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Hot Rods 2012 Roundup Roadtrip Story!!!

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Joe T Creep, Apr 21, 2012.

  1. Joe T Creep
    Joined: Jan 1, 2003
    Posts: 1,145

    Joe T Creep
    Member Emeritus

    Ok...So this all started with me trading my 53 Mercury for a 31 Ford coupe. Heres the thread of the teardown and re-do.
    http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=668814
    So after reassembling the car in 4 days I drove it weds night at 11:30 then I drove it to Ians thursday morning and he started working on the trunk floor.

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    On the way over to Ians my radiator started leaking. As soon as I got there I pulled the radiator off and my buddy Big Creep came by to check everything out and he got roped into driving me all over. We dropped the radiator off at Burbank radiator. They jumped right on it and we went to Industrial metal supply to pick up the metal for Ian to start on the floors. We dropped the metal off and ran around picking up odds and ends that I needed. After picking up the radiator we returned to the house and Ian had already started making patterns and cutting out the metal.

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    He rolled beads into the panels and did an amazing job. It was weird to see him work and just bang this out. Blew me away. As the day went on we had to re-mount the fuel tank, clearance the wheel wells and do a ton more little here and there things.

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    We did not have time to remove the existing crappy floor under the dash and the transmission so we just sealed it up so that I could drive. After I'm back he's going to make it badass like the rest of it. We both worked all day long, him harder then me because he was doing harder stuff, and we finished up about 1 am. Filled the radiator and after some hugs and a ton of sincere thank yous on my part, I took off to pick up my friend Patches from a mile away so that we could run back to my place. We got home and threw down some simple carpet over the floors just so it would be covered.

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    I packed a bag, threw all my tools into the garage and we left for Vegas about 2:45. Cruised right along until just before Victorville. As I pulled into a station for gas my drivers door popped open. I checked and the new door latch spring broke. We got gas and I shoved a pair of pliers into the inner door panel so it would hold the latch closed and off we went.

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    By the way... It was F$#*&^G COLD!!!!!! We stuffed clothes into the space above the windshield between the roof to keep air out. Goddamn it was cold.

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    So as I got closer to Victorville I saw some little flashes from under the front of the car throught the hole in the firewall for the column. I thought I might have a plug wire arcing but the car was running fine. I got out and looked and didnt see anything weird so off we went. After getting to Baker I oulled the car up to a pump to fuel up. After finding out that the card reader didnt work on the pump I went to pull up and the car wouldnt start. After trying again it fired. I pulled up to the pump ahead of me, left the car running and checked the charging system with my meter. Not charging. I checked the alternator and found that the wire had broken off of the post. Sweet I thought! Replaced the terminal and filled up and off we went.

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    Still goddamn cold. We arrived in Vegas about 7:45 and I stopped a block from the hotel just to clean the car off from all the road grime. It was idling and then it just stopped. Apparantly the alternator chowed from all the shorting out while driving. Found a bakery and a little hispanic guy was so excited to check out the hot rod and he gave me a jump. Got the car to the hotel and went straight to a Roulette table and got a drink. Next day I jumped the car and drove to an Autozone to grab another alternator. Easy thing right??? Wrong. The idiots there didnt know how to operate their alternator tester and I ended up testing it. Failed. I asked for another alternator. The guy ive been talking to for the HOUR ive been there ask me "Year,make,model". Its a GM one wire alternator. There are thousands of them in Vegas and Millions of them in the state, but these guys looked very puzzled. Mind you this took and hour and a half. Finally they got me an alternator and I went outside and put it on and installed a new battery because mine was toast. I checked the charging system and it wasnt charging. Took it out and back into the store. The guy said they had to test it. I wasnt going to wait another hour so I just did it myself despite their complaining about it. No one in the store had half a brain and I was about ready to torch the place. I got another alternator and put it in and finally success. Back to the hotel and 3 days of drunk rock-a-silly idiots and overall uninteresting cars, but thats another story altogether.

