Art & Inspiration 2016 LA Roadster Show Express Smithfield, VA to Pomona, CA... we hope!

If you don't like a long story with some unique aspects, quit reading now.
I'm going to tell you how it came to be that I'm planning to drive my 36 cabriolet to the 2016 LA Roadster Show. Four other fools...er, fellows are planning to drive their cars with me. All 5 have co-pilots lined up... at the moment!

It all started when a pal of mine drove his 1932 Ford 3 window coupe to the roadster show this year on a whirl-wind (some say TORNADO) trip. They drove out there in about three and a half days... 3,000 miles, give or take... you do the math.

Anyway, a few days after their return, the fearless co-pilot decided that he needed to make some quick record of the trip.

Here's his tale:

THE 2015 LOS ANGELES ROADSTER SHOW CHRONICLES

I arrived home yesterday from a wonderful trip to the Los Angeles Roadster Show, and this morning on my bike ride, I realized that, with my memory the way it is, I needed to document a few things so that I could always look back. As the morning ride went along I decided that some of my friends may also want to know
…………..
I think that when Dickie Burke first asked me to accompany him in his 1932 Ford 3 window coupe on a cross country trip to the L A Roadster show, I was recovering from fairly serious back surgery. I couldn’t give him an immediate answer because I had no idea of what my physical state would be when it was time to go. As time went along, my physical condition (I thought) improved enough that I told Dickie yes I would go. I have always tried to be a man of my word. I have always tried to not let my mouth overload my ass, but unfortunately I have failed in that regard in the past and bear the physical, mental, and financial scars to prove it. So when I told Dickie yes……. I was committed. Besides, I figured, who doesn’t like a good adventure?? I mean, years ago I rode horses for 11 days from Chama New Mexico to Bolder Colorado just to see how the bad guys lived in the old days. Nothing could be that bad. Could it? I like guys that stick to their word …….. and besides …….. why does anybody do anything? Why did Joe Ordonez run 100 miles on his 50th birthday? And why is Edmund Ruffin riding his bicycle 100 miles today at altitude in Aspen on his 75th birthday? (Happy birthday Ed !!) ….. Cause they said they would. I realized that it was Dickie Burke and I realized it was a 1932 Ford but what I failed to fully understand was ….. what that combination could mean. From the chassis up, Dickie’s 3 window is a beautiful original car, a survivor that no one has screwed up, painted fifty years ago, and pinstriped by some famous dude ……….. but these cars are small. With Dickie and I in the front seat there is maybe 3 inches between our shoulders, there is not enough leg room, and when you were in a relaxed seated position, your knees want to touch ……….. and as it turns out, neither of us wants to be touched. Now …. Dickie Burke is an unreal mechanic and he spent untold hours preparing this car for its third trip across this country……. No doubt that it was as good as it could be. So the weekend before we left, we did a little 840 mile jaunt to the All ’32 Ford run to Blowing Rock North Carolina, just to check things out. The car ran perfect, but I couldn’t help to notice that with the outside temperature at 88 degrees, the bottom of the seat was 127 accurately measured with a Fluke laser heat gun, and the interior of the car was……. Who knows how hot. I also realized that on the road, Dickie wasn’t always trying to blow everything up …… he actually took care of the stuff like it was all he could afford. (That is a joke) On the road 1800 rpm is 65 mph and 2400 rpm is 85 ………. So I wanted to look at that. Dickie had to fly all the next week and I talked him into letting me work on some thermal help for the passengers………. So 5 days later I delivered the car to his house with his stainless exhaust system wrapped well, oil changed, new plugs, and the timing set for the engine speed that it would live at. Now at our age when you think of driving across the country ……. People think of places they want to stop, sites they want to see, stopping at friends or relatives along the way. I mean there is lots of neat stuff you could do and see ………. Normal people would make plans. So with that in mind, I packed light ……. But for a three week trip. At 6 am on Sunday June 14, 2015 we left my house one block from the Atlantic Ocean. First day 15 hours, Second day 14 hours, third day 13 hours, fourth morning 6 hours ………. A little hiccup was our growing concern over one of the rear tires. In life networking pays, so while we rolled, I called Mike Goodman at Honest Charlie’s Seed Shop in Chattanooga, 15 minutes later I got a call from a guy at Coker Tire ……..I told him what we needed, 45 minutes later he texted us the information directing us to the Coker Group California headquarters in LA and confirming an appointment at 1 pm………. 25 minutes after we got there, we were on the way to the Fairplex Sheridan. Those guys were unreal, they acted like it was a pit stop ………..of course it didn’t hurt that Dickie was throwing around $100 bills (as usual). So 78 hours after we left my house we were there …… 48 of those hours we were driving………. Which means we had 10 hours a day out of the car except for the fact that we gained an hour a day in time change which helped …….. Right. Did I mention that during this period, the country was experiencing record temperatures? Did you think that original old Fords had air conditioning? Do you have any idea what it is like to ride in a cramped BLACK 1932 Ford 3 window coupe traveling at 75 to 80 miles per hour through 100 degree heat? The interior temperature in the car, as good as it was, was over 110.

