Awful Awful

Thursday night at Summerduck Raceway, August 14, 2008. An old business friend, Steve Bruce, told me that he and his brother are involved with a drag race car and that I should come out and see them. It had been over 35 years since I had seen an actual organized drag race! I wanted to go but knew it would not be the same as I remembered. First the course was 1/8 mile, not the 1/4 mile I am used to. Most of the cars looked like what I would call Pro Stock....but were called Outlaw or Big Dog cars? Very different. And the eliminations were different and confusing....especially since we couldn't hear the announcements clearly, we didn't know what was going on. In fact the final run happened and we didn't know the show was over till everyone else started to leave the track! Very different. There seemed to be the same intensity in the participants but that's what racing is all about....intensity! There were two back motored diggers and a street roadster kinda thing and a lot of motorcycles. Then, while we were sitting on the spectator side, I saw a familiar shape backing out of a trailer. It looked like a Fiat Topolino (loosely translated means little mouse in Italian). It was a Fiat and as I talked to the owner I found out it has the frame of a funny car, which is why the wheels are about 2' out in front of where they should be, and the Fiat body and Chrysler motor. This is like some of the old AA/FA cars I saw back in the day in SoCal! Cars like Mondello, Bradford and others....we called them Awful Awfuls....You talk to the driver of any Awful Awful about the ride they get and they will tell you the only thing consistent about the car is you never know what to expect! Sometime the car took a 1/2 mile to go 1/4 mile! Sometime it went as straight as a string....you just never lifted....you just steered through everything....what a ride! Anyway since my hero car was there I was very happy. The sounds and smells of the drag strip brought back many good memories! We may go back to Summerduck when we can and it doesn't conflict with our show schedule....maybe we can learn how things are now! We are going to a nostalgic deal this Sunday, hope more Awful Awfuls are there too!

Quiet weekend

Friday the 8th and it's our grandson's birthday, which will be THE event on Saturday, our younger daughter and her family came from PA to be with the rest of the family to celebrate the deal! Anyway we were able to sneak away to the VA BBQ cruise Friday night. It was a neat deal, we had 9 hot rods parked in a row....usually some other cars park amongst the hot rods but tonight it was special! The lot filled up quickly....Jim & Linda and Dan & Ramona came in and had to hunt a parking place! There was a very nice 65 Dodge, I don't remember many Dodges back in the day that were black, most of them were white or red, black is nice! Razor was walking through the cars....some of the cars probably had his work on them! The Mopar boys, Tony & Pat, brought their cars in....Tony's is nice but I really like Pat's blue HEMI Cuda convertible and the motor sounds so BAD! The graphic on the hood sides of the black hi-boy was trick....also check out the trailer hitch on Paul's 34 lakester.... Al brought out his 72 Chevy long car, so long it could be in two zip codes at the same time, it's a survivor and a very nice one, check it out when he brings it out. Dan & Ramona debuted their show board.... It's done by an artist, Barry Sholder, in GA, he does caricatures and custom boards and a lot of other artwork....I have one of his boards and a couple pieces of art he did for us. They are really different and unique....check out his website! It took a long time for Dan to get their board because of the changes they made and the artists attention to detail, we thought Dan was just saying he had one ordered, you know just to keep us thinking he had ordered one but he didn't....kinda like Andrew's girlfriend, Angela! Anyway Dan & Ramona's board is awesome....the Pigster....hehehe Our daughter brought the grand children to the cruise later and they were a hit too. Sylvia and the Princess doted over the kids.... I have the Princesses 33 apart in the garage doing some needed maintenance and would not have it back together till next week. Sooooo the Princess had to ride with me....She gave me orders to install an 'oh s**t handle' for her to hang on to or she won't go with me anymore....and the problem with that is?....I didn't say that.... Ron did his normal great job running the cruise and Sue and company kept things humming too. This is a cruise you have to check out when you can!

Saturday we were at the above mentioned Birthday Party for my favorite(and only) Grandson, he's 16 now! Look out world! So we didn't attend any shows or cruises the rest of the weekend. We have reports from Dan & Ramona about the FC&MCC show on Sat....It rocked! There were over 110 cars and many new cars, check out Dan's Photo's link, he took pictures. I'll have to find out more about some of the entertainment like the canopy flying! I guess there was a micro burst that took a canopy up and crashed it into the ground....away from the cars!....whew.... Anyway it seemed to be a good reminder to always secure your canopy because you never know when the wind will come up! And most of us get so excited when a canopy crashes on our cars....can you say postal? At least only a few people were injured but those were just a little shaken up! Where is Mary Poppins when you need her? And I understand it, John convinced Ed not to buy his lunch from the BBQ vendor at the show but rather go to a local establishment because it was cheaper and better....after much convincing by John, Ed took his advice....But then John bought his lunch from the show vendor and found out how great it was....Ed came back after paying too much at the local establishment and was not happy, everything was an option, like buying a home....you gotta watch those guys that drive cars with no fenders....they have a special sense of humor! I hope Ed doesn't fall for the waterfront property John has for sale in Fla! hehehe Anyway it was a quiet weekend for us and our cars....next weekend we will be on the road with the hot rods a lot....more in my email notice Tuesday.

