Old Guys With Old Cars Rule

The Route 66 Cruise

2010-04-20T10:39:00.003-04:00

On May 18th, The Old Guys will be meeting in Marianna, Florida, to begin a three-plus week trip along Route 66.

We'll go north to Chicago, then follow Route 66 to Santa Monica, then return to Florida.

We've got lots of stops planned along the way, including Branson, the Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon, and a visit to the Pomona Swap Meet.

We plan to travel as much of the 2400+ mile Route 66 as possible, and expect this trip to be more than 7000 miles.

For this trip, we've created a new, state-of-the-art blog. And since this blog could use some serious updating too, we'll get to work on it when we return from the trip.

You're invited to visit the Old Guys Route 66 Blog, and follow along with us. None of the Route 66 trip info will be posted here.

To view it, just click the Route 66 Cruise title above.

Packard Bill Weekend

2010-03-29T07:56:00.002-04:00

Most of our weekend get-together's have been in central Florida. This time, it was off to the west coast, where we gathered in Englewood, and spent the weekend prepping for our upcoming Route 66 Cruise.

Packard Bill and Stevie have Strall's Automotive, so not only did we have access to a couple lifts, but also every tool known to man!

On Friday and Saturday, Sonny got some minor welding done, and then re-charged his A/C.

Cecil got new rear brakes, a tranny seal, replaced the tranny pan gasket and filter, a couple power steering hoses, and fixed a ground wire.

I planned on Stevie...Old Guys can't get upside-down under the dash any more...replacing my stop light switch, but brought along my new roller bearing clutch rod pivot assembly, just in case we had some extra time.

It turned out that in order to get the pedal assembly out, the steering column had to come out, too. Five hours later, it was done, but not without a good deal of cussing!

Packard Bill was in charge of finding us a hotel, and we ended up at a place that was straight out of the 50's. And although we complained about it after sleeping there Friday night, we praised it Saturday night!

Why? Because there's a cocktail lounge next door (Junior's), and we stopped in for a cold one...just one, of course...Saturday evening. Four hours later, it was nice to just have to walk a few hundred feet, and we were home!

Bottom line...we got everything fixed that needed to be fixed, at least for now. We should be good to go. But in the back of our mind is something we already know from experience...no matter how much you prep for a trip, you're still gonna have a problem or two along the way! Lets hope that this year, ours are little ones!

Cars of Dreams Museum Benefit Car Show

2010-03-18T18:45:00.003-04:00

The Cars of Dreams Museum is only open to the public twice a year...once in the fall for the Sheriff's Office Benefit Car Show, and once in the spring for the Southeast Rods & Customs Benefit Show.

If you've not had an opportunity to visit this museum, you're in for a treat when you do! And if you can't, be sure to visit the website...it's full of photos.

The museum itself is FULL of cars, and as you walk around, you feel like you're back in the 60's, in a small town somewhere in New York.

The Old Guys are all South East Rods & Customs' members, and we were all there for the show on March 14th.

As is typical of the Old Guys, we made a weekend out of a one-day car show, first spending some time at Donnie's Hot Rod Shop in West Palm Beach on Saturday, then lunch at the Quarterdeck (always good food there!), then some prep work on the show field, then finally checking into the hotel late Saturday afternoon.

Dinner, as usual, was pizza, and breakfast was, as usual, at Terry's Old Dixie Cafe (another great meal!). Did you know it's still dark outside at 7:15 AM?

We arrived at the museum early, but we weren't the first to arrive. With about 40 cars already on the show field, it continued filling up before 8:00 AM. At the end of the day, there was about 450 cars, and between participants and spectators, EVERY space in the huge plaza was filled!

Bottom line...the entire membership did a fabulous job of managing this oversized show, and at the end of the day, South East Rods & Customs was able to contribute more than $20,000 to Hospice of Palm Beach County!

Photos will be coming soon!

WinterFest 2010

2010-02-21T16:06:00.005-05:00

I always thought the greatest fear when planning an outdoor event…especially a car show…was the threat of rain. That was until this year, when just two days before WinterFest 2010 was scheduled to start, I found out the greatest fear is fire!

