Event Coverage LA Roadsters Fathers Day Show

My Pops drove from VT and I flew out for the 5th time since '02. Yes the attendance was down and we heard some griping from other attendees but, we didn't go out to see How Many cars we could see. It's more about the Quality of the cars, the swap, and the people.
We'll be back.



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Did see your nice roadster! My camera ran out of battery while I was out and about. I think the Gene Birthday Vid. did it in. Anyway Congrats on the trip!

 

Thanks for the Tip of the Hat! I took photos mostly of the things that caught my eye and like. You can see I like the Traditional stuff. I guess being an old man that is what is in my blood. Had camera battery issues I guess the Vid at Gene's Birthday song was too much. It was my first time and now that I have been home in Connecticut for a full day and a good nights sleep I can reflect on the event better. Bottom line "Best dam thing I have been to"! So everyone should get behind it. Nothing wrong with constructive criticism or offering ideas. I talked with one of the Roadsters members and said a shipper on site at the swap meet was needed. That is what they do at Hershey. So lets look to the future of Hot Rods! I am off to a volunteer appreciation event party in the town I live in. And it is not raining, so we are taking the Roadster. See You later!

 

Great pix, Mark. Thanks so much for staying awake long enuf to post 'em!

I bet Ted wud have painted his wheels red if you'd have spent that $6500.

 

Don't care about the pissin and moanin' about the $50 entry. I have been going since the late sixties with my Dad. Back than it was at the great western exhibit center and they might have had 40-50 roadsters and was a one day event on fathers day. Haven't missed many since. My Dad is gone now but my kids started going when they were in a stroller, it's what we do on Fathers Day. This year I had the whole immediate family there. My wife and Daughter in-law in front, my Daughter and Husband behind the flattie, and my Son, Grand Daughter and myself in the roadster. I am sorry but you really can not put a price on what this meant to me. I will continue to go as long as the show continues and am able to do so.


Thanks for posting Mark.

 

...I agree with some of the complaints about the show , layout, fees, parking & so forth, & turnout of vendors & buyers, but, the bottom line is, without support, the shows & swaps will die. Then what? I have an idea. For next years show, during ~ a month before the show, swappers planning to go to the show, tell us about all(or some) of the parts and/or goodies they plan to bring to the swap meet. I can almost guarantee, the turn out of buyers, and sellers, will be greater. You could use this venue or others. I plan to go next year from Texas with a load of good stuff.

 

As far as the swap is concerned, we arrived about 10 after 7 on Sat. as I was driving around looking for my space there were guys chasing me through the parking lot. Never got unloaded at the swap space. All was sold in 20 minutes. Worked for me.

 

BART, HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT TRIP, ARE YOU STOPING AT BACK TO THE 50S

 

ct1932 ford;
You happen to mention Gene holding your bride a bit too hard/close, she doesn't seem to mind at all !!!

 

Well we are back home from our hometown event tonight. Great Roadster weather! Nice to see fellow town volunteer's on such a great evening. My Roadster always a hit with the Ladies!

 

Can't Blame Her. He is a real nice guy!

 

Can I be a nice guy too, I like hugs, it will take 6 more years till I''m 90 tho!!!

 

Well put Pete...
You bring up some good and valid points. The Usual Suspects (my friends and associates) have been attending since the late 60's. Yeh, we've walked the swap, viewed all the roadsters, talked to the vendors and what did it get us? Well, to name a few things, met new friends and old friends. Shared stories, tricks of the trade and a few beers along the way. Learned a lot about how not to build a car, found the right parts to complete my car and met some great craftsmen to to help me with stuff I couldn't do myself.
At the end of the day, we (shudder the thought) pulled up some chairs, sat in the shade by our cars, knocked down some cold ones and enjoyed the comaradie.
This hobby is about people – the cars are the glue that keep our hobby alive and the venues that make it possible to enjoy learning how other cars are built. Yeh, I moaned and groaned about the pricing, but in reality, the costs did not
go up that much., and like one of my friends mentioned last Saturday, you'll be back next year. He's right.
A few things I want to comment on :
The roadsters have always been the draw, they should not be charged to enter.
The whole layout, from the swap, specialty parking, vendor locations could be tightened up. As it is right now, too spread out.
Being aware that the members no longer volunteer to put on the show and people have to be paid to serve in that function, this coming year should afford some time to figure out how to trim some costs without sacrificing the quality of this So. Cal. tradition.
That said, I look forward to attending and hanging with my hoodlum friends.
Manuel Reyes

 

Well said Big M , and to that I'd like to add a couple of things . First , as a roadster owner I really don't mind the cost .If you factor in the cost of the mug and the very good BBQ dinner on Saturday evening for two , it's really quite fair . As for the roadster owner receiving a free admission , ok , but charge the passenger . One other thing that I'd like to see is an acknowledgement of the people that drove some very long distances to attend and make this event what it is . Perhaps a drawing of various long distance mileages that had a monetary ( pre paid credit card) to three participants for expenses on the road home . Like BigM I've been going for quite a while along with my assortment of hoodlum friends , and we'll be back next year .