To cruise or not to cruise?

Saturday the 2nd....it's raining in the morning so we don't go to Brandy Station for the car show. It clears up later in the morning but it's too late, and we have to get ready for the circuit cruise at 4PM.

Everyone met at BB&T parking lot at 4PM to begin the days adventure.... Dan & Ramona, Linda and Chuck! The rain clouds were threatening again so we waited in the drive through lanes of the bank, under the roof and didn't get wet when it rained a little! It cleared up at 4:30 so the three cars left. We drove to Sonic on Rt3 and cruised through to give people something to wave at! Then on to Fosters Grille in Southpoint where the Fredericksburg Classic and Muscle Car Club were in progress with their monthly cruise. We visited with friends and had a hamburger and fries, except Dan....he's a chicken sandwich guy! We checked out the cars that were there....Kim has an attack dog in the bed of her truck, funny. The Princess was whining that it was getting hot and she wanted to race her valve cover....so off we went to A1 Speed & Custom. The Late Night Cruisers had their cruise in progress so we visited with some of our friends that were there. Then....

The Valve Cover Races

Dave, from A1, had built an awesome race track....you have to see the pictures. A few of the racers were testing and tuning....but the Princess was ready to race. On her first run her racer made a sharp left turn and slowed down....we adjusted the toe in of the front suspension and tried again. It ran straighter but still slowed.... The Princess was not happy, she was glaring at her builder! The builder knew that things would not go well if her racer didn't start working right! Dave noticed that things were going down hill fast with the Princesses attitude....in a flash of true sportsmanship he offered his shop facilities to the builder to make repairs on the Princesses racer. He even helped, which is a true racer trait! We used to do that years ago, after we broke or were eliminated we would hang around our friends, who were our competition, and offer help to them. Anyway we thought we had the Princesses racer fixed, the builder gave it to the Princess and she was ready to race....Dave lined up the two racers and dropped the lever....The Princesses racer went left into the guard rail and slowed....Dave's racer beat her by 5 lengths! The Princess was not happy! I heard her say that she needs another builder! Like she could get anybody else to work for her....I didn't say that! So....Dave Won....he has the superior racer....this month! I think September may be different, hehehe There were 5-6 other racers that were running some kind of round robin race, but the clear winner was Dave....I'll be putting up a video on webshots of some of the racing this week. We hung around awhile after the racing but the Princess was clearly agitated....she is such a poor looser....I'm afraid the whining will not stop all month! We cruised over to Bruster's next and Ron and Gary were packing up to leave. There were a few friends left in the parking lot so we stayed and talked with them awhile then cruised home....a neat day. The Princess is complaining more about the heat than loosing with her racer....life might be good again soon!

In an effort to improve the Princesses attitude I decided to take her to lunch at Lowery's in Tappahannock, about 65 miles one way. We took both coupes and headed out. When we left I95 and transitioned to Rt 1 we had an unusual car pull up next to me.... When we got to Rt 17 & Rt 301 the Princess had to have a pit stop. There were a bunch of people on bikes that had the same idea....I talked to them about he cars and when we left something made the motor of the RedRat go faster and those big old tires were spinning around, must have hit some water....grin The drive was magnificent, check out he pictures. The food and service at Lowerys' was outstanding as usual....it's always a good destination for food! We drove back to Stafford and met Jim & Linda at BB&T....we were hiding in he drive through lanes again....the Princess said it was hot and she wasn't going to sit in the sun! We all cruised to Carl's Ice Cream in Fredericksburg for, what else, ice cream! A great weekend with them cars driving about 280 miles. I think the interest is waining for cruising but I think I'm beginning to like cruising better than shows....we'll see!

Time flies when....

Friday night at VA BBQ....We rolled in around 5PM and there were 7 cars already there! We parked and set up but decided to go into VA BBQ and get some vittles....and take advantage of the A/C! It was so very hot and humid! More people drifted inside and soon the place was filling up with people eating and talking....and not sweating! The Princess whines so much when she sweats! She even has a battery powered fan she takes with her everywhere, she says Princesses are not supposed to sweat! We stayed inside for 1 1/2 hrs! When we went back out to the cars the sun was down enough that we could feel a difference in the heat! Nice! Anyway I sat down behind the RedRat and people started coming over and talking with me....at one point I was talking to one person and two were waiting in line! Gee I feel popular, maybe I owe them money?....hehehe The conversations were sometimes intense and mostly about cars and family. Two of my favorite 3 subjects! The conversations kept coming and I lost track of time and space and kinda snapped out of the conversations when I noticed Jim & Linda packing up! Huh....I missed the whole cruise deal, I didn't take one picture, the whole night happened without me! All I did was sit and talk about cars! I thought I missed everything....but maybe I was part of the most important part of the evening....the personal connection of friends relating their life's experiences with each other? It was different!

After we packed up we did a little cruising. We had heard of a 'Mustang deal' at the old 5Ndiner in Central Park....so we cruised over there to check it out. Sure enough part of the old 5Ndiner parking lot was blocked off with little cones and 'Mustangs only' signs and there were about 20 or so Mustangs there! I liked the 5Ndiner cruise on Sat that we used to attend....the venue is just right. Maybe the Mustangs will be successful enough on Friday and maybe we could do a Sunday afternoon/evening cruise with hot rods?....could be? We'll see....