There was a serious fire in the Host Hotel, forcing the evacuation of all guests, and leaving the hotel facing the probability that they will be closed for more than six months.

But as they say, the show must go on, and indeed it did, ultimately making WinterFest 2010 the biggest and best ever!

It couldn’t have been done without the Holiday Inn’s General Manager Mike Geschke, who is a classic car lover, and who went well beyond that proverbial extra mile, insuring that the weekend continued to run on schedule.

First, they provided us accommodations at their sister Holiday Inn, just ten minutes south of the original location, and honored our rate. Then they saw to it that we all had a free, hot breakfast each morning.

They brought in generators to power the DJ, and portable lights for the Friday evening Cruise In in the parking lot. Oh, and portable bathrooms, of course.

They wouldn’t be able to use the kitchen, so they arranged for a refrigerated truck to be on site for the weekend. And they were able to cook on a couple portable outdoor stoves, providing us with hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, sausage, peppers and onion subs, cold drinks, and a full outdoor bar!

And while they were doing all this arranging, me and the show staff worked at drying out all the boxes of door and raffle prizes, and show paperwork that I stored at the hotel just one day before the fire. Yes, we lost some of the prizes, and almost all the paperwork!

We were relegated to one small corner of the still-smoke-filled hotel, and that’s where we worked most of the day Thursday.

Thursday and Friday, I answered my phone nearly a couple hundred times, and responded to more than eighty e-mails, all with the same question…is the show still on. I really had my doubts, but we were prepared to work around the clock to insure that it was!

And in the middle of all this, I blew out the power steering pressure hose on my ‘68 convertible, and Sonny and Packard Bill jumped right in to fix it. Trust me on this…it’s not an EASY fix!

When Friday evening finally rolled around, we were exhausted. The cars began arriving for the cruise in, and it was getting colder outside. With about fifty cars in attendance, WJBJ DJ Butch Johnston started off the music with about twenty songs that had something to do with fire and smoke!

At 8:00 PM, as it got REALLY cold, we gave out several door prizes, and had out 60/40 drawing, that netted the winner $180. Then we took down the tents, loaded up our cars with show supplies, and drove back to the hotel.

At 7:00 AM Saturday, we were on our way back to the show. We hustled to set up the Show Registration tent, and by 7:30, even though we asked that they not arrive until 9:00, cars began lining up to enter the show.

The Host Hotel rallied once more, providing free coffee to everyone for the better part of the cloudy, chilly morning.

By the time registration closed, there were more than 150 vehicles on the show field, and eight vendors.

On display was Jimmie Johnson’s #48 NASCAR car, and it WASN’T a clone! No, Jimmie wasn’t there, but his car was, and it drew the attention of everyone on the show field with a camera!

Just after 2:00, we began the awards, found out that the Long Distance winner had driven 450 miles to attend the show, and saw that the Mopars of Brevard received the Club Participation awards, filling the entire front row of the show field. The winner of the 50/50 drawing netted him $430...no name given here, so no one can tell his wife!

United States Congressman Bill Posey spoke briefly, and then presented his award for his favorite car on the show field. As a Florida Senator, Bill was responsible for all the new street rod and classic car legislation (it's ALL good stuff!), and the participants’ showed their appreciation with a standing ovation!

At the conclusion of the show, we barely had the energy left to disassemble our show equipment, pack it up, and get back to the hotel. The only thing that really kept us going was the praise we received from the participants!

However, there happens to be a cocktail lounge and restaurant in the hotel, and that’s where we all ended up for dinner...and more. Our long day turned into an even longer night!

The list of thanks would be a mile long, so we won’t get into it here. However, my thanks do go out to all those that attended, and stuck with us under the most adverse conditions!

The hotel will be completely re-done in the next six to nine months, and we’ll surely be back there for WinterFest 2011!

2010 River Ranch Rod Run

2010-02-01T05:17:00.005-05:00

Usually held the last weekend in January, this is one of the shows that The Old Guys look forward to every year.

Hosted by Rich and Linda Martin of the Sunshine State Rodding News, and held at Westgate's River Ranch Resort (out in the middle of nowhere), the show offers lots to do when you're not looking at the well-over-300 cars that quickly fill the show field.