 

....just a thought regarding prices for parts in the swap meet .......IMHO, when the shoe is on the other foot (i.e., the "parts seller"), it may be the case that a part is being sold at a loss (was purchased & never used on a project). Or, the part was from an entire vehicle that was parted out by the seller who spent a lot of sweat, skinned knuckles & effort to save the good parts off of a sub-bar vehicle instead of ditching it entirely affording fellow enthusiasts some good, used original parts for a fee below what reproduction pieces cost that may or may not fit like the originals. And, the starting price is usually base on the old sales adage, "you can always lower the price, but never go back up again", so a realistic seller will usually adjust the price sooner or later after a few hours or few swap meets later if they eventually want to "move the merchandise". Then there is the "rare & desirable", which are priced according to the basic economic principle of "supply & demand". If you're restoring a "one year only" vehicle, need a specific part & searched for months & are lucky enough to find it, chances are you'll "pay the freight" (gladly) after searching the web & walking thousands of footsteps through swap meets (along with entry fees, fuel & time spent searching). Or, wanting the rare speed equipment to make the finishing touches on your 59-AB Ford flathead V-8 for your A/V-8 project; it's gonna cost what it costs. You either choose to buy, or you don't. But that doesn't necessarily mean the swappers are overzealous in the asking prices for their items as there can be many factors in play on both the seller's & buyer's "side of the fence". It's true, some, but not all swappers try to "get all they can get" for their wares. But it can also be argued (IMHO) that some of the potential buyers at swap meets are unreasonable in their expectations of what they think is "fair & equitable" in the prices the swappers are asking for their parts. Besides, most prices on parts are negotiable & offers can be made for them. The worst that can happen is the seller declines to accept it (if it is unreasonably below the asking price) or maybe they will counter offer an alternative, lower asking price for their part, but then again, might just accept the offer (so says Capt. Obvious). At the end of the day, we all want to pay "the least amount for the highest quality" we can find, but sometime when need is very high we have to say those three words, "Okay, I'll pay", get our wallet out and move on......Thanks for spending Your valuable time reading this post...PRE48V-8\:^]

 

just got home yesterday from my first 4400 round trip to the roadster show in my roadster .enjoyed it all .$50 entry fee was the cheapest part of the trip what a deal. I would like to thank the LA roadsters for keeping the show going all these years. I spoke to many of the club members they were all very friendly. I tried to do it all my car at waldens open house

 

Simple. He has the Genes. Lucas

 

Look real close and you will see the energizer bunny logos above his rear pants pockets! We chatted with his personal manager at Gene's get together last October when Gene was a mere 89. He remarked that he was only in his early 60's and in good health but he ran ragged trying to keep up with Gene!

 

He's on his way back to VT. Should be there tomorrow.


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Why do they call it a "Father's day" car show, if nobody stays for Sunday? Thanks for the great pics. $50 bucks is sure cheap compared to most events of today, and it sounds like you get a lot in return.

 

to me, this just says:
"I am trying to ever compensate for having a small male organ, I have insecurities, I want to win trophies at car shows, etc etc "
just my .02

 

I, ll be there next year , Thank you LA Roadsters

 

To me it says "I like to build stupid shit".

 

It started out being only on father's day. As guys became bigger pussies and let their wives and kids tell them how they were going to enjoy their fathers day, less came on Sunday and did Saturday instead.

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To me it says "I don't really know what a hot rod is!"

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I was unfortunate enough to follow this into the SoCal open house after it made two tries at the driveway approach and following the trail of trans fluid .

 

Lucky You!

 

That thing was on Counting Cars. Danny Koker thought it was cool. That should tell you all you need to know about it.

 

Maybe the owner should have let the idiot "Horny Mike" put it's stupid ass horns all over it. Danny would have also thought it was cool.