Think about that for 15 hours straight. At one point about 6 hours into day 3, I turned to Dickie and asked …. Do you have any idea why we are doing this? His answer was classic “Cause you can stop when you are dead”. When we pulled under the spacious portico of the Sheridan at the Fairplex to check in, I was nearly dead and Dickie wanted to know where to park. I said turn it off right here and at that moment I really didn’t care if I ever saw it again………. Well as it turns out, it sat there for three days ……. The Sheridan was the headquarters hotel for the show, full of the Show’s officials, important people from all over the country - high dollar hot rodders ….. (not me …..Dickie) So as luck would have it…… and Dickie always is, (the luckiest man I have ever known) I noticed that there was always a crowd of knowledgeable people standing around looking at this bug splattered road grunged stock looking Ford sitting right outside the front door. In fact there was a line of them that wanted to buy it. One guy told us to get everything out of it cause he was flying us home and the car was his …..the sweetest words I ever heard !! ….. NOT… Amazingly, one morning I noticed a hand written letter from the chairman of the L A Roadsters laying on the seat …. Don”t wash this car … bring it to the show because we have a special place for it… of course. So for three days we were in heaven. Tom Hardy orchestrated our stay, then he and Jack Fuller took us on tours for the next 1 ½ days to The Kennedy Brothers, The Early V8 Store, The Early V8 Garage, Stoker’s, SO CAL Speed Shop, The Walden Brothers Speed Shop, and Rudy Rodriquez’s shop, all prior to the show. Then there was 1 ½ days of the show and the best swap meet in the world …. Huge ….The parts were incredible …. I spent all my money …. Had to borrow some from Dickie to get home. As for the show itself ……” IT IS THE BIGGEST AND BADDEST ONE ON THE PLANET” – period
….. That’s if you like roadsters …. Which ….. I don’t. The pace was relentless and
always staring us in the face was the DREADED trip home.
Somewhere while we were in heaven I said that the trip home would be a lot tougher because we would lose an hour a day …..Dickie’s reply was “doesn’t matter – the last time I made it home in three days flat” …. I think that the stress of the pace and statements like that might have been the cause of what I initially perceived as a little intestinal discomfort…..So Sunday morning June 21, 2015 at 4 am we hit the road, we had been gone one hour short of exactly a week. As we exited the desert 3 ½ hours later it was 113 degrees. Fifteen hours later we mercifully stopped for the night. Having not gone to the bathroom for now 3 full days I acquired some Doan Pills. I needed to fix this problem, and I DID. Now all of us have had bad days ….. I know that we all have had them. Some of my worst have been: waking up from neck surgery when my spinal cord was crushed, the day after sinus surgery, the day after open heart surgery, and the morning following my recent back surgery … to name a few. TO THIS LIST I WILL ADD DAY 9. Dickie skidded that Ford to a stop 14 times that day and I would run for the facilities…… only time in my life that I didn’t care what they LOOKED LIKE. Once at a rest stop in New Mexico, I got back in the car after blowing the place up only to have Dickie perform an emergency U turn so I could do it again. I was a sick puppy. While Dickie was fueling the car someplace in Arizona, with the temperature at 101, all I could do was stand in the sun freezing and shaking like a leaf. The pain of those cramps was off the charts. And then a strange then happened. Compassion ….. I actually think that I was so bad off that it scared Dickie ….. and believe me THAT IS HARD TO DO!!! I couldn’t eat ….. so he didn’t, when I finally had dry toast and applesauce he ate a vegetable plate, and he never complained …. But he didn’t stop either …. we rolled on …. Remember – “ you can stop when you die”. I converted our planed 12 hour day into 14…. Which sadly added two hours to our return trip elapsed time. But right on somebody’s schedule we pulled into my driveway half way through our eleventh day, Wednesday June 24, 2015 …….. 10 ½ days of joy …. Coast to coast ….. 3 ½ out, 3 ½ there, 3 ½ back ….. 50 hours of traveling pleasure coming home added to the 48 going out ……….. perfect !!Speaking of perfect – the car was. One tire (that did not fail) and a tail pipe hanger that did were the only mechanical disappointments. This car has proven to me what most guys will never know about their cars or themselves …….. and most never will …… because there is a high probability that neither of them could survive this trip. Do you have any idea how many engines, transmissions, and rear ends that Dickie has blown up in this car over the last 15 years? The number is staggering …..because it is always wide open. Thank you Butch Kernudle (RIP) for the $900 Chevy 283 engine that will not die, Gene McKinney for the genius running gear that Dickie can’t break (he will continue to try), and Mike Goodman for the tires. Then there is Jocey and Gunilla ….Who let us go … What were they thinking? What was I thinking? … must have been nothing as usual, and Dr. Brent Giesinger for the help. TOTALS: 5,941 miles – 394.6 gallons of gasoline that cost $1087.63
5,941 miles / 98 hours = a 60.62 mile an hour average …… which is amazing considering the car has a 12 gallon tank ……. Did I mention that in the 98 hours on the road we stopped 44 times for gas ?? They were pit stops ….. no longer than 5 minutes after the car was full ………. We were gone. I don’t know much about math but to travel 5,941 miles in 98 hours and to average 60 mph with 44 stops ……….. our average speed had to be near 70 for the entire trip ……… AVERAGE …. And that is that……….. an accurate description of a wonderful trip to the baddest hot rod show on the planet. I wanted to do it, I said I would do it, and I did it. To hang with Dickie Burke you have to be in shape ……….. I wasn’t and I paid the price. I would not trade this adventure, NOW THAT IT IS OVER, for anything.
And the entire trip I kept going back to what my mother taught me …..
“WHEN YOU ARE DUMB YOU HAVE TO BE TOUGH” ………… tp
6/25/2015


