Last year my buddy Junior Kelly (fatabone here on the HAMB) asked me to ride along on a trip to Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. In all honesty I really didn't think I could make the trip because of work and the money it would take to get there. But the idea of just tagging along as a passenger got me thinking of all the great photos I could take along the way, so, I threw my hat in the ring and said "yes". I had just left a job that I had been putting money away in a 401K for a few years, so I did the smart investing thing and took it out. That was somewhere around June, but Speed Week wasn't until August, and in that time I had blown up my T-Bird motor, and my wife had lunched the family wagon motor. There goes the money. I was ready to call it quits, but my wife hit me with a pleasant surprise at the 11th hour, telling me she had been putting money away for this trip, and it was enough for my adventure to the salt. WHAT TO BRING? I guess there was no backing out now, so I bought up all the film I could and began to pack. Problem was, I had no idea what to pack. This was my first cross-country trip in a hot rod, or anything else, and I had no idea what to bring. Originally I thought space would be limited to what we could fit in "Mr. Yuck", but Junior made the smart call and brought along his big Frieghtliner van and an empty trailer, just in case. So now I just loaded up everything I could think of, and a few things I didn't but my wife did, and hoped for the best. WA WA ICED TEA- Anyone who knows me, or has met me at shows, knows that I always have a half gallon of Wa Wa Iced tea. Wa Wa is a convenience store found only in my area, so I knew I would be well outside the Wa Wa zone for about two weeks, so I packed heavy, buying 13 half gallons for the trip. They lasted about half the trip. Damn. THE CAR- As mentioned, I was taking this trip in a hot rod. Originally it was to be a car built by JR. for re-sale after the trip,a '32 roadster, but it didn't get finished in time, so, the ride of choice was a seasoned veteran of road trips, having made the journey from PA to Texas for the Lonestar Round Up, Mr Yuk. Mr. Yuk is a lime green 1931 Ford Five-Window Coupe on a '32 frame, and has a 3 1/2" chop with no channel. The motor is a 383 SBC stroker that was built for reliability and speed by our own Motor Mikey. The cam is a lumpy hydrolic stick that makes the car rumble at any RPM. The rear gears were swapped out from the HAMB drags gear to a 2:73 highway gear. The car has biased plys. No radials here folks. None were needed on this trip. CAST OF CHARACTERS- During the planning stages of the trip, about 15 or 16 people were originally slated to make the trip, and almost as many cars, but, as usual, things don't always work out that way. I really thought I would have to bail out myself, but this trip was fate for me. the number of cars on D-Day was down to four cars and the van and eight people total. Gary and Mike Newman were driving a '59 Chevy wagon with a 454 big block, Scarry Larry Garland was driving his '32 Ford Roadster (fenderless) with a four banger, Gary Meador (Delaware) was driving his full-fendered '32 roadster with a SBC, and MR Yuk was driven by JR, as mentioned. The van was a team effort of Dave and "Big John", who really made the trip go smoothly. Sometimes I think having the empty trailer there at all made the trip go better. We only used it a few times the entire time. LEAVING PA.- After a short drivers meeting on Monday the 7th of August in Littlestown PA, we set off on our journey. We took back roads to the Turnpike, and by the first exit we had our first problem. It was Larry in the '32 roadster, and his front shocks were not up to the task. Traveling directly behind him, we could tell his front end was still bouncing well after hiting any bumps in the road, and the car had a wicked speed wobble at highway clips. First rest area we hit, we tightened up the wheel bearings, which helped, but didn't cure the problem. The car hadn't seen much road time before making this trip, so this was to be a four thousand mile shake-down cruise. We had to be in Indiana before tonight. Back on the road and through the mountains of Pennsylvania, through the tunnels and over the hills i began to think of what aa great state I lived in, but hadn't noticed. I really didn't have much to compare it to, having never been farther West than Tennesee. Leaving PA was a nice experience. ROARING DOWN THE HIGHWAY- After a few hours of flying down the road, I began to look out the back window at the string of cars we had in our caravan, and how cool it looked cutting through the mountains and hills with the sound of a high horse small block in my ears and smell of fuel tickling my nose. Even with the lakes headers capped this car meant business. The was pure bliss. I began to turn around in my seat, lean out the window, and photograph the cars at speed. What a thrill that was. I would probably be out of film by the time we left my home state. Nine days on the road, and three on the salt were ahead of me, and I had no idea what was waiting ahead. We had to be in Indiana tonight. More to follow in my next post. Stay Tuned. Spike
Stay tuned????? Stay tuned???? What the hell are you talking about now that you've got me deeply sucked into this thread!!!! Come on Spike.......give it up.........soon.......I want more!!! Photos!!! Peectures!!! Dageurrotypes!! Anything!! Hurry up! (And what's all this about *film*???) Brucie
I was going to do one of these posts, but I think Spike is going to do it so much better than I could. I'll let him finish the trip story. I did see the other posts of the horrors of driving your car on the salt. I just cant believe anyone would skip that experience because of what could happen to your car. The car was a project once before, if it needs fixed again, we'll fix it again. I got to drive my roadster over 4000 miles in one trip with most of my closest car buddies to freakin' Bonneville!!! THAT I will always have long after whatever rust or repairs are long fixed. Special thanks to the Indy Road Rockets for the fix...I'll let Spike finish!