This show gives The Old Guys an opportunity to catch up with our friends that we only get to see once a year, and this year was no exception.

Sonny, Mikey, Cecil, Ft. Lauderdale Bill and I arrived Friday afternoon, Bob and Bobbi Petty got there in the early evening, and the show field was already filling up. We checked into our rooms, and began prepping my world famous Sloppy Joes, and Sonny's soon to be famous BBQ'ed beans, which we planned to have for lunch on Saturday.

This year, three of our rooms were up front and center of the show field, which was convenient, and also just a few steps from the Saloon, which was even more convenient.

By late afternoon, the aroma from Sonny's beans was more than we could handle, and we had to sample them using some Frito Scoops. In about an hour, Sonny's digital, mondo-sized crock pot, which was full (about ten pounds of beans) when we started, was now half-empty, and regretfully, we had to reserve the rest for Saturday's lunch.

Friday evening, we ended up in the Saloon (go figure!) with our west coast friends, and did our best to help support the economy.

Saturday morning, we were joined by Packard Bill, Phil and Nancy, Kevin and AJ, the gang from South East Rods & Customs, and with about 325 cars on the show field, we handed out WinterFest show flyers, and got a good look at all the cars.

If you happen to be one that attends a car show for those $10 awards, you can skip this one; there's just a couple specialty awards, and with no awards, this is our kinda show!

After our big Sloppy Joe and beans lunch, along with dessert from Nancy, we attended the door and raffle prize drawings...Packard Bill won a door prize...and then it was nap time, which was followed up by another trip to the Saloon. Very unusual...not much of a party going on in there!

First thing Sunday morning, we packed up, and headed for home. WinterFest is just three weeks away, and that'll be our next event.

River Ranch is highly recommended, and Rich and Linda, along with their friends, do a fabulous job of putting it together, and ensuring that the weekend flows smoothly. As we've done for years, we'll surely be back next year.

Photos are being organized, and will be posted in the album soon.

NPD's All-Ford Show

2010-01-12T16:53:00.004-05:00

When you attend this show, usually the second week of January, you have a 50-50 chance of really nice weather. In fact, over the past ten years, there was only one really cold weekend, and one rainy one.

The venue is the Silver Springs Park, and if you're old enough to remember, it's where Sea Hunt, starring Lloyd Bridges, was filmed. It's one of those shows that gives you lots to do when you finally get tired of looking at the cars!

This year, we got the double whammy...a cold front coming through on Friday, followed by another on Saturday. And in the middle of the two, a little snow!

That didn't stop the party in the lounge Friday evening, and without going into detail, be sure to ask Cecil about his new neon sign!

The show itself is one of the best all-Ford shows in the country, with about 1000 Ford vehicles filling the show field.

This year, the extreme cold...it was below freezing Saturday morning...kept a lot of the participants at home, and those that DID attend spent much of the day inside their cars, with the engine running!

The Old Guys were fortunate that Sonny brought his Cougar wagon, and that's where we spent most of our time, toughing it out until just after noon, when we finally gave it up, and headed back to the hotel!

There's a BBQ at NPD Saturday evening, and we all attended. Last year, with balmy temps in the upper 60's, everyone spent the evening in NPD's parking lot, enjoying the live classic rock band.

This year, with the temperature hovering around 20*, NPD's lobby was turned into a dining hall, and we ate dinner at the sales counter! The BBQ, by the way, was fabulous. Ribs cooked to perfection, chicken cooked through but still very tender, country-style mashed potatoes, and beans laced with chunks of sausage and onion.

As soon as we finished dinner, and spent an hour walking through the NPD Museum, we headed right back to the hotel's heated rooms!

The show concluded Sunday, but we never made it back out to the show field. Sometime during the night, the main water feed pipe to the hotel burst, and we woke to NO water! Translated, that means no brushing teeth, no showers, no coffee, and worst of all, no toilet flushing!

At that point, with the temperature hovering about ten degrees, the only thing to do was warm up our cars, and head for home.