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    So monday morning I take off to meet Lucky and Evel in Kingman,AZ. Drove over the Hoover dam, then the bypass, and then down the long straight road to Kingman.

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  2. Joe T Creep
    Joined: Jan 1, 2003
    Posts: 1,145

    Joe T Creep
    Member Emeritus

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    About 15 miles outside of town the car started to studder a bit and I had the feeling that it wasnt charging yet again. I decided to crank on through and I made it to about half a mile outside of town. Lucky and Evel came and got me and we grabbed another battery and got the car running and to an Autozone in Kingman. I pulled the alternator off and took it in. It failed the test and after talking with the guy he realized that they didnt give me a one wire alternator. Its the same case, but not correct. They were awesome. Refunded me, got me the correct alternator and allowed me to clean up in their sink when I was done. Badass. Those guys knew their shit. So off we went. drove all day until we got to Albuquerque. Crashed at a motel and watched our idiot friends on Outlaw Garage. :)

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    Chief Hancock
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    Took off in the morning and had a good drive down through Northwest Texas.

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    About 45 minutes outside of Austin we were on nice wide roads with long sweeping curves. It was a gorgeous evening and I figured what the hell. This is what its all about so I went for it. Tore through the backroads and had a huge smile on my face the whole time. Man it was fun. We arrived at A.S.S. about 10:30. Bob was finishing some lead work on the freshly chopped 36 and a few people milling about but not many. Funny as hell when a couple walked in and asked Bob to take a picture with them.

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    We checked into our motel and had a good nights sleep. Woke up and came back to the shop to hang out and catch up.

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    My buddy Justin moved my car out of the lot in the morning(I left it in the yard at the shop overnight) and he saw that the alternator bracket had broken in two spots. Pulled it off and Luke welded it back together and I put it all back on. It also broke the alternator wire. Probably that hard last dash just before we got into town. After that had a laid back day. We made a trip out to see Ryan at the HAMB inner sanctum. Amazing as always.

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  3. Joe T Creep
    Joined: Jan 1, 2003
    Posts: 1,145

    Joe T Creep
    Member Emeritus

    Picked up Gambino at the airport around 8 and had some food at Reds later. Slept in again and I had to get my gal from the airport thursday morning. We came back to the shop and just kinda did whatever.

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    Cruised over to the Continental and hung around for a while.

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    Friday we went out to the show and had a blast. The Mad Fabricators/Luckys Hot Rod shop booth was right behind Bass and the Jalopy Journal booth so we were surrounded by good company. After a long day of Elisa selling tons of shirts and me selling DVDs we went back to the motel to rest before dinner.

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    Lucky got home at 5 am.

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    Paul getting a Jade Idol CD signed by Winfield.

    After cleaning up I was going to run around the corner and I hopped in the coupe and click. No start. Battery dead. I guessed the alternator wire breaking chowed this alternator also. Cabbed it to another Autozone with the alternator in my had and they tested it. Failed. Yay me. Got a new one, back to the motel and installed it and all good to go. Went by the shop and then ate at Maudies. Crashed and woke up saturday and back to the show. Had another fun day and Elisa sold even more shirts by laying across the table and bringing tons of people over to take pictures and persuade them into buying shirts. Funny as hell.

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    Even the flies like Luckys Hot Rod shop.

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  4. Joe T Creep
    Joined: Jan 1, 2003
    Posts: 1,145

    Joe T Creep
    Member Emeritus

    When the show was over we went back to the motel to relax and then off to the Speed Shop party. Tons of fun. Music, drinks, fun people. Really had a hell of a time.

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    Sunday we just bummed around.

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    Little bit of rain sunday morning...

    Tuck found he had a fuel leak in the Ranchero so he pulled the tank. It was a good size leak.

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    We all figured he should clean the area around the leak and then reseal it.

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    AACK! Bad idea. After looking like it had been hit by a shotgun, he sealed it up and let it set. Awesome. This guy helped out a lot though.

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    Wandered around town and found a store with a dog with sunglasses on sitting in the doorway. My kinda place. Gotta love Austin.

