It was Von Franco with his/my old Deuce 5 window & Kevan (Sinus) with his T roadster who raced. Von Franco just painted that entire drag race scene on canvas! Thats a year i'll NEVER forget! Out of 800 cars probably 790 were customs back then !
I remember the two cars lined up side by side and somebody flagged with a hankerchief- (In the words of GERM, "Just like the 50's BRO!") After the two cars ran the strip, a Paso cop showed up and everybody split- It was truely like a scene out of a JD "B" movie....
Others have said it, but I feel the same way... Paso is my FAVORITE weekend of the year. The drive up, the scenery, the weather, the people I met... oh yeah, and the CARS and BIKES! I did meet one bonehead who's putting together a "coffee table" book on Paso. I tell him that's rad and ask what cars have really been speaking to him. His answer? "Paso's not about the cars, man... It's all about the people. It's a freakshow!"" I wonder if this dude was working as hard to get the cars out of his people shots as I was doing the exact opposite? Paso rules.
I agree! Paso's number ONE in my book, and there is no 2, 3, or 4. It's that far ahead of my next favorites. The rest start at number 5. It's a lot of things that make it great. The cars, people, the setting, the side shows at the different motels or nooks and crannies, etc. For me it's the one show where you won't see some of your new friends til the next one, a whole year. Around SoCal you'll run into new aquaintences at most the local events, of which there are many. Paso? It's see ya in a year. Anyway, this one was pretty out of control with people. And the weather supported the night life, which i love, a lot better than last year.
Kirk.... you and I go back a long way, the B.B.Q. 's that all the clubs would get together and have once a month in Frisco your hudson, my 51 ford, primer black and unchoped, driving all over orange county at night looking for a battery for you hudson, and paso before the Poser's moved in, yea we got drunk had fun, we also always wished the sceen was bigger in nor cal but "gee wiz" talk about be carefull what you wish for, where in the world did all these people come from? There are some great new people in the sceen but there are some that need to learn to crawl before they walk the walk and talk the talk, Im not talking of one person or one new club but for any of you new guys reading this I mean you no disrespect, but kirk is right don't mess it up for everybody, back in the day the cops would look the other way for open headers or a small chirp of the tires, BUT YOU CANT DO LONG ASS BURN OUTS AND REV YOUR MOTORS WITH OPEN HEADERS UNTIL YOUR VALVES FLOAT TO SAN LUIS, so lets all do our selfs a favor and just be your self and not try to be the "rebel without a cause" Big Bill Road Zombies for ever
Fuck man 95...that was the first year I went and it flipped my world over and blew my mind! I miss the way it used to be. Still the best show for me...haven't missed a year since!
hey kirk this is jesse (gonner) member ...u have something to tell us come down and tell us! aug 4 gonner get down in south central los angeles every one welcome slauson and woodlawn .....and if we dont see u there were coming to ur beloved billet proof ..and were all coming...we're coming lookn for u !!!!...
I'm guessing that this is what your threatening PM was about. All I'm doing is voicing what at least 30 people around me at the bowling alley said about what was happening. Nothing in my statement didn't happen. This attitude is exactly what I'm talking about. You want to act stupid and endanger people and the existence of the show, then someone states the obvious and you threaten them. Not all that smart. The funny part is that now you have threatened me in a public forum, so anything that might happen gets pointed to you. The point I was making was that people want to fuck off in Paso like there are no rules or laws and not give a shit about the results. Well, I give a shit about the results. I've been going to Paso for 13 years and want it to go on for 13 more, not have it shut down because of stupid behavior. Do you think more people support your view or mine? It's always the few who fuck it up for the many. Are you upset about the expletives or the fact that I make a good point. I can apologize for the name calling because that was written when we were all heatedly discussing the possible end of Paso, which would piss off TONS of people. But I won't apologize for my point of view to keep shows like Paso from being shut down.
wow, this whole thing has sure gotten a long way away from CARS isnt that what we are really all here for? Or are we here to worry about who said what to whom about what show at what time and what were they wearing at the time and their clothes dont look like mine and i've never seen them before at any shows and I've been doing it much longer them THEY have and if you think otherwise I'll type real tough words and send it over the internet.... sounds alot like knitting circle gossip and bs. Now, everyone step away from your keyboards and go work on your cars. everyone remember Hot Rods? ya know, really cool cars that are FUN? its pretty simple... build your car, drive your car, go to the shows, dont do anything stupid, have a good time. How hard is that?
Wow someone is threating Kirk, and in public? Kirk who along with Jay started Billet Proof and gave us a show of our own, back when if you saw ANY truly trad or vintage style car you did a double take because there were so FEW around? I remember my first B-Proof (#3) we broke 100 cars and it was a HUGE exciting thing. So someone is threating Kirk who has done more for this F-ing scene/hobby than a 1000 other folks and still does, with passion & smarts & style? All this because he called someone on acting foolish and possibly jepordizing the BEST f-ing car show west of the Misssippi and possible east of it as well, because it was brought up that a certain groups public actions could harm a show that Penny & the West Coast Customs crew work their ASSES off for every year and that thousands of folks come to see & enjoy? Come to Billetproof and see what a GREAT show it is, & remember we "lost" a BP site already with the help of some rather but poorly thought out dirt racing a few years back. YOUR actions reflect on all of us involved in a show where you are, KIRK only voiced what a LOT (trust me I heard a lot of comments as well) of people were saying. So instead of getting all fired up, take it as constructive critcism. Dig the cars, be a part of the show, NOT the sideshow. And think of it this way, if you go acting "punk as f*&k" and act silly in public don't be surprised when someone calls you on it (trust me on this too as I was an old pro at it til I finally grew up). I guess in parting I'd say think about what you say & do because if you publicly threaten someone, or ruin a large group of peoples favorite show who will come looking for you? The law? A LARGE group of car people? Lets put this to bed and get back to what a bitchen show Paso continues to be in spite of some adversity! And I'll publicly say a HUGE thanks to Kirk for all his work on BP and for all the other work he has done for the "scene".
Thanks! I know that everyone truly into hot rods and kustoms wants events to continue (I would hope that includes these guys too), and not be blackballed because of crappy attitudes and behavior. And that thousands of people at Paso and shows like it support my view. The post that the guy is talking about was just an observation of what was going on. I don't know those guys but could make my only judgement based on their actions. I am just one of the literally dozens there who thought what was going on was stupid and voiced their opinion. Like I said, I don't know them. They are likely great guys in person, but that night they were potentially making it bad for everyone. Now, with threats, they just pretty much reinforce what I saw, and the lack of respect for others. Some people do stupid things when they're drunk, and that could have been the case here, but after the threats, I'm not sure what to think. If I did something dumb, and somone called me on it, I can guarantee that my reaction would not be confrontational. But everyone reacts differently. The whole thing is pretty stupid all around, and not really worth reaction.
You know what's cool? One of the Gonners, Mario, sent me an email about this. While the email says that they're pretty mad, I think that sending the email is pretty cool. I replied to it with my phone number. I have to say that it's a pretty stand-up thing to do! Especially since he finished his email with "This is about the cars and the people and having fun doing what we love." Thanks Mario!
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