It's difficult enough to host an event of this size when the weather is nice and sunny, but the day was overcast and extremely cold, and the NPD staff deserves a lot of credit for braving the elements, arriving long before we arrived, and staying long after we left!

And the North Central Florida Mustang Club, who hosted the BBQ, also gets a big round of applause, not only for providing a great band and a fabulous meal, but for pulling it all off without even a hiccup!

And for the band, who played outside in sub-freezing temperatures, and who, in spite of the cold, managed to keep their guitar's in tune, we only hope that next year, Mother Nature cooperates!

Daytona Turkey Run

2009-11-29T21:26:00.003-05:00

For many years, the Old Guys have gathered in Daytona for the Thanksgiving weekend Daytona Turkey Run.

Hosted by the Daytona Beach Street Rods, this show draws in the area of 5000 show-quality vehicles, several thousand vendors, and hundreds of cars for sale in the Car Corral.

This year, we got together a day early, arriving Wednesday afternoon. The idea was to beat the crowds on Thursday, and get all our parts and equipoment shopping done early.

And then the cold front moved in, bringing the nighttime temps into the low 40's. Yeah, I know it's no big deal if you live in Michigan, but we're Florida guys, and 42 degrees is COLD for us!

Regardless, after some pizza for dinner Wednesday, we called it a night early, and first thing Thursday morning, we were in our assigned spaces at the Speedway.

An hour later, we walked the swap meet area, picking up most everything on our lists. Then it's typical car show...hang out, and chat with the gang. Same story on Thursday...early to bed...it was too cold to hang around outside, and back at the Speedway early Friday morning.

Friday dinner? We ordered pizza...again! Another early night, and back to the Speedway Saturday morning. Have you noticed a pattern developing?

By Saturday, we'd pretty much seen everything the Speedway had to offer, visited with lots of friends, made a couple new ones, and while Cecil checked all our door prize tickets, the rest of us returned to the hotel.

By Saturday afternoon, it had warmed up considerably, and after a Krystal Burger dinner, we spent the evening curbside, watching the never-ending stream of classics and street rods cruise the beach.

We even took some time out, and discussed our upcoming Route 66 trip. Actually, we added another day, so we can visit the world-famous Pomona Swap Meet as we head east from California.

If you've never been to Daytona over Thanksgiving, make it a priority for 2010. It makes for a perfect weekend, especially if you like pizza!

Daytona Beach Dream Cruise

2009-10-31T17:27:00.006-04:00

When the Old Guys plan a weekend, we make the weekend as long as possible!

That said, we arrived in Daytona Thursday afternoon, even though the official event started Friday evening!

We arrived early for a couple reasons. First, we wanted to visit the Daytona Beach Flea Market early Friday morning, and second, a three-night stay at our beachfront hotel reduced the bill by 10%.

So Thursday evening, we cooked those famous hot sausages they sell at the Speedway during the Turkey Run, each of us had a couple for dinner. We spent the rest of the evening watching for cruisers along A1A. We watched and watched, but saw just a few early birds like us.

Friday morning, we went in search of a breakfast place that Packard Bill recommended. We drove up and down US 1, and after a couple phone calls, finally found It's All Good in Port Orange.

Do yourself a favor, and stop there for breakfast...we ended up there for breakfast again Saturday, and again on Sunday!

After a trip to the Flea Market...clip-on sun glasses for me and Sonny, and other gotta have trinkets for both Packard Bill and Cecil, we returned to the hotel, and watched as the beach became a popular spot for the weekend.

Friday evening, the Old Guys hosted a spaghetti dinner for friends who were staying at the same hotel. It was good, especially the skillet garlic bread cooked by Sonny.

We spent the rest of the evening either cruising along A1A, or hanging out by the cars in the parking lot, and telling the usual alcohol-induced lies we usually get into the conversation.

Saturday morning we had breakfast, then officially registered for the Cruise. Registration time took a whopping fifteen minutes; they seemed to have their act together this year!

Sometime during the day, my brake lights went out, and that meant (for the Old Guys), pulling the front seat, so Packard Bill could get under the dash. It was quickly fixed.