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    It was a old boot store and he had all kinds of old boots. I actually found a pair I liked so I bought them. They fit and all. Badass. Sunday night we all met at the Continental we met for the drive to dinner at the Salt Lick which I was lucky ehough to go to.I'm still full from that joint.Great people to talk with and I know how lucky I was to be there.

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    Dont ask...

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    That blur is Mark who forgot to call his mother on her birthday. Sheesh.

    Driving home Bobs roadster ran outta gas. His never fail fuel level stick failed. Of course I have a full gas can in my trunk! Off we went to the gas station then back to the shop.

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  5. Joe T Creep
    Joined: Jan 1, 2003
    Posts: 1,145

    Joe T Creep
    Member Emeritus

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    I said dont ask....You dont really want to know...
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    Shhhhh....he's sleeping.

    Monday morning I was up early to take my gal to the airport. Wandered around town and at the shop most of the day.Took a trip around town with Chris,Savage,Luke,Lucky and some lovely ladies.

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    In the afternoon I hopped into the truck with Bob and we went to Steves so that Evel could do some work. It was an amazing place with so much history...unreal. It was a nice relaxing afternoon in a beautiful place.

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    We came back to the shop and went to eat. After getting back we decided to load up Lucys trailer and truck. We were going to trailer a Buick back for Cory to California, but it wouldnt fit on the trailer with Evels nailhead so my coupe went on the trailer. Filled the back of the truck with 2 roadsters, transmissions and everything else we had to take back. I was bummed I woudlnt be driving it back, but it just didnt make sense with all we had to carry. We left that night and planned to drive in shifts between driving the truck, the Buick and one guy being able to rest. Went by Bobs house and left about 1 a.m. Monday night. Overall an uneventful drive home. He laughed a lot and had tons of fun with no issues so I'd call it a huge win.

    This trip was amazing. Lucky, Evel, Ian....I cant thank you guys enough. I could not have done this without you. Literally. The fun we had on this trip was just crazy. Ian you better make it next year. Omar-Big Creep- You helped so much. I really needed your help when I was running out of steam. Thank you. Even though you drilled a very uneven hole in my firewall. My buddies Curt and Turtle....You helped more than you know. I appreciate it. All you guys at the shop...what can I say. Its people like you guys that make this hobby so great. I wish I saw you all more often. Best group of guys I know. I'm lucky to have you as friends and I appreciate all the hard work you guys do. Steve has more on his plate than anyone and he always says hello and has some nice conversations with me. Its noticed and greatly appreciated. Ryan is the boss. He makes so much happen and if you use this board at all you owe him. Top notch guy. All the new guys I met, JeffreyJames and others whos either real or HAMB names I forgot or didnt get to know...Sorry. I suck sometimes. Everyone I met was great to meet and all those people add up to one great trip. Gambino...We gotta drive next year.

    Thanks guys. So much.

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    Last edited: Apr 22, 2012
  6. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,633

    Ryan
    ADMINISTRATOR
    Staff Member

    Man... Your buddies are CONSTANTLY flipping you off. Bastards.
     
  7. bobbleed
    Joined: May 11, 2001
    Posts: 3,117

    bobbleed
    Member
    from Awesome

    Great times!!
     
  8. KustomCars
    Joined: Jul 31, 2011
    Posts: 3,465

    KustomCars
    Member
    from Minnesota

    Great Story ! Nice coupe !
     
  9. Great read! Looked like a hell of a lot of fun!
     
  10. ParkinsonSpeed
    Joined: Oct 11, 2010
    Posts: 429

    ParkinsonSpeed
    Member

    Man ive got year to finish a build i haven't got yet.... Looks like the bug bites me a little harder with stories like this! Thanks for sharing!
     
  11. DRD57
    Joined: Mar 5, 2001
    Posts: 4,165

    DRD57
    Member

    Great story.
    Good times with good friends.
    It doesn't get any better than that.
     
