So I recently learned that my company will be moving my division to Tucson. I'm excited, nervous, but most of all, I'm curious. I have lived all my life in the Midwest. Not to proud to say a rather sheltered life as well. Any rate one of the first concerns I had was the car community. I assume it's big but what do I need to know? Will I melt in my car? What are some helpful tips? Curious to hear what all your thoughts are, good, bad or indifferent. It's going to be a good adventure, but am hoping to get some feedback from all of you on the region, car scene and what to do and not to do. Secretly I'm hoping I will finally get my roadster I've been dreaming of... Thanks so much in advance!
Will you melt... Probably. But, on the bright side, you can cook dinner on the metal dash as it sits outside work during the summer, so there's some time savings there (and your ride could smell like pot roast!). I can't speak to the goings on in Tucson, but phx isn't very far away worst case.
Haha awesome! Thanks for the reply. I assume that the weather generate more car time. Is there a lot going on around that region? Phoenix is about 2 hours away... Right?
There's been a vibrant hot rod and racing community in Tucson for a long time (think Speed Sport Special) and pretty much anybody I've met from there is easy enough to get along with.
Car scene is a tad slow here but not bad. We have a drag Strip, a few weekly evening meet ups. What part of town is the job? Shoot me a pm if you want to talk about Tucson. I've been here my whole life.
My wife and I spent a winter in a camper in Tuscon, nice town ,not as hectic as Phoenix, traffic is easy .There is a guy a few miles south that drives his Gasser nova all over the country. Lots of fun stuff to do there,Bisbee,old Tuscon,aeroplane museum,ICBM missle complex tours,Tombstone, bunches of Old Missions and then there is Sanoran Dogs ,a special kind of hot dog .
More action there than I would have thought, there are lots of restaurants on east side. Mount Lemmon was a surprise. Did I mention green corn tamales? Here is an old pic of some of the planes stored to the east and north of the Aviation Museum. I would seriously consider waiting to move there in the Fall.
Check out Desertcruisers.com it has listings of car shows, cruises and swapmeets for the entire state.
yep, will dry up your body real quick - middle of Summer plan to be indoors - put A/C in your ride now - hope that your new place has a big garage - need a good duster to use during the dust storms
Nice town. My brother lives there, his wife grew up there. I spent the last 6 winters down there. Different mindset, you don't drive the hot rods much during the monsson season. Mid June to mid September, more so mid July to mid August. Unless it's a closed car with good a/c and wipers. The rest of the year is fine. 5 years ago,or so, they had a freeze. Almost all the water shut offs are above ground and outside. You won't have a problem getting used to what they call winter. This fall, my roadster goes down permanently from Seattle. Nothing worse than you've seen in the Midwest in those thunderstorms. No earthquakes, twisters, or blizzards.
Lived there for about four years. Great town. It will be a shock coming from the Midwest, you'll get used to it. You'll find out what hot is !
Wow thanks so much for all the replies and messages. You guys always amaze me with how helpful and willing hotrod dears really are. Keep up the fun facts and stories. All of this stuff is perfect. Amazed and humbled Biff
I Really liked Tucson when I was there, More relaxed than Phoenix where I lived from 02-04, an a bit cooler in the evening than Phoenix.. And of course coming from the east my truck with no AC an my 356 convertible were both black, that's how the locals know your not from there h-hee, Strange how it's a reversal of winter in the East seeking heat, to seeking AC , someday I'd like to have a winter escape in Tucson old airstream in winter, Back east for summer... And a cloudy day there is like when we have a sunny day around here..You'll dig it for Sure! Best of Luck..
We will stay awhile in Benson during January/February. Tucson is a short drive away. Lots to do in the area, Tombstone, Douglas and Squirrel is in Sierra Vista thinking day trips for sure.
As a kid, we went to visit my grandparents there every Christmas. I was exploring the neighborhood one trip and ran across some guys working on a fad "T" with the widest tires on the rear I'd ever seen. This was in the 60's so I thought for sure they had to have been off of an Indy car, but, hey, I was just a hick kid from Iowa. Gary
Damn, lucky. I wish I was going. I like the heat. I hate the midwest and can't wait to leave. Phoenix area is one of the places I'll look at when it's time. Almost moved there 20 years ago, but certain things kept that from happening. Something I regret to this day. Good luck, I hope it works out for you. What do you do for work?
Dont blame you for leaving Decatur, I left there in 1960, Tucson will be hot and will have more lot hot rods than Decatur, also more to do. Good move and good luck
If thats a boxer in your avitar better get some sun screen for the goofball. btw are you a quad city mallard fan?
Haha how did you know I was born and raised in the QC! In the picture is my good buddy cash! He is mostly a bulldog, which means he enjoys the finer things in life.
We have a Catepillar plant in Boonville MO., about 45 minutes from me. Every time I tried to get on there they were in the middle of a layoff.
Decatur, Catterpiller= quad citys. Im a hockey fan and I really dislike the quad city mallards. They hand my team there ass on a platter when it comes to the playoffs.
It's funny cause John Deere and quad cities is more a common pair. Thanks for the luck though. I will take what I can get! Rusty Rockett, what does the plant do and what is your trade?
Come out to Freddy's on Thursday night. Orange grove and thornyda!e every Thursday night. Good way to get to know people. Allot of car stuff in Tucson .Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.
I head they're building something out by Speedway and I-10 for you guys? I grew up on that side of town...my brother lives near the UofA... There's a little bit going on in Tucson, I drive up to visit every now and then (3 times this weekend). It's not as big (or as hot) as Phoenix, not as much going on, but it's still pretty fun. I dont know which neighborhoods are good these days, it's been 33 years since I lived up there.
Haven't really been impressed with the car scene over the last few years. All our car swap meets seem to get progressively worse and I'm on the wrong side of town for all the shows. There are some great junkyards and Sonoran Dogs will change your life. I'm moving out of Tucson over to Midland TX. Will have a house on the market next month...