But things got worse as my clutch Z-bar bent, and forced me to put the clutch pedal all the way to the floor to shift gears. Not a big deal, but not fixable without a new Z-bar.

Fortunately, NPD was a Cruise sponsor, and handed out catalogs at Registration. I found the Z-bar I needed, called them, and it was in stock, ready to be shipped. That was easy!

Saturday afternoon, there were car shows all over Daytona Beach, but we opted to cruise up to Bel Air Plaza. There were maybe 75 cars in the lot, but it was early.

We drove down to a lunch spot on the river, had a bite to eat, then cruised up the river to Ormond Beach, and down A1A back to the hotel. If you've never taken that ride, it's highly recommended!

We decided to view the first-run Deuce Of Spades movie being shown at the Aquarium bar in the marina. It was a lotta hype for a much-less-than-mediocre movie!

To really appreciate it, you had to have grown up in the 50's (we did), or you won't be able to relate. And you have to ignore the acting, which left something to be desired.

But, there were moments, especially on the drag strip and on the dry salt lakes, that excelled! And although it was intended to be a relatively serious movie, there were several moments of good humor!

Bottom line...don't expect this one to win any Academy Awards, but see it for what it was intended, and that's a documentary of car folk back when car stuff was just becoming popular.

Sunday morning, as I headed south, the rest of the Old Guys headed out for breakfast again at...you guessed it...It's All Good.

Rick D'Louhy and the Daytona Beach folks that put together the Dream Cruise deserve a lot of credit. You had an opportunity to spend a weekend in Daytona for next to nothing, and attend as much, or like us, as few of the scheduled events as you wanted.

We're already planning for next year's Dream Cruise. Thanks again, Rick!

Show and Concert In The Park

2009-10-19T16:37:00.006-04:00

We went to this show last year, enjoyed it, and had to try it again. We enjoyed it just as much...maybe even more...this year!

The Old Guys met at Cecil's in Altamonte Springs, where we did some odds and ends to the cars, before the 35-minute trip up to the hotel in Mt. Dora.

The cold front was in the process of coming through the area, and that put the skids on any outdoor activities Friday evening.

So we picked up a pizza, and started planning our 2010 summer trip, which will be Route 66...start to finish...for a total of about 7000 miles (more on the trip as the details become etched in stone).

Saturday, it was chilly (to say the least), but a relief after weeks of record-breaking heat in Florida. Kent and his Cruisin' Couples crew did a fabulous job all day.

Registration was fast and efficient, (especially when dealing with well over 200 cars), the vendors had lots to offer, and we were especially impressed with the new Taurus SHO that was on display. Yes, it's priced in the high 40's, but has a lot to offer, including air-conditioned front seats, and a 365 HP, twin-turbo V6.

The live entertainment was also very good, and as they did last year, the awards were hand-made by the club...VERY nice job!

With all there was to do, the day went by quickly, and we were back in the hotel before 4:00. We had already decided to have another pizza for dinner, and we would further discuss our Route 66 trip.

As it turned out, Phil and Nancy came back in the early evening, and we all went to dinner, then chatted the evening away.

Sunday morning, with temps in the high 40's, we headed for home. The convertible tops were NOT down this time, and the heat was on! It's been a while since we've had to do that!

Thanks again for a great show, Kent. I'm sure we'll see you next year!

Tifton, Georgia

2009-06-14T20:20:00.002-04:00

We left the hotel about 7:00 this morning, and headed south on the two-laners. The high point of the day was crossing the mountains on the back roads. A couple of the turns we had to negotiate put the Tail Of The Dragon to shame!

About noon, we passed through Atlanta. We bypassed the bypass, and with Cecil on the point, came right though the gut! We never slowed down, and ran the ten miles in way less than ten minutes!

We were making good time, and expected to make it to Valdosta. About 45 miles north of Tifton, there was some construction, and we came to a full stop. That, combined with the heat, caused us to re-think our destination. Packard Bill called Sheryl, and she found us a hotel in Tifton.
We limped into Tifton right at 3:00, checked in, and went right to the pool…and the Jacuzzi. That was followed by the regularly-scheduled Old Guys nap.