How is that for a story?

Well, our local hot rodder email network published the tale and it zipped around the local internet crowd and eventually showed up in my inbox.

Like about everybody else, I died laughing at the story. I so enjoyed it that I shared it with a few others and even passed it along to my wife of nearly 46 years at the time. She loves me dearly but got over the joy of taking our young daughters to weekend rod runs after a number of years. She still loves the cars, and me, but has pretty much retired from hopping in one of my treasures for any extended trips.

Anyway, she, too, enjoyed reading the story and said it was pretty neat trip. I then told her that I have long wished to drive out to the show but figured being gone that long would put too much of a burden on her (and maybe on me!) so I guessed that I would never do it.

To my great surprise, she said that it would be difficult but if I really wanted to go; I should go soon as I'm not getting any younger. I don't know what she meant by that as I have always thought of myself as being about 16; even though now I'm 66!

Anyway, after making reasonably certain that she wanted me to give it a try, I was down to my office... well, I don't really have a job but you know what I mean; and proceeded to pull up my Microsoft Streets and Trips software and plot me a course to the show! Looked like about 2,700 miles, or so, and a heck of an adventure.

Initially, I had a pal in GA that said he'd like to co-pilot if I did go. Like me, and probably a lot of y'all, he had always wanted to drive to the LA Roadster Show at least once. His enthusiasm fell off after he realized that the trip might conflict with another event he usually attended and was quite fond... being the kind, understanding pal he knew me to be; I told him he was nuts!! He could miss that sucker one time!! Anyway, he decided that I should work to get another co-pilot so I asked another pal that has travelled many a mile with me over the years in our hot rods or in my suburban with a trailer in hot pursuit of a 36 Ford or a 40 pickup. I am sure a co-pilot known as "Shadow" will stick with me!

I'll continue our story later but want to share some pictures of our heroes that made the infamous 2015 Tornado run to the LA roadster show.


