Official Vintage Torque Fest Thread May 4-5 2012

where was I when this was happening?! apparently around 1am <object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/s2GaSTtjCQo?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/s2GaSTtjCQo?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></object>

 

Smoke filled the campgrounds! Thought it was fog lol!

 

My wife and I drove down for the weekend, were there Friday night and all day Saturday...had a great time, got sunburned and saw some great cars....I love all the cars, muscle, traditional, the bikes, and yes, I can appreciate the work that some put into the RR's......

I've also been very involved in organizing shows, and have put them on. I can more than appreciate the amount of work that goes into an event like this......there will always be those that complain about how it is run, those are usually the last to offer their assistance to work the event....screw the haters, this was a great show, hopefully by next year my truck will be done to bring...
Tom

 

We have called and you have answered.


We thought the excitement of the Jalopy Showdown in PA would be a great thing to bring back to Iowa. We didn't have the funds to get it started so we got some seed money from Los Punk Rods out of KC. We got the word out through all the different individuals and car clubs in the midwest. Farley was overrun in 2010. Maquoketa was perfect in 2011. 2012 saw the grounds at Maquoketa overflowing. This is a good thing!


It means that we have achieved the goal of making the event a regional show, and start on making this a regional must attend. In order to make this happen - we have to have room to grow. And this inevitably means moving locations again.


Due to the lack of hotels, we have to move this to a bigger area-an area where restaurants are readily available and hotels are not as scarce. (Please note there will be Vintage Torque Fest special rates available at many hotels in Dubuque tomorrow.) The initial response we received from the Dubuque newspaper and 365Ink in 2010 was really favorable and we truly appreciate that. They have continued to support us and we hope they will stay on board as we proceed through the years.


The Dubuque County Fairgrounds has 92 acres which will give us more swap meet space, more room for hot rods, and more spectator parking. The grounds have same amount of indoor space, a dirt track, and two stages so we can keep bringing some of the best music in the country. We hope that everyone that came out in 2012 will continue to support us in 2013.
There are so many people to give thanks to.
Of course I have to thank my wife and kids for putting up with all the hours that are put into this event. For those of you that do not know - the planning for this event takes all year. And this comes at a cost - I dont get to be with the wife and kids as much as I should. So I have to thank them for putting up with all the phone calls, meetings, and road trips. The Tin Militia CC were in charge of the volunteers this year, and even though they had 30 people fail to show up - they STILL managed to get this event to run smoothly! The Bombers CC made sure that the period correct cars were getting into the show and we appreciate all their efforts in maintaining the integrity of the show.
Half Fast Chicago made it clear to the motorcycle crowd that the baggers and V Twin's were for spectator parking and were on the gate from Thursday to the end of Saturday - thanks for making sure only the right bikes got in there.
Tin Butchers have been in charge of the swap for the past 2 year and we hope they will want to continue the same set up next year! People loved the fact that Tin Butchers dont let just any junk in....it has to be vintage auto related. We will have even more room to get all the old parts out there and we will keep the price affordable for those that unbury those lost treasures.
Coronados CC were the host club and Maquoketa should know that it was their efforts that kept us at the Jackson County Fairgrounds for 2012.
Rocky, Dane, Bruce & Darlene, Theresa, Rachel, Doug, Steve, Ash, Sara, Julie, my Dad, Mick, Justin, Pat, Gene...and a LOT of other people were there giving us coutless hours of help. We truly appreciate all the efforts and know that if you are not named - it is simply because I have forgotten and I will thank you in person at one of the many events coming up.
Sponsors help make the event actually run - so we thank Ol Skool Rodz, Victory Performance Parts, Robies Grading, and Car-N-Art for the amazing graphics.
We have to thank all the artists that gave their time and energy to help the art auction - we raised $12K to help out the Hannah Wells Medical trust.

Everyone is obsessed with numbers and I guess I understand it....
ultimately what you have to ask yourself about ANY event - was it worth showing up?
Did you have a fun time? If yes - we hope you will spread the word and join us for an even bigger year in 2013. The car count was 970. This INCLUDES the Coronados Car Club Classic & Chrome section. They had about 325 cars in their section. This means we had about 650 in the Vintage Torque Fest section of the show. Not all 650 were there both days. We had about 75 cars that made the event on Friday only.
We almost had 100 show bikes there this year. Next year - we will try to reach that goal of 100 motorcycles and 700 traditional hot rod and customs.
The paid admission was around 7,000 which is way up from last year. Again we are so grateful to everyone that made this event so special and we hope that you will want to continue to support it for years to come.
The Lord above has brought us all together in a great hot rod communion. For that I am truly grateful.
I hope you can join us at some of the other events coming up.....
www.independentsyndicate.com for other shows you will enjoy.
Make plans now for season ending Run Whatcha Brung nostalgia drags at Cordova Sept 29.
And the following weekend will be Iron Invasion Oct 6 in Woodstock IL.
www.independentsyndicate.com
www.runwhatchabrung.com
www.ironinvasion.com
Thanks again and seeya soon.
John Wells
Event Coordinator - Vintage Torque Fest / Iron Invasion
Kim Wells
President - Helping Hannahs Heart Foundation
www.helpinghannahsheart.org

 

I loved the atmosphere and community support in Maquoketa. That will be hard to top.

But I understand and support your need to move.

Dubuque has a FABULOUS fairgrounds. It will serve the event better, as will the ammenities in the community.

I think we need a midnight cruise to East Dubuque to support the commerce there.