Dinner was across the street, at Texas Jack’s. The BBQ buffet was just $10, and worth every penny of it!

As far as this adventure goes, we’re done! There won’t be any more Old Guys Blog for this trip, nor any more photos.

By the time we get home (which everyone except me will do tomorrow), we’ll all have traveled more than 4000 miles. We visited fifteen states…some were more memorable than others!

Will we do the Tour again next year? Probably not. We’re already talking about The Route 66 Festival show for next September, then driving west on Route 66 until half our money is gone, then we’ll find the interstate, and head back to Florida.

Keep tuned…

Aloca, Tennessee

2009-06-13T22:17:00.002-04:00

This morning, under sunny skies (finally), the Long Hauler awards were presented at Bristol Motor Speedway. Just from looking at the size of the crowd, it doesn’t seem there were any attendance records set!

According to Hot Rod Magazine, there WILL be a Power Tour next year, and it’ll begin the second week of June. They usually announce a few of the cities the Tour will visit, but today, they said that at this point, the route is totally undecided.

This was one of the fastest awards ceremonies ever…after receiving our Long Hauler tin signs, we were out of there at 9:30 AM!

Just before 10:00 AM, we were in the local Cracker Barrel enjoying breakfast. At 10:30, we took to the two-laners, and headed for Alcoa, Tennessee.

For the first couple hours, we drove and drove, only to find we were about ten miles from where we started. Yes, we were lost!

But we got straightened out, and our roundabout route took us through Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville, before arriving at the hotel just after 3:00.

A couple hour nap, and we headed off to the Tail Of The Dragon. During the hour ride to get to the starting point, it rained, and at times, it rained so hard that the rain was blowing sideways. Not good for convertibles, or the Packard!

When the skies cleared somewhat, we continued south, then drove the Tail. If you’re not familiar, the Tail Of The Dragon spans Tennessee and North Carolina, goes up and down a mountain, and has 318 turns in the 11-mile stretch!

We picked up T-shirts and other memorabilia, then found out the only way back to the hotel was back through the Tail, so we did it again, and we all agreed that once would have been more than enough!

At 9:00 PM, we were picking up a few dozen burgers at Krystal’s, and heading back to the room. It was an exceptionally long day, and tomorrow, as we begin our journey south, will be just as long!

Bristol, Tennessee

2009-06-12T19:09:00.004-04:00

Ignition coil. Ignition switch. New radio. Brake booster and master cylinder. Brake line. And today, the granddaddy of them all…an axle bearing!

And that in itself wouldn’t have been a big deal, except that Cecil had to retrieve both the wheel and the axle about a half-mile away!

Here’s what happened. Without warning, the bearing started clunking. We stopped, checked it, and since it was raining (go figure!), decided to drive to somewhere dry for further inspection.

About a mile away, as we traveled south, the wheel and axle passed me going about 60 MPH!
Even though I’ve got recent experience with losing a wheel, it was still a major challenge getting the Cougar stopped!

A friend we met on Route 66 stopped, and since we knew we would never be able to make it to the Speedway, arranged for him to sign us in, and pick up our magnets.

One of the guys that stopped to check on us (Cletus Green) knew the area, and knew there was a hot rod mechanic working at the local Chevrolet dealership. It was towed there.

After Cecil chased all over the metro area for parts, and without going into great detail, I was back on the road about four hours later. You can be sure the mechanic was working by the hour!

We made a quick lunch stop at KFC, and headed for the hotel, with Cecil in the lead…BIG mistake! Twenty miles into the trip, we made a wrong turn! After backtracking almost ten miles, we were on our way again. This time Cecil got banished to the rear, and we relied on all our GPS’s!

It was close to 5:30 when we finally arrived at the hotel. We’re gonna have dinner, and that’s about it for tonight. Tomorrow morning is the Long Hauler awards, and with any luck, we’ll make it to the Speedway without further incident.

You’ve gotta see the pics in the photo album

Somerset, Kentucky

2009-06-11T19:36:00.003-04:00

Last night, just as it was getting dark, the burn out contest began, right on the main drag in front of all the hotels. We went to bed at about 11:00, and they were still going strong!