FIRST NIGHT- We arrived in Elkhart Indiana the first night after covering 579 miles. What should have taken about nine hours, took a bit longer, but it was good to get a nice meal and get some sleep. Everyone was in good spirits and the small car issues we had were all but forgotten. We determined that Larry needed new shocks, and planned on getting them in Nebraska on one of our planned stops. I-80- I forgot to mention our plan of travel! We planned on taking the "northern route" of Interstate 80 West all the way out, and take I-70 home, the "southern route". I was hoping, as was JR. to get off the highway and see some sights and small towns. We would get our wish when parts of 80 were closed and we were forced through "small town USA". It was my favorite part of the trip seeing people outside thier houses on lawn chairs watching us go slowly by, like it was a parade or something. We were aliens from outer space on display.. Day two meant we had to be in Lincoln Nebraska by that night. PICKING UP A FEW MORE- Somewhere on the second day, at one of our stops at a gas station in Illinois, we met up with Plowboy, Johnny Sparkle (The artist formerly known as Inkorect), and Charlie Brown. PLOWBOY'S BEATER- Plowboy was driving a '36 Chevy truck that had a junkyard small block Chevy in it, and some crazy fins that made up the bed sides. The body was just a rusty shell that still had large dents in the roof, the fenders were gone but the hood sides and hood were there. Another vehicle with biased plys too. The junkyard motor wasn't expected to finish the journey according to Aaron. I BELIEVE IN FLATHEADS NOW!- Charlie was driving a '50 Ford, black primer with some great flames, and he was running a flathead with three on the tree with overdrive! Charlie is a tattoo artist that has a shop in Illinois and a real cool guy to boot. I imediately began to wonder how well the flatty would keep up with our group of "late-model" overhead valve cars and was glad we brought the trailer along. Man, was I wrong. Charlie not only kept up the whole trip, he never used the trailer once, and led the pack a few times at a faster pace than we thought possible. I believe. LINCOLN NEBRASKA WITH A SIDE OF OMAHA PLEASE- So Plowbow has the idea to meet up with another HAMber in Omaha Nebraska. Some kind of party going on there, so JR, myself,Charlie, and the dynamic duo of Plowboy and Johnny Sparkle, decide to head to the party while the rest of the group goes to Lincoln. Sounds like a plan to me, so, with Plowboy leading the way, Omaha is getting closer and soon we are in the heart of the city...not a good part either. We lost Plowboy and Charlie at a light and soon we lose sight of him. We call and find out he's ducked out of sight into a driveway, so we turn around and find them. We walk back into the yard, a yard you wouldn't expect to see a hot rod at all, much less a traditional one, and I'm greeted by an "A" coupe with an Olds V-8 with straight pipes. There are a few other projects around, but the coupe really has my attention. We all decide to head to a local burger joint, so the cars are fired up and we head out of town. The burger joint was excellent, I take a few shots, and we're off to Lincoln. 633 miles without the side trip to Omaha were logged that day. DEATH OF A TORQUE CONVERTER- Before catching up with the group in Lincoln, we recieved a phone call that Mikey and Gary were having trans trouble. More than likely caused by a bad torque converter. They had made it back to the hotel, but the car was hurt. What to do? Easy. Find the only 24 hour transmission shop in the country and get the car down there,,about a mile away. Simple. The car was in the shop at around midnight or so, an, thanks to a great crew and one loyal employee who likes old cars, the wagon was back on the road by the time we were done at the museum. THE SPEEDY BILL MUSEUM TOUR- Speedway motors has been around forever. I'm pretty sure just about every one of us has ordered a thing or two from them, so, since we were in Lincoln Nebraska, we got the private tour of the joint. It was worth the trip just for this place! everything from cars, to old motors, to lunch boxes and car club plaques was in there. The tour took about two hours and I could have stayed longer...like forever. This place was Heaven on earth. Gary and Mikey filled us in on thier knowlege of Sprint cars and dirt track racing, which turned out to be a large amount of information. They were keeping up with our guide at times! "Big john" was holding his own too. I knew a couple of things myself, but this place was the big leagues. If you are ever in the area, stop in. If you want to plan aa special trip just for the museum, do it. The place is amazing. LARRY'S SHOCKS- While at Speedway, we bought a few nessesary items. the first being some friction shocks for Larry's '32 roadster. We installed them in the Wendys parking lot while we were waiting for the wagon to be finished up. The wagon was done and Mikey and Gary tried on thier new Moon discs. The jury was split on if they would stay. Junior bought a set of chrome valve covers because the Cal Customs were leaking oil like crazy. A rag around the breather had taken us this far, but we were losing oil, and it was getting on the windshield at times. minor stuff. The big problem, the wagon, was fixed now. We needed a few holes drilled for Larry's shocks, so Johnny Sparkle worked his boyish charm at the trans shop, and we had the shocks mounted and ready. I stayed out of the way and worked on the trailer lights. Nothing glorious for me. WYOMING- We didn't get out of Lincoln until around three in the afternoon, we hit 80 