/577537128IgfZZH

We left the show and cruised to the show at Foster’s Grille in S. Stafford, VA. The VA Stockers are the host club and Foster’s had gone all out to promote their show that kicks off the cruise season for them. It had been on the radio and internet for a couple of months. They had two moon bounces and radio station WZRQ 99.9. Foster also gave the participants a discount on their food AND the show was free! That’s right, no cost to enter! They had nice prizes and trophies and gave $50 cash with each trophy! I think they really wanted to support the show/cruise!? Foster’s has always encouraged participation at their cruises but this was special. They really don’t have to pay people to come to Foster’s….it’s a nice place, the food is great and they always take care of us like they want us there.

There were around 90 cars when it was done and because they threw a large net of advertising many of the cars that showed up were new to us. The yellow blown T-Bucket, the red ’49 Ford custom, the white & blue ’54 Merc and the red ’57 Chevy panel were all new. Then Richard’s immaculate blue & white ’60 Chevy and many of the usual suspects rounded out the field. My favorite was the orange & purple ‘60’s Chevy PU. This truck was perfect and had a 600 + cu. in. motor that if you close your eyes when it was running you thought you might be listening to John Force’s car! And Jerry’s yellow Willys is never hard to look at…. another classy local car. Check the pictures at; http://rides.webshots.com/album/577546273yBcVDi

It was a very long day for us so after most of the cars left we were glad to be on the road home. We had a very busy day doing what old people do with their hot rods on the weekend when they don’t have proper supervision. On the way home the RedRat wanted to stretch it’s legs so I let it go on the Rt. 17 on ramp….it’s very long (about ¾ mile), straight, flat….hmmmmm. That wasn’t me turning gasoline into noise and filling the air with tire smoke, no sir, not me….hehehehe I love that car!

Sunday cruised to the Manassas, VA Burger King near the airport to attend the Bull Run Street Rods annual show. We like this show because it’s on grass and it is always well attended by pre 60’s cars. The show's main sponsor is Burger King and it always run well, everything happens when it should and no grumbling is heard about the show. This club is another one of Virginia’s premier car clubs….they are well respected and their show is one of the “can’t miss” shows of the year around here. Some years it has rained on show day which makes the venue a real challenge but this year the weather was near perfect. A short little shower around 10:30 helped dust off the pollen then sunshine the rest of the day. I think there were around 170 cars which is near what the show can handle comfortably and the parking was more organized than years before.

Many very nice cars….please check out the pictures at; http://rides.webshots.com/album/577536407ZCbaai The one I liked best was the pearl ’32 Ford PU with the Boss 429 Shotgun motor. I took a picture of the car and walked to the next one then went back and did a double take….I could see through the grille….no radiator? The radiator was in the truck bed….nice! The owner told me the motor was from a drag boat and its 1800hp had to be detuned to around 800hp for the street! This was one cool truck! I also liked the orange & black Camaro with the neat engine compartment housing the 427….cool. The Princess liked the way the black ’34 small block sounded….the one driven by another lady! She says the Princessmobile should sound like that too….I said all it takes is money!? The look she gave me told me I should not worry about what I will be doing this winter! Hehehe We met many old friends at the show and made some new ones too. I had a couple people walk up to me and ask….”Are you Chuck the Slacker?” After I said yes they told me how they like to read my stuff and how they follow us on HotRodHotLine. That helps when you write this stuff and wonder if people read it and if they like it….a little feedback is good!

We cruised home and our old bodies crashed in the A/C so we got a few hours of rest before our adopted children (Dan & Ramona) drove us to dinner. Now to rest up for next weekend….I love this hobby!