 

Awesome stuff John!
And even if ya dont care...those numbers are amazing! Very awesome to see that many cars, let alone that many spectators. Thats friggin cool.

John, Im not really an anybody, but if there is anything I can do throughout the year, please message me, I would be more than willing to help out and do what I can to help out!

 

no matter where this show goes, people will follow... this is a great show, that always has great cars and great people.. And thats all you need....!!!!! Til next year ,,, john thanks again for a great show...

 

Dubuque!!! Now Torquefest is only 45 minutes from my place!!! Hokey smokes, can't get much better than that. Way to go John.

 

This is a great show and I will be there again next year. I will be looking forward to volunteering again next year also.

 

well i think you have surrounded yourself with good people to help and will be hopefully on the road to growing a stellar show
I think about 1/4 of Iowa knew about this show and many participated
the weather gods cooperating should give you a banner next year show
i bet that place was pretty well packed for saturday, when i drove by it was filling quickly
i hope you can reach a dream of having the largest show in about 3 states
this year you had to distribute a lot more info before the show and the people did come out and you also got some great help from others like J&P bringing bikes and american pickers brought some stellar bikes

keep on working at it and you will reach the highest pinical on the car show circuit for Iowa

 

Dubuque does have a great fairgrounds with excellent buildings. Many hotels are near the fairgrounds and are all rather new. I am looking forward to making my 4th straight VTF. Thanks for the great show everyone.

 

Hotel room is reserved already. See you in DBQ PDQ. Insider joke for all of the locals who remember the old ads for the airport. Onward and upward for this event.

 

i'll be there ! 4th year in a row , i saw all the haters on facebook bitching and whining , screw em , john knows what he's doing and everyone must understand the needs as the show has grown which was quite evident this year , theyre hot rods theyre made to be driven , and lets not forget what the true intention of this show is about , raising money for hannah !

 

Great news all around, count on the Tin Butchers in 2013!
hope to see you around somewhere soon John, gettin good feedback and a few suggestions for the show.

 

I know I'll be there next year! Truly one of the best shows, bar none. I love being a vendor, but the only down side is that I miss a lot of the action going on outside the building. Time to hire a helper to run the booth so I can wander around a bit!

Thanks for anther fantastic show John, And a huge thanks to all the volunteers who kept the wheels turning smoothly.

 

We WILL be there, looking for hotel rooms now. You know what the best part is.....we will only be 30 mins from Maquoketa, which means we can still get our House Chicken fix from the City Limits Restaurant...hopefully some of you know what I am talking about

 

John Wells said something like, "Torque Fest is what it is because of the people that attend".

Not how many cars show up, not how many people come through the gate.

Torque Fest will continue to be Torque Fest in Dubuque, as long as you want it to be Torque Fest.

errr....something...time for bed.

 

PLEASE MENTION THE TORQUE FEST SPECIAL RATE WHEN MAKING YOUR
RESERVATIONS AT THESE HOTELS
HOST HOTEL - Baymont Inn 563-582-3752 (this hotel is right next to the
Harley Davidson dealership and is 2.1 miles from the fairgrounds)
Comfort Inn (right next to the Baymont) 563-556-3006
MainStay Suites - (2 miles from the fairgrounds) 563-557-7829
Country Inn & Suites (right next to Mainstay Suites)
Super 8 563-582-8898

The hotels below are here for info purposes and we will try to get a Vintage
Torque Fest rate soon!
Holiday Inn Express - Dubuque 563.556.4600
Grand Harbor Resort (next to the casino) (866) 690-4006 - Dubuque (20
miles north)
AmericInn Hotel in Anamosa, Iowa (right by the National Motorcycle Museum -
and J & P Cycles) This hotel is about 30 miles away.
319-462-4119 or 800-634-3444

 

Still have camping next year?

 

If they do, I'd suggest a family zone and an "other" zone...

Some people didn't like staying up all night in their tents.

 

Id like the other zone please!

 

I try to tell people that we simply can not control the camping situation. If you need a nice quiet location - we can give you some suggestions that are very close by.
I can tell you that we will probably only have primitive camping next year and will most likely make the RV's park offsite.
We still have to work this out with the fairgrounds.
They will be in charge of the camping but we are giving them suggestions based on things that have happened over the past years.
YES there will be camping on site.
Details to come later

 

What?!?!? Moving the show from Maquoketa to Dubuque? According to Google map that adds 13 miles / 9 minutes to my drive. I guess I better look into buying a trailer....

And even though TF III ran smoothly for the cars and spectators and was a very successful show, everything was not peaches and cream with Maquoketa behind the scenes.

 

I just found 80 registration cards. This means the official car count was 890 total. This being said....I talked to some that did not even GET a registration card.
We hope that for Vintage Torque IV we will get all this straightened out and be able to tell you immediately the car count.
Thanks for all the positive vibes here on the HAMB - we appreciate it.

 

Im really excited that you are moving the show to Dubuque... its much easier to pronounce.

I cant wait to see you during the Iron Invasion.
Love & miss you
Cheatercarl

 

Though the Maquoketa drive is a little more scenic than the Dubuque drive will be. BTW, what's Maquoketa's "issue"? They not need the extra tourist $$$ spent there over the weekend?

 

yeah,...what's the deal with Maquoketa?...not that it matters now.

 

OH PLEEZ, PLEEZ, tell me there's a dirt circle track at the Dubuque fair grounds!!! A Very Happy first time attendee this year,BILL RINALDI

 

but inquiring minds need to know if the Coronado's will host the event at Dubuque?

 

so many questions, no answers.?