For anyone in Denver

[KustomSkylark]

Hi my name is Brian, this is my first post. I have a '63 Skylark, 62' Skylark, '63 two door comet wagon, and a 49 chevy coupe. I am thinking about moving to Denver in about a year and was curious about the car scene if any. I was also wondering if they salt the roads in the winter.

-Thanks
Brian Seek

[crewcutkid]

Hi, Brian.
I'm in Arurora Colorado,a suburb of Dnever, and I have commuted almost daily to the heart of Denver. They do salt the roads in the winter, and beware, we have some of the worst drivers in the world here. The car scene is pretty diverse, but to really soak up the total package car scene, you have to explore all over Colorado- for instance, we have a So-Cal speed shop, the lowrider scene is pretty big in some areas, hotrodders are scattered about, muscle cars are fairly common, and sport-compact wannabes clog the streets. Pikes peak is home to a raceway, a dragway, and a hillclimb, and Colorado National Speedway is up in Erie, and they host some of the best short track oval racing around. Four-wheeling is pretty popular, and we are thronged with bikers. The tri-state auto show, as well as the denver grand prix are here, and an offshoot of the Detroit auto show also comes out every year. It's an okay place to live, be ready to shovel, and come willing to enjoy the great outdoors. Cultural diversity is widespread, and people seem to get along okay. Our police forces are marginal, and the airport is pretty neat. There's alwayss friday night car shows at different fast food joints, etc. I come from California, and do like it here, althoguh most of my family is on the west coast, and I kinda prefer the weather out there. Good luck on your search for a home, and welcome to the HAMB. There are a few other coloradans on the board, so they can refine my blurb about this state.
-Crew

[colorado51]

Hey Brian,

Colorado is ok; Ive lived here all my life. Over the last 5-10 years it has gotten pretty crowded due to everybody and their brother moving here, so traffic can be kinda harsh.

They do use salt on the roads a little, but for the last 5 years or so they have been using magnesium chloride to melt the icy roads.

As Crew said, there is a pretty good mix of car people here. Not a huge amount of trad-type rods around, unless you know where to look.

[radical56chevy]

i live in longmont which is north of denver..nice area not to crowded yet.like colorado51 said they use magnesium chloride on roads..not to bad just keep the car clean..just messy stuff to keep clean..as far as weather..buy a few coats and shovels..lol..car shows are around like others have said..

welcome aboard..

[Ichoptop]

Denver sucks, Dont move here.
the scene is well..."the scene". You have the muscle car guys, the goldchainers, the rockasilly boys, the lowriders, the imports etc etc etc.
But there is always something to do if you are so inclined.

[JohnnyB327]

yeah id happen to agree that the car scene is pretty diverse but theres a good number of hot rodders here.

[KustomSkylark]

Thanks for the info, it sounds like it's much like Phoenix but with snow instead of extreme heat. You will have one more hot rodder to throw into your mix, I'm not a gold chainer(not enough money even if i wanted to), I'm not "cool" enough to be one of those traped in the 50's rockabilly kids, I'm just a guy who likes old rods and kustoms, my favorite style is early to mid 60's kustoms.

[40StudeDude]

Last I knew you couldn't shovel extreme heat! If you've been a Phoenix boy all your life, get ready to shiver the minnit the temps drop below 80 degrees...the nites here are nothing like Aridzona nites and you'd be damned stupid if you go do a car show/event even without a jacket or a sweatshirt, unless, that is, you've got a thermonuclear furnace growing in your belly. Summer's are short...May to September, sometimes we get spring and sometimes we get fall...other times we go from winter to summer...and back to winter usually within three weeks. Temps vary infinitly from 60 degrees on July Fourth to 80 degrees on Thanksgiving weekend. March is usually the snowiest month and June is usually our wettest month.

The highway around here are the pits right now...they're rebuilding every inch of I-25 that runs thru the heart of Denver...got three more years of it and I-225 is almost as bad. Drivers are nutz, of course, everyone wants to live in PARADISE and they bring their rotten highway habits with them and toss them into the mix...road rage was big here about a year ago...now getting shot at random is big...and don't pull a Pepsi can on a cop...you'll get shot dead! Those that have 4 wheel drive SUV's think they can stop on a dime on blak ice in the winter and really get surprised when they shoot the curb or nail the traffic stopped ahead of them...never deters them tho, they keep right on doing it in a new SUV.

Prices for housing is pricey...can't buy much for $100,00...AVERAGE home price is $259,000! Denver is spread out like Phoenix, with homes built up against the foothills...and way out on the eastern plains...from the northern edege of the city to the southern is about 40 mile...eastern edge to western foothills is about 50...

The car scene is diverse...and we all mix well together at most cruises...there isn't any line drawn in the sand saying "restoreres beware" or "only mucscle cars here"...street rods rule (whether you call them gold-chainers or not), rat rods are virtually non-existent around here in any number, altho there is a rock-a-billy prescence at cruises and events. Kustoms are few and far between and muscle cars are mostly factory restored. There's a huge '55/'56'/57 club here and a major Corvette club...rod runs are spread out and you have to drive to get to them...that is unless you prefer to trailer. There is nothing close out here, most major cities are at least 60 miles away and there aren't that many major cities in ColoRODo...

The mountains are good for looking at if you're not a 4-wheeler...and/or a skier...that's a bit pricey these days...and/or a hiker or a biker...driving them in the winter is treacherous cuz of all those I-can-stop-on-a-dime four wheeling SUV's...You don't ever want to come home from a skiing trip on a Sunday afternoon anytime after three in the afternoon. It's a parking lot.

The sports fans are avid around here if you are into that scene...but like anything else, they are proud of their ticket prices...someone has to pay them prima donnnas.

It is good living here, if you can put up with all the BS...I've been here since 1966...wouldn't move anywhere else...Paradise is what Denver has become...so load up everything you own, take out a huge loan to line your pockets cuz you're gonna need it and you'd just as well join us in paradise!!!

R-

[trey]

and dont forget, cheyenne is only an hour away. and you know what that means right?! not a damn thing. hah

trey

[40StudeDude]

Damn Trey, I've never made Cheyenne in an hour...no matter which highway I took...how fast you drive anyway...seems to me Denver to Cheyenne is 100 miles...from my place on the east side it's about 135...NEVER do that in an hour...even without traffic!!!

R-

PS, you got lots of cop friends?

[trey]

i didnt think it was that far to denver. haha. i havent been down there in about 5 years. havent really had a reason to. i wanted to make it to the streamline openhouse, but it was the same weekend as another show, so i got lazy.

trey

[trey]

hell, i guess its pretty close to an hour at around 80. give or take a few?

trey

[40StudeDude]

Give or take a few what? Tickets?

You'd NEVER make Streamline in an hour from Cheyenne...Streamline is right in the heart of Denver...

Too bad you got lazy...probably the wildest, raucous, loudest open house I've been to. You missed a good time...Hey, you know anything about the Paint & Primer cruise coming up in late August, first of September? Now that's in ColoRODo Springs...and that is 60 miles south of Denver (about 75 from my doorstep and close to 200 from Cheyenne) at BackStreet Kustoms shop? It's the third annual this year...last year we had about 100 cars stationary most of the day with another 25 or 30 in and out...think you'll not be lazy that weekend? Might be something you'd enjoy as we get a good mix of retro, full-on kustoms, hot rods and fifties cars.

C'mon down. See if you can make Denver in an hour...without tickets!!!!
R-

[JohnnyB327]

i usually get to cheyenne in about an hour and 30

[trey]

[ QUOTE ]


C'mon down. See if you can make Denver in an hour...without tickets!!!!
R-

[/ QUOTE ]

shit no, i cant afford to take that gamble right now.

id go to the springs, but man, i hate that drive. maybe ill try to make it next year.

polarbear swap is coming up, ill be making that one for sure.

trey

[40StudeDude]

Ahhhh, so you've NEVER really made that drive in an hour?

Why do you hate that drive...from Cheyenne to Denver or from Denver to Co. Springs...is it I-25?

Tell you what Trey...you come done to my place, meet me, look at my cars and I'll take you the back way to the Springs...lots of views, lots less traffic...no idiots and "only an hour"...and the PolarBear swap isn't until October if I remember...no reason for you to be lazy now and blow off the Paint n' Primer event for another year!!!

R-

[tomslik]

aw, c'mon rog, you know the polar bear ain't until the last of january!

got the old car council comming up like the 19th of sept at the new larimer count fairgrounds and i think theres a swap in oct thats put on by the guys that do the polar bear.

[trey]

i looked at the fence post the other day and thought there was a swap at the new fairgrounds in sept. i just assumed that it was the polar bear swap. guess not? last year was the first time i went, and seemed like it was around that time?

it seems like once you get past denver, the drive to the springs is just plain boring. hell, ill go, but i wont be able to take the car. the title wont be done by then.

trey

[Ichoptop]

I-76 onto I-25 to Cheyenne in 48 minutes. The night my grandpa died, I was jacked up on white powder and on my 900RR. It can be done, but I wouldnt recommend it.

[colorado51]

[ QUOTE ]
I-76 onto I-25 to Cheyenne in 48 minutes. The night my grandpa died, I was jacked up on white powder and on my 900RR. It can be done, but I wouldnt recommend it.

[/ QUOTE ]

OH MAN!

I rode my Ducati when I was younger and dumber from Arvada to Vail in one hour.

[KustomSkylark]

I didn't realize that Denver has become such a location to move to. I am just way to comfortable here in Phoenix so I need to shake things up a bit. Denver seemed like a good idea because further west is California, and I'm not doin that, plus I'm not into the east coast and I still want to live in a good size city. I was actualy considering Austin too but my girlfriend wants to get out of the heat. I think I'll give Denver a go for about a year and then see how I feel about it.

p.s. I have lived in the cold before(Illinois and Minnesota) but I've been in AZ long enough for cold weather to be a scary thought.