Dickie is on the right along with our trip journalist, Tom Pritchard.
I took this picture when I met them for lunch in Virginia Beach (hometown for them). I've known Dickie for some time but had not met Tom and wanted to do so.
These guys are priceless! Better attitudes and outlooks on life would be hard to find.
Here's the 32 that carried them out there and back. The little coupe has carried Dickie out there several times!!

 

Here's my cabriolet, including the windshield banner I had made... if you want to make sure you go, tell enough people and make such a big deal about it that you will HAVE to go just to save face!


Here I am in the recent Christmas parade. Note the banner.



Anyway, when I first talked to Dickie to get his opinion of my proposed route, he told me he had driven to the show three times and he thought he had one more trip in him. He told me that if I decided to go, he would like to go along. I told him that I wasn't planning on travelling at the speeds he seemed to travel and his immediate reply was that he could drive slow, too! I'm not sure my thinking is the same as Dickie's about driving slow but he was the first to ask to come along and I knew he at least knew the way!!
Here's a picture from one of Dickie's trips.

He DOES get on down the road!

Another pal of mine that has also travelled many miles with me over the years in our hot rods or in my suburban with a trailer in hot pursuit of a 36 Ford or a 40 pickup had JUST purchased a 39 Ford cabriolet that is PURTY said he'd like to go, too. Dang, looks like we might have a convoy!
Here's a picture from when he first got it.


Well, I was telling the fellows about my CA planning at our usual Saturday morning breakfast gathering and, lo and behold, another pal said he'd go with us! Four! AND... wait for it... he's gonna drive a 1936 Ford club cabriolet and a really neat one at that!


He was later talking to another of our area car guys and told him of our plans and that guy said he was already planning to go but had not yet put together a real plan. I later saw that guy and it looks like he's going, too! Five!

Here's his treasure on his maiden voyage to our little town back in 2010:


He's got a top now!


More later... gotta get spruced up for some celebrating tonight!

 

Forgot to mention that 3wLarry said he'd drive down to Interstate 40 and meet us for lunch if he can.
I'm counting on him, or some of his pals, coming up with a neat spot to eat and take a break.
Some local Mom and Pop... maybe a Daughter's!... restaurant is preferred.
Hopefully, some others might join us for lunch as well.
Heck, go with us if you want!

 

What a fine write-up.Makes you feel you're there.Thank you.

 

Ahh, a good read. We need more of these, for a few moments we can all ride along and enjoy the trip.
Thanks for taking the time to write it up and share.

 

Thanks for the travelouge. I went in '14. It's true, it is one great drive and a whole lot of fun.

 

Hey, Al - looking forward to the trip .....here is an updated pic


I have a buddy of mine riding shotgun and we will be taking our time coming back and if it's OK with Al, chronical it here as well. Plans are to hit the Nats in Colorado the weekend following the roadster show visiting friends I made while out in Bonneville 2 years ago, visit a friend in New Mexico, hit parts of Rt 66 west of Missouri, do the Speedway Museum Tour, and whatever else we can come up with on the way. Should be a great trip ......

 

It will be fine with me if everybody shares their various thoughts and experiences along the way; especially on the HAMB and anywhere else the tale of our travels might be welcomed.
A conscious decision was made at the front end to make this an express run out to LA where we will stay a full week to take full advantage of all that is going on out there that week. Fortunately, we have some locals that have been a number of times and plan to go again in 2016 but they are going to fly. Many would love to drive but, for whatever reasons, just don't think it is possible right now. One fellow told me he had made plans several times but they seemed to always fall apart for one reason or another and he felt now that he somehow had "missed his window" to go.
I told him, "Heck, our trip might fall apart, too, but we were going to enjoy the thought that we would go for as long as possible!" I tried but he wouldn't bite to go along but I'm hoping he'll be there when we get there to keep us on the path to having a great time and seeing all the cars and car related sites in the area.
Think about going to a run where it is almost guaranteed that EVERY car you see will be one that you have never seen in person. Talk about a candy store! I'm sure I will spend PLENTY of time looking at the four that are going with me on the way out there!
As Tom says, it should be a great trip.
I'm not sure how many will show up for breakfast in Bedford, VA around 10 AM but I know at least one guy has promised to be there to visit with us. HE made the trip in one of his cars some years back and said it had its challenges but it was still priceless!
It should be fun to find out for ourselves.