The adventure

We left the Tires Plus show and headed for Bruster's....we were way early so we decided to grab a bite at Sams Pizza, across from Bruster's. Jim & Linda joined us and we stayed in the A/C as long as we could! You have to try the fried zucchini at Sam's....I think I could OD on it! We watched the VW's circle to park at Bruster's so we decided to go over and get our 'special' parking place. As soon as we were set up Dom & Patty arrived in their Ford Model T....he has upgraded the T with a GPS....you have to see the pics. Patty keeps the brass polished and Dom keeps the fuel from leaking all over the parking lot....can you say haz-mat clean up? They shared their latest endeavor with the T....an over 1100 mile trip to Indiana to the "Centennial T Party".....Think about it....over 1100 miles in a Model T....as Dom said, "It's an adventure". Please take the time to check out this piece of Americana when it's at a show/cruise with you. The lot filled up with over 60 cars overall. Some like Claude and his blue 34 Chevy coupe came and sat with us for a while then cruised to another place....that's what cruising is about too! A really nice 66-67 orange Nova came in, it sounded reeeeal good. A silver and red 55 Chevy 2dr post was there and a really cool red 54 Ford PU with a blown Ford motor, nice touch! The herd of Mustangs came in and Tony and Pat brought their Mopar's to balance out the deal. Todd brought his '70 Riv and Bill brought his '72 Buick....the two Buicks were some of the rowdiest sounding cars there, what's up with that? Gary got in trouble for drooling on the red Vette that was for sale. Let's see, he has a red Cobra, red 442, the Vette is red....could work! The Princess sat by the cars in our new 'special' parking place and didn't get into any trouble all night....I had to pinch her a couple of times....just to make sure she wasn't asleep! I shot a fun little video clip of Paul leaving, check out the pics. A pleasant end to the day!

A nice day in Stafford

Saturday the 26th and the Princess and I dine at Bob Evans for breakfast so we can make it to the show....then we drove all the way to Tires Plus in Stafford. About 2 miles! We were so early we got to be car # 1 & 2! Ron & Gary and Jim & Maria, of Digital Photique, were setting up for the show. Gary from Tires Plus was getting ready with WFLS and the moon bounce. It's going to be a good day! The cars started to show up and we almost filled up the lot with about 30 cars. The event was free to the participants....Tires plus and Car Quest provided the awards and hot dogs & Pepsi....free....what a concept! We got to see Garys parking brake! Ron brought his red '60 Chevy Betty Boop car....that car is what put cool in the 6o's....I keep looking for Elvis hanging around somewhere when that car is at a show! There was a very clean & green '70 Chevy II that I had not seen before and Jim's 'rotten peach' always has new things to look at....check out the 'Ford' tail lights! And how many car shows can you go to and see two Studebakers there? Paul makes sure that we can! The Princess was whining about a license plate she saw that said 'Parrothead' on it....I tried to explain what it meant but she couldn't get it....so she said she was going to be a bucket head? You had to be there! I hope you feel very sorry for me. We were treated to the infamous DJ duo of Gary & Gary and then Ron and Gary,...huh...too many Gary's, gave out the awards....Ron with the Betty Boop car and Jim & Linda's submarine Vette won special awards....and.... Brent won best of show! I'm glad Brent doesn't attend to many shows with us....it gives the rest of us a chance.... Ron (that makes 3 Garys and 3 Rons now) stopped by with his 28 Dodge and told us that he has his fuel problem cleaned up....hehehe The show was very nice and FUN, it would do much better with more/earlier/better advertising next time. Thanks to Gary from Tires Plus and Car Quest for sponsoring the show for us! Be sure to check out the rest of the pictures.

Black cars rule!

Friday the 25th at VA BBQ....the weather was perfect! What a change.... lower temps and lower humidity! Sylvia brought her new red MB convertible....It looks like a space ship! Way to go Sylvia....and Claude drove his orange '55, nice. I think the nicest '57 Ford I have seen in a long time was there, a black 2 dr post blue oval....this car won one of the trophies that night too! The yellow Willys we have seen at shows this year came in with the orange and black '40 Ford. The driver of the 40 has kindly installed a sign language device to assist other drivers in understanding his opinion on their driving! Nice touch! The black '70 Mustang was very special too. Al brought his black '62 Chevy....I had not noticed the fender well cut-outs before, another 'back in the day' deal. This car is what most stock cars looked like in the early to mid 60's in SoCal! The first time I saw a clutch blow up was in one of these '62 Chevies at Fontana Drag City....it was a red J&M Speed shop car....parts went everywhere....after that you had to run a scatter shield on sticks! Jackie & Patty brought out their '32 5w....a real hot rod! And a really clean yellow '62 Chevy II came in, I like the 66-67 best but these are nice too. The night was very enjoyable, the Princess didn't get into any trouble....both cars started up and we had a nice cruise home....It doesn't get much better than this!