west with 480 miles to go until Laramie Wyoming. We were making good time until rt 80 was closed and we hit a traffic jam on a side road in a corn field. Back on 80 we hit another snag. The wagon ran out of gas. It was night time now so i looked up and saw more stars than I have ever seen in the sky. What a beautiful country was all I could think. Driving through the mountains is something that cannot be described, and I can only hope that my images can capture it all. even a small portion. We hit the hotel in Laramie, late, as usual. Tomorrow we would be in Utah. Closer to the salt. MR. YUCK NEEDS HELP- I'm pretty sure it was in Wyoming that Mr. yuck broke a rdiator support. I noticed it at one of our gas stops and alerted Junior. We still had one support rod holding the whole thing together, so we set off to find a welder. We found a shop a few miles away that built mud bog trucks, and they helped us out. We were all fixed up and ready to go in an hour. Nice things happen when you drive a hot rod. People seem to want to help you out. We need to be in Utah tonight. 480 miles. ARRIVING IN UTAH- We rolled into Wendover at sunset. Out of my side window I could see miles of salt. Having never been there, I wondered if it was the salt flats. later I would find out that was exactly what I was looking at. It was getting dark and there wasn't much to see anymore except the glow of the Motel 6 sign. That meant a bed and a shower. Tomorrow I would be on the salt for the first time in my life. Stay tuned folks.. Spike
""Nice things happen when you drive a hot rod. People seem to want to help you out."" Ain't it the the truth! More story please.........
Take yer time Spike, it's well written and well thought out. You're doing great! Getting more and more excited about seeing the photos!
Spike......I have never seen such inspired writing outta you! This trip had to be awe inspiring for you in many ways....the museum, the scenery, the people who helped........I am going to go out on a limb here and say that after a trip such as this you are a *changed man*! Am I right? Brucie
Spooning can change a man...or at the very least want a man to become a woman and set a land speed record in a roadster like Robin...you had to be there. Spike
<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on" width="100%"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">more more ......good thread ! makes me want to travel more </TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
The wife and i did speedy bills museum a couple weeks ago on our way to utah to see one of the kids.. Its great.. I kinda took over as tour guide on the Rodeo bar USAC car from toledo ohio as I know more about the driver and the car than the guide did ha ha my 5 minutes of fame ... The wife kinda strayed and had to go to the little girls room and the guide wasnt happy bout that so when he tried to tell me about the sprinter and I told him she thought that was funny.. We had some forigners there too ????????? Cant remember where they were from ...The or at least one of em was dressed to the 50,s theme.. What fun Dave
That was by far the trip of a lifetime. When you can drive cross-country with a bunch of car guys, that are also your friends, you can't beat it. It was awesome that my Dad finally got to Bonneville, he is a changed man also. HAHA. Cant wait for the rest of the story. Then I can tell you guys about the last leg of the trip for me and my Dad.
you've done enough typing for awhile, I'd start adding pictures to the posts you've made.... Great thread!!! sounds like a fun trip, I'd love to see it!..hahaa
A couple short videos from our trip. Jr on the road to Bonneville!<br><embed src="http://lads.myspace.com/videos/vplayer.swf" flashvars="m=16232302&v=2&type=video" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="430" height="346"></embed><br>Add to My Profile | More Videos My 32 roadster on the salt at Bonneville!!<br><embed src="http://lads.myspace.com/videos/vplayer.swf" flashvars="m=16233210&v=2&type=video" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="430" height="346"></embed><br>Add to My Profile | More Videos Angry Belly Tank<br><embed src="http://lads.myspace.com/videos/vplayer.swf" flashvars="m=16233813&v=2&type=video" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="430" height="346"></embed><br>Add to My Profile | More Videos Roadster through the Rockies<br><embed src="http://lads.myspace.com/videos/vplayer.swf" flashvars="m=16234605&v=2&type=video" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="430" height="346"></embed><br>Add to My Profile | More Videos
What a fun trip! Spike, I expected the motor to make the trip, I was just surprised that it actually did. Ha Ha Ha I got a new one yesterday for it. Johnny Sparke is a much better spooner than you Spike! Ha Ha Ha Two Headed Calf!......tell the Two Headed Calf part....Please, Please!!!! I think our side trips were some of the best parts of the trip! You can talk about being in the 200 MPH club all you want, but until you cut off your weiner and do it as a chick, you ain't shit! I wonder how many transsexuals have climbed mount everest???? Ha Ha Ha
spike - more daily diaries please! - can't thank all you guys enough for including me on the trip, big scary larry, fatabone, motor mikey(and DAD), delaware gary, dave, plowboy, johnny sparkle, charley brown - it was a trip for the ages -
Man!! What a great story. I feel as if I am there with you guys, not like the rambelings of a few. Great job, keep it comin!!
I realy wish I went this year .I been hip about Robin for years ani't really a big deal still likes cars, cool
The Jalopy Journal