Here's a picture of our heroes before they left for LA at 7AM on Sunday June 14th, 2015:



Here's a picture of the car at the host hotel on Wednesday, June 17th around 6PM when they got there... our heroes were off on a potty break!!

 

.............................What he means, Larry, is that the Sonic Drive-In doesn't count.

 

Here's another picture of the 3W sitting at the host hotel on the Friday before the show.

Looks like Dickie's coupe was in some pretty good company.

 

Our heroes left EARLY on the way home from the roadster show.
First says they're entering the Mohave Desert at 6 AM and the temp is 93 degrees.
Second documents them leaving the desert at 113 degrees.
Did I tell you the boys don't have A/C in the coupe?!!
That to me would be a heck of an incentive to be an early riser!!



They also took in some sightseeing in Winslow, AZ. You've heard the song about, "Standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona" haven't you? Dickie said this is the corner and there is a statue there to prove it.

Winslow doesn't look too busy at the time our boys blew through!!

 

BTW, a review of our route says we'll be having breakfast the first day going a bit west of Bedford, VA in downtown Montvale, VA. I don't want all y'all that are going to meet us for breakfast to miss us!! It will be a Thursday... you got nothing to do anyway, right? They have plenty of coffee cups.
Well, it ain't exactly "downtown" but I'm not sure there is a downtown. Our breakfast spot is actually on Route 460... remember this is an "express" run to the roadster show!!
Hopefully we will be right on schedule. Otherwise, we can have lunch!!

 

Thanks for sharing your story. That blue cabriolet is aces.

 

Love the story.

 

Great story, I was there in 2014, I don't think I could drive that many hours in my roadster. My hats off to you guys.

 

I might add one thing to the story so that you can have a better idea about Dickie and what is important to him. At a car show some where the found a '32 Ford that had a license plate that was the District of Columbia number 1 and the year was 1932 .......... That be President Roosevelt's plate. Dickie said "I want to buy your license plate" ..... the guy said no .......... in a little while ....... the number got to $1,200 ....... and the guy said .... "you got a screw driver?"

Well this plate today "rests" on the back of Dickie's Ford and it went coast to coast not registered to any car that either Dickie or I know of ......... So you not dealing with a very concerned senior citizen .......... if you know what I mean .......

 

Now, Tom, you shouldn't be telling tales on what you're calling a senior citizen. I'm sure Dickie will get all the documentation squared away as soon as he remembers it and finds one of those elusive "roundtuits." I'm sure the official plate is there somewhere. Many of us have "show" plates that we put on our cars at the shows and display. Sometimes it happens that we forget to swap the plates back before leaving the fairgrounds. I drove all over York one year with my 1981 NC specialized plate and would have driven home with it if not for an alert co-pilot! Actually, I think I've done that a number of times! Of course, I had a small piece of duct tape covering the "1981." I thought it was cool. Fortunately I did not attract any "official" interest in the plate while I was blazing around town.

Fellas, LBH, above, is none other than the gentleman that was Dickie's co-pilot on the Tornado run to LA in 2015.
That is his VERY descriptive journalism above that has given rise to our whole effort to drive to LA in 2016.
Thanks, Tom... I hope I feel that way all the way out there and back!
Tom is building a 34 coupe that should be super... maybe he wants to drive, too!
I think we ought to vote Tom as our fun journalist of 2015. Of course, you can tell from Tom's writings that it might not have been as much fun as he expected at times!
Show us your car, Tom.

 

Al, will meet you at 10:00 on the 9th for brunch. Hope I can drive with you- if I can keep up. It takes me five 8hr days and it is sooo hot out there in a roadster. You'll never forget or regret the trip. Tom Richardson

 

Thanks, Tom, for the confirmation on our 10am breakfast... maybe lunch!
Would you like to borrow my 36 Ford powered Ford 4 dr convertible sedan to go with us? It has A/C!!
Since I know you'll need time to pack the convertible sedan; why not bring your sweet little 3w coupe down and leave it in the convertible sedan's garage spot? Say, two months beforehand!!
For those following along with the story I want to give credit to Tom for his consultation and insight on the planned trip as he pulled it off very successfully a few years back but I've forgotten the details of how many were in the pack.
It would be fine with me if you wanted to trailer the convertible sedan out there!! Heck, we might need it!!
Just sayin'
Al

 