We set TWO records today…first, we left Dayton in the middle of the heaviest rain storm in their history! Second, we ALL got to the show without having to stop and fix ANYTHING!

In between, just before we left the hotel, Boss Hog checked at the front desk, found out that check out time was 11:00, and asked for a 10:30 wake up call. That’s the last we saw of him!

Kevin, Jen, and the kids, on the other hand, left right on time, and arrived at their appointment with 20 minutes to spare.

The rain stopped when we were about 40 miles from the show venue, the Center For Rural Development (how appropriate for the town we were in). We stopped, and since the temp was approaching the mid 60’s, we put the tops down.

By the time we got to the show field, it was raining again. The Old Guys are tough…we left the tops down, and braved the rain. In hindsight, it wasn’t a very good idea.

We did our usual thing (signed in, and got our magnets), but due to the rain, didn’t take any pics. There’s only a half-dozen in the photo album from today.

Then went into the expo center. We just HAD to try some Menonite fried pie, and it was well worth the $4.

We found our hotel…33 miles away, and on top of a mountain. We took a nap, went to the local truck stop for meat loaf dinner, and after we finish the blog, we’re probably heading for the indoor pool and hot tub, to heal some of the new scrapes, aches, and bruises we’ve picked up today!

Now that we’ve pretty much ended our day, the sun is out, and the temperature in a whopping 70*!

Dayton, Ohio

2009-06-10T20:13:00.004-04:00

Last night, as most nights, the party was in MY room. Kevin, being Kevin, got my cell phone, and set both alarms for sometime in the middle of the night.

But from experience, I know Kevin (he did the same thing to me a couple years ago), so as soon as he left the room, I checked my phone, and turned off the alarm.

At 3:00 AM, I got a wake up call on the room phone. I was gonna call him, but was sure he unplugged his phone, so for now, he’s at least one up on me!

With only a couple hundred miles to travel today, we left Warren about 8:00 AM. It looked like rain, but we put the tops down, anyway.

Kevin got us through Detroit with a minimum amount of delays. And about 45 minutes later, the rains came. We put the tops up, and that was a good thing, since it rained for a couple hours.

After a major traffic jam on the interstate, we stopped for lunch, and the rain stopped. The rest of the way to Dayton was smooth sailing.

The Dayton PD did a great job with traffic control…traffic was stopped for us when we exited the interstate, and again when we entered the show field.

We did our usual thing…signed in, got our magnets, and checked out the cars. We took a pic of Kevin and family in front of the Family Truckster…notice the resemblance between Kevin’s gang and the Griswold’s!

We left the venue, found the hotel (less than ten miles away), and Sonny and Cecil went to pick up his new master cylinder. Kevin and Packard Bill took care of the install, and Sonny and I returned to Advance for a new fitting.

Last night, I had to buy a double-flair tool. Sonny spent a half-hour talking about how cheap it was, how poorly it worked, and how much better his flair tool (at home, of course) was.

Well, this afternoon, he had to borrow mine. Sonny quickly changed his tune, especially after I told him he had to buy it from me! He was on bended-knee...begging! We’ve negotiated a deal, and have agreed that the terms cannot be disclosed. Bottom line…the brakes in Sonny’s Cyclone are fixed!

There’s dozens of restaurants within a couple blocks for the hotel. Everyone wanted to go to a different one. We split up, with Packard Bill, Sonny, Boss Hog and I going to Skyline Chili; a rare treat, since they’re only in the Cleveland area.

Kevin and family went to Olive Garden…how exciting!

Cecil has heartburn, from either White Castle’s last night or the Waffle House today, and passed on dinner. Right now, he’s sleeping!

Boss Hog, Kevin, and the family will be heading back home in the AM. We’ll have breakfast at the Cracker Barrel (only a couple hundred feet from our rooms), and head for Somerset, Kentucky.

With the temps warming up, and the skies clearing, we’ll surely have the tops down in the AM, and run as much of the two-laners as we can.

Warren, Michigan

2009-06-09T22:47:00.002-04:00

One of the Old Guys is negotiating to buy the Studebaker station wagon. The question is, which one is it?