  12. ryno
    Joined: Oct 6, 2005
    Posts: 3,470

    ryno
    Member

    Looks like a damn good time
     
  13. Awesome trip! Awesome thread! Reminded me of a past trip to Vegas in my RPU, froze my ass off driving across that desert in the middle of the night. I had beanie, hoodie, big coat, burrito blanket wrap, towell blocking holes in floor etc and still froze my ass off. wouldn't change a thing. Thanks for taking the time to tell us about your adventure.
     
  14. wizzard23
    Joined: Dec 12, 2009
    Posts: 733

    wizzard23
    Member

    What a bunch of Hoodlums!
     
  15. TexasSpeed
    Joined: Nov 2, 2009
    Posts: 4,631

    TexasSpeed
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Texas

    Safe to say you've got a bunch of awesome friends!
     
  16. 54BOMB
    Joined: Oct 23, 2004
    Posts: 2,109

    54BOMB
    Member

    Thanks for the story and pictures!
     
  17. 1951Streamliner
    Joined: May 15, 2011
    Posts: 1,875

    1951Streamliner
    Member
    from Reno, NV

    Thanks for the great pictures, looks like a lot of fun.

    I really hope I can go next year.
     
  18. blue57ford
    Joined: Jul 24, 2005
    Posts: 491

    blue57ford
    Member

    Couldn't agree more! Seeing these pictures and reading the story has me really kicking myself in the ass for not going.
     
  19. Dreddybear
    Joined: Mar 31, 2007
    Posts: 6,084

    Dreddybear
    Member

    It always rules when you guys show up in Austin. It sorta marks the start of roundup. Fun times!

    I look like a dork asking for Genes autograph, for the record I was getting it signed for someone else!
     
  20. Evel
    Joined: Jun 25, 2002
    Posts: 9,038

    Evel
    Member
    1. 60s Show Rods

    That was a fun trip.. Looking forward to next year.. That was pretty hard core on your part and I have much respect for that!

    Here's some of my shots too...
     

    Attached Files:

  21. Evel
    Joined: Jun 25, 2002
    Posts: 9,038

    Evel
    Member
    1. 60s Show Rods

    More
     

    Attached Files:

  22. Thanks for sharing the adventure!:cool:
     
  23. Church
    Joined: Nov 15, 2002
    Posts: 2,839

    Church
    Member
    from South Bay

    I was pretty bummed I couldn't make the round up this year. After reading this thread, I feel even worse. I suck!
     
  24. It was good to follow the build then the trip. It's what it's all about, good times with great friends. Thanks for finding the time to keep us updated.
     
  25. BrandonB
    Joined: Feb 24, 2006
    Posts: 3,434

    BrandonB
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from nor cal

    Thanks for the pics and the amazingly good read.
     
  26. sololobo
    Joined: Aug 23, 2006
    Posts: 8,378

    sololobo
    Member

    Had a blast viewing this thread. Congrats on a super trip with some great friends. Love Ians work on the coupe and seeing all the cats at A.S.S. doing their thing. What a way to boost sales with the fine lady! Thanx. ~sololobo~
     
  27. Evel
    Joined: Jun 25, 2002
    Posts: 9,038

    Evel
    Member
    1. 60s Show Rods

    Coby- We missed you buddy.. wish you were there.. next year we will make up for the lossed time.. or wil just make out.
     
  28. gnichols
    Joined: Mar 6, 2008
    Posts: 11,345

    gnichols
    Member
    from Tampa, FL

    Enjoyed the read and pix very much. I think you nailed it... Gary

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  29. TxRat
    Joined: Dec 22, 2004
    Posts: 1,412

    TxRat
    Member

    Met you at your booth friday or saturday, I'm sure you don't remember but was good to finally meet. You guys are tough as nails and your coupe is tits. Thanks for the pics and Glad you made it...
     
  30. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    That's a great road trip story. It looks like you need to secure that alternator wire though.

    I it reminded me of a few of my own road trips that included freezing, roasting and getting soaked in no particular order.
     

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