Well, we've got another recruit. He's hoping to join us along the way. He won't join us until the forth day, and about 1,850 miles out, but we'll be glad to have him. He'll probably chime in here somewhere. He's trying to decide which car to drive---ain't he lucky to have a choice?! He's also trying to figure out how he can keep his A/C company operating while he is gone!! I hope I impressed him with the specific time I gave him for us to pick him up at his exit (remember this is an EXPRESS run!) but I also told him we might be a TAD late; or early!!
Anyway, the more the merrier.
I've even made up trip logs for each driver to keep up with his gas stops so we can brag/argue/lie about gas mileage. It could be real fun checking the mileage each car travels, according to their individual odometers, and then calculating mileage!!

 

The latest recruit has reported his successful motel reservation for the whole week with the rest of us.
No word yet on which car he plans to drive but he did say that none have A/C.
Still encouraging some of our fellow hot rodders to go with us but no new fish... yet!

BTW, thought I'd share this enroute picture from the inside the little coupe with the MANUAL windshield defogger in action! The Rainex was trying but it was a bit tricky...maybe scary!, at times but our heroes kept the hammer down!

 

OK Al, I'll jump in.
When I saw this thread it impressed on me that you don't have hot rod stories if you don't take the trip.
Also it occurred to me that you all would have to pass right by me place of residence while making the latest memories. I'd run with you to the state line....what the heck all the way and beyond.
I like a good road trip and I'd be hopping on during day 4 out of six. PM time and you said the more the merrier
My car isn't getting any younger so I guess I should go while it still feels like it can make the trip.

You are hung up on 'which one' and I don't know the answer. I'm a low budget guy and like to think in respect to the ratio of FUN/$. also I have kind of have a shotgun approach to cars....have enough and one is bound to start when you get ready to go somewhere...I've also been known to leave, turn around and change cars.
Maybe you can help me decide.
Option #1 '29 A Roadster Banger powered with a Miller OHV conversion full pressure, inserted B engine, '32 transmission with '48 truck gears. The low hole helps the Ford 8" with a 2.22:1 get off the line. The 2:22 rear ratio makes it cruise at 70-75 all day long. The V-8 radiator keeps her cool. It is an early PolyForm glass body.
This car is a replication of a car that Wendell Anderson went 98.8 MPH in at Bonneville in 1938.Wendell went into the Army to fight for Freedom in 1939 and that car was sold. He built this car to duplicate his first car. It is an '80's build. Wendell was also known as Fuzzy and ran the California roundy round circuit. I don't know much about Fuzzy but if I was to take this car I might encounter someone that would help me fill in the blanks and learn more about this man that I am connected to, through this car.
Downside is that it is really light and much of a wind blows me all over the road.



It is snowing here right now, another 5". I have to go plow the drive so I can go fix peoples busted heaters tomorrow. Wish it was 105 degrees and sunny.......another car later
Thanks for the invite and I guess that this now means I HAVE to go....Dang
Larry

 

Larry, I see that you are quickly on to me!! Talk about doing something long enough and then you HAVE to go!

I sure hope it works... for all of us!

Thanks for sharing some pics of your neat "option 1." Don't know about other HAMBers but I can't wait to see the others! Option 1 is certainly no belly button car for sure with that drivetrain and it will roll!

I, like you, have several choices among my hot rods and I could drive my 1936 Ford convertible 4 door sedan and still meet the LA show eligibility requirement to get the pewter mug but I wanted to take the cabriolet so we could put the top down much more easily... we'd have to find a few more recruits in order to have enough fellows to put the top down on my convertible sedan! It is Ford powered and has air as well.

Looks good and rides great but a real challenge to put the top down... and up!!
After doing it several times on the stock convertible sedan I used to own, I decided to leave the top up on this one. Also, the top looks so good on it now I'm afraid I might somehow wrinkle it while it was down that it might not look the same when I put it back up. I am a firm believer in using and enjoying your cars but just have not been able to bring myself to put the top down. I get nearly the same effect by dropping the back glass and rolling all the windows down and it is SO much easier. These days, I finding easier to more and more be the preferred choice.

I hope Larry gets through with the snow so he can show us option 2!

Anybody else want to run along with us for an exit or two? OR... all the way to LA?

 

A fellow HAMBer in Kingman, AZ is working to get a group of local car folks to meet us for dinner the Sunday evening before the roadster show. He's looking for some teepees for us to stay in as well!!

Maybe some of the folks in Kingman will get up and go with us early Monday morning to Pomona!!
The more the merrier! If I know they are going to join us, I'll have windshield banners made for them, too!

Kingman is the only definite spot along the trip that we know we are going to spend the night. The previous 3 nights are only ball parked at the moment and are "subject to change!" based on the multitude of "opportunities" that might befall 5 old cars and their old drivers and co-pilots.

Still no word from 3W Larry about that early lunch on Saturday, June 11th, in Henryetta, OK. I'm sure Larry is spending a great deal of time trying to find JUST the right spot. I hope opossum AIN'T on the menu!


Here's a picture of my car sitting at the fishing pier in Virginia Beach, VA with the Atlantic Ocean in the background. Can't go much farther east in VA than right here.


Maybe I'll manage a picture with the Pacific Ocean in the background once I get to LA!

 

Fun times

 

that is awesome, wish I had enough time off from work to drive out there with you guys.

 

Al,
Sounds like you are working it from all angles. Good for you
I'm working on a co-pilot though he might jump on in his car. He is a banger guy thru and thru. We might just get a head start on you and meet in Kingman and run the rest of the way with you. We need to figure out what top speed we feel comfortable running at with the bangers.
Right now we have lots of snow and ice on our driveways and way too much salt on the highways to go driving but there are a few months to get ready. I just updated this car with an overdrive so I only have a couple of miles on it and don't know how it is going to run out. Option 2 is a late '31 slant windshield Cabriolet. It is a survivor

 

Larry,
Option 2 looks great! That looks like a sophisticated and well thought out carb and intake combination... just the right blend of new with the old. I've had the pleasure of owning and driving several 4 banger Model As and they are fun to drive. With an overdrive, they have to have a greatly expanded cruising speed range. There are a number of very successful Model A owners that drive their cars all over the country at pretty good clips for four bangers and many have added overdrives that get them down the road and quickly. The simplicity of the Model A engine is hard not to like. I guess all engines are simple if you think about it but that first Model A really drove home some basics that I've never forgotten. Everybody loves them, too.
Another recruit and/or co-pilot is welcomed.
As for cruising speed, my intentions are to run about 70-75 where the law allows, or mostly allows! I've been told that speed limits out west will impress we easterners that are used to seeing many other folks on the road and having to deal with reduced speed limits as well. I'm sure some our fellows may occasionally feel the need to "let the dog run" and will scamper ahead for a ways but I'm hopeful that we will work to keep us all within reasonable range of each other. I'm proposing taking walkie-talkies with us for easy communications and help with coordination at least when taking off from stops and also badgering each other about lousy gas mileage, menu choices, high or low speed, farts, etc! Of course, I realize the effectiveness of walkie-talkies on the highway will likely be limited by the wind noise and rumble of the engines and whine of the rearends and tires... not to mention the grunts and groans of the drivers and co-pilots! It should be fun.
Based on some of the stories I've heard about driving out west in the wind, Larry, I suggest you consider driving the heaviest car. A local guy said he altered his route to LA because of an unrelenting crosswind that was really ruining his day in his open roadster! Hopefully we won't have to contend with that kind of weather but we need to realize that it could happen... see below!!

That's not a 36 CABRIOLET is it?!

I'm trying to get a fellow in St Louis to buzz up to I40 and tag along for an exit or two in his 37 pickup; maybe lunch if the timing is right. Y'all KNOW I also encouraged him to pack a bag and go a bit further!

We're waiting patiently, except for a few and 3WLarry!, for option 3.

Good luck with the snow.
Al

 

I will be running around 70, give or take. As long as I know where you guys are stopping, I will meet you there should I fall behind. I am not sure about gas stops as I am now sporting a 16 gallon tank vs the 11 gallon unit when I went out to Bonneville with the car two years ago. But I have to tell you - after 2.5 hours in my roadster I need to stretch a bit ...

What kind of walkie talkies are you proposing we have?

 

Al,
I thought that you were probably going to run 70-75. The bangers can keep up for that I am sure. Weight and wind has me concerned.
The heaviest is option 4 but the top doesn't come down so I guess it isn't an option for this trip.
Option 3 might wind up being the one that makes the most sense though it has an 11 gallon gas tank.

Larry