First thing this morning…well, 7:30 AM, we were at Advance picking up my brake booster. It looked like it was the right one. At 8:00, we were at SR 23, taking the engine compartment apart. Long story short, we were back on the road about 11:30, and my brakes worked just fine.

We had some time to make up, so that meant we had to exceed the posted speed limit, but just slightly. We were heading for the hotel first, and along the way, several cars joined in with us, thinking we were heading for the show. When the realized where were heading, they were pissed, and we should probably watch our backs for the next couple days!

About 3:30, we arrived in Warren, met up with Boss Hog, Kevin, and the rest of the Strall extended family, checked into the hotel, and then went to the show.

Held right on the lakeshore, it was a great place to have a show, but not so great trying to get in or out of it. And we’ve decided there is NO Long Hauler parking…we were a longgggg way from the midway!

We did our usual punch our ticket, pick our MSD magnets, and then headed back to the hotel. That’s when I noticed my brake pedal getting softer and softer. Quick diagnosis…they left a bleeder loose when adjusting the brakes this morning.

Back at the hotel, I found out I was wrong. One of the rear brake lines was broken. And Sonny’s brake pedal was also soft. Bottom line, it cost us a couple Crave Cases to con Kevin into taking care of it for us.

Bottom, bottom line…after Kevin custom-made a brake line with unequal-sized fittings, he installed it, and bled the brakes. Now I’m good to go. Sonny, on the other hand, needs a master cylinder. A quick call to Eric at Advance in South Bend, and there will be a master cylinder waiting for us tomorrow in Dayton.

Oh yeah, and at the end of the evening, there were only a few burgers left in the Crave Cases!
This is an exceptionally long day for the Old Guys, as well as a late night for us. I doubt we’ll be on the road very early tomorrow!

South Bend, Indiana

2009-06-08T18:30:00.005-04:00

The thunderstorms began in the middle of the night, and continued as we left Racine. We were on the road at 5:30 AM, and that’s local time, and not Jax time!

To whomever commented about getting a Kringle in Racine, THANK YOU! A Kringle is an authentic Danish pastry, more than a foot in diameter, light as air, and filled with your choice of many different fruit toppings. You can visit them on the internet at the OH Danish Bakery, and they will ship them anywhere. And they've got cakes, pies,and other high octane stuff, too!

How good are they, you ask? Well, we’ve already gone through TWO of them!

We planned to take the Chicago bypass, which takes longer, but has less traffic, and that’s a good thing with the condition of my brakes.

As soon as we exited for the bypass, there was an accident, and traffic was backed up for a couple miles. It took us about an hour to get past it!

We arrived in South Bend, went to Advance Auto Parts, and picked up Sonny’s new air shocks. Our plan was to do Sonny’s shocks this afternoon after the show, and my brake booster tomorrow morning. And none of us looked forward to that!

The cars needed a bath (except Packard Bill‘s, of course), and we headed for the coin operated wash. We missed the turn, and would have to drive several blocks to turn around, when Cecil did what he does best…made a totally illegal U-turn, drove down a one-way street, and entered the car wash. You should have seen the semi driver’s eyes as we approached him going the wrong way!

We went to the show, and had the same parking problem as yesterday…there was NO Long Hauler parking!

But there WAS some good food, including beef tip sandwiches, and strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Eric, the Advance parts guy, met us on the show field, and brought along a couple of his buddies. While we were talking to them, they realized just how old we really are, and offered to do our repairs for us.

What did they want in return? Just our assurance that if they ever came to Florida, we would do the same for them!

A couple phone calls later, and we were at the 23 Garage, where Frick and Frack took over, and had Sonny’s shocks installed in no time!

Tomorrow morning, I’ll pick up the booster at Advance at 7:30, be at the garage at 8:00, start stripping off some parts, and at 8:30, Frick and Frack will get there, and finish off the job. And ALL the Old Guys appreciate that!

Racine, Wisconsin

2009-06-07T19:26:00.002-04:00

The road to Racine was paved with a couple problems…Sonny’s air shocks took a dump, and my brake booster is