Hot Rods Geoff Miles & Steve Coonan: ROADTRIP!

[Special Ed]

Originally Posted by NUROADSIR

That'll never work!

Needs a mannequin or blow up doll driver.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/a...1&d=1217881355

[Joshua Shaw]

Nice talking to ya again Geoff . Sorry I was kinda "pre Occupied" and left the Hotel bar early.. I was keeping an eye on my buddy's and could see that the seen was gonna turn bad. So, My Fiance and I got out of there..

It did from what I hear.

Glad I missed it. There was a time I'd a been right in the pile throwing punches.


I was SO glad to see you guys in the Hotel lot on Thurs. fresh in from the tow... The frame looked KILLER!!

Have a safe trip home and enjoy STREAMLINE HOTRODS.. Race and I grew up together, That place is unbelievable!!

Joshua Shaw

[Brootal]

There was a fight?

Street Rodders v Hot Rodders v Gold Chainers v Chequebook Rodders?

Or did someone step on someone else's toe?

[32csr]

some punks thought it would be a good idea to run us young Cincy area guys and our hot rods into the ground......that didn't work out too well for them in the end

[Joshua Shaw]

That a boy 32csr.

"I guess non of you pussy's wanna wrestle"... Bar owner and his bouncer

"We will"... Cincy guys.

as I understand it, 95 pound Richcraft Mike went in first and pretty much held his own untill the bouncer jumped in. Thats when you. as Race put it, "Came in like a frieght train and leveled everyone!"




I heard you lost your cell phone in the deal. I jumped in the Hotel pool with mine in my pocket AGAIN!!! (I did this about three years ago at the same pool)

.................................................. ...........................

Sorry to Hi-jack..

Back to the tow trip.

JD

[32csr]

Fat boy here can move when provoked....just had to happen....back on topic, It was good to meet Coonan and Geoff in person....to all the naysayers that had to question why the flat tow took place.....as real hot rodders say, " You either get it, or you don't" enough said, great road trip idea guys!

[HEMI32]

Originally Posted by 32csr

....to all the naysayers that had to question why the flat tow took place.....as real hot rodders say, " You either get it, or you don't" enough said, great road trip idea guys!

I guess I'm just not a real hot rodder ... cuz' I still don't "get it" ... I realize I'm very much in the minority here (for dare stating that the "Emperor has no clothes") ... but by no means am a naysayer... to each his own ... more power to Steve & Geoff for putting all those miles on Steve's roadster and Geoff's chassis ... I was just hoping for some rational (or semi-rational) reasoning behind it ... perhaps it is all just a TRJ marketing ploy ... probably not ... but if it was, then they certainly succeeded ... witness the 4200+ views to this thread!

I know, I know ... lighten up Francis!

[Nomad]

Update: Steve and Geoff left Kansas City on Wednesday and made it to Speedway Motors in Lincoln in time to buy some 30-year-old Firestone dirt track tires. The plan was to strap 'em to Geoff's chassis, but they thought better of it and are having them shipped instead. They made it as far as Ogallala, Nebraska Wednesday night.

The roadster-and-a-half look killer going down the road. Casualties so far include losing the steering wheel and some not-so-minor steering column damage on Geoff's chassis.

[nexxussian]

Originally Posted by Nomad

The roadster-and-a-half look killer going down the road. Casualties so far include losing the steering wheel and some not-so-minor steering column damage on Geoff's chassis.

Bummer.

[TRJ]

Update time!

Sorry for the delay in posting more stuff, it was a hectic banzai run out there and back and we needed to concentrate on getting back on the next issue as soon as we arrived home.

I'll start with a few explanations, but we plan on a pretty good sized article next issue, so this is just random information.

The initial idea for this deal was just to ship the chassis to display in our booth at the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky and drive Steve's roadster out there and back. But, as usual, things evolve. Steve ended up with the idea of flat-towing the chassis behind the roadster all the way there and back. Who was I to argue, It seemed like a win-win-win situation. We would be on the road again (which is always fun!), we could generate feature material while out there and hopefully generate a buzz that we were out participating in the hot rod movement and not just punching a keyboard at the office. We could visit with people we hadn't seen in a while and check out some pretty cool collections of cars and a host of other things along the way.

So, we put the word out and for the most part people really didn't want any part of it, deeming it dangerous, and as Pete Chapouris said "stupid with a capitol S." My initial conversation with Ryan was a rushed one and I probably was a little harsh on the NorCal guys. To be honest, not everyone in Northern California abandoned us. Mike Smith and his California Hot Rods was down to help build a hitch as was good buddy Dave Takamura. But with the chassis at Totally Custom in Vista, and Steve's long time friend Chuck Lombardo Jr. and his shop, California Street Rods in Huntington Beach really excited about the idea we figured it would be easier to head there, have the chassis shipped up from Vista and get it all the pieces in one place.

Chuck got it all Fab'd up (with our help and hinderance) and dialed in with out any problems. We left Friday evening and headed for Arizona. Next morning we woke up to a flat tire on the chassis. Fortunately there was a service station next to the hotel and we were able to borrow a jack and go get a new tube. back on the road, it was pretty uneventful. we were just humming along. it wasn't like we couldn't feel the chassis tugging back there, but it towed along fine.

We made it almost all the way to Pete & Jake's in Peculiar, Missouri when we discovered that the nut had spun off one of the shock mounts. Thankfully we were able to make it to P&J's before closing time and get it sorted out. We had also been trying to catch up with Steve Wertheimer and Jim Jard, who we were supposed to meet up with at the KKOA meet in Salina, Kansas. They were sitting there waiting for us at P&J's when we pulled in.

Next morning we were off to St. Louis to see Jack and Harry Stirnemann and also see Kurt McCormick. As we were pulling into the hotel parking lot the night before Steve's roadster's exhaust system pretty much broke off at the mufflers. so, the next day was spent fixing it at the Stirnemann's and we ran out of time to visit with Kurt, but promised to see him on the way back through.


...i need to get back to some other work...i'll post more this evening...

[FritzTownFord]

Hey, Geoff it was great seeing you at Louisville! The chassis drew a good crowd to the booth as planned. The whole deal seemed prefectly "Traditional" to me.

Glad the trip was fun and safe.

Now I see how California shops get their staffers early and train'em right! LOL

Alan

[Jeem]

Originally Posted by FritzTownFord

Hey, Geoff it was great seeing you at Louisville! The chassis drew a good crowd to the booth as planned. The whole deal seemed prefectly "Traditional" to me.

Glad the trip was fun and safe.

Now I see how California shops get their staffers early and train'em right! LOL

Alan

Hahahaaa, that's a broom! In the thumbnail, I thought that little kid was running at the roadster with a baseball bat!!

[ForEverFour]

Geoff,
I think its f@#kin' insanely cool!
Looks like a real blast was had by all.
I have sent this link to some people down here and some get it and others ask why? I say, "Why Not"
GMT rolled his eyes and had a giggle at what you gys were doing but as usual he GOT IT
Take care and best regards,
Greg

[kornbinder]

So, I don't get it. What's the big deal with flat towing? That's how I get my Banger around when I need to go long distances. Oh and Leroy Smith, Mike's dad, of California Hot Rods put together my tow-bar, made from a set of V8 bones.

[TRJ]

okay, so i ran out of steam in getting a few more photos up on here and also the remainder of the trip. in all honesty, you're going to have to wait to read the rest of the story in the next issue. but basically we got to the nationals with out too much trouble. we put the chassis in the booth and changed steve's axles, wheels and tires to his preferred slicks and five-spokes. people at the Nationals were really receptive of both cars, it was kind of embarrassing at times. Then before we knew it, it was time to get back on the road heading home. We mapped out a slightly different route and planned on visiting some more people and shops along the way. it was definitely a lot hairier on the way back, huge wind gusts and some rain, but we made it back with out any problems to the roadster or chassis, other than the normal beating any car takes on a cross country trip.

i'll leave it at that for now, more in the next issue of TRJ

[327-365hp]

TRJ, are you saying Steve brought extra rear axles and changes them to swap the mags, because of different bolt patterns?? You guys are wacky!

[Stu]

looks like the lastest issue of the TRJ is out with the ROADTRIP coverage

[Spooky Two]

Hadn't thought about this in a while as having read the TRJ article some time ago... and thought then "What A bunch of crazies" but very much liked the pictures and article.
And now to hear a bit more of the backstory, I think this could go back up to the top for a remember when!
Thanks Geoff and Steve for your got guts and going for it, S2

[thesupersized]

i don't get it, sorry. would be more interesting if he towed the roadster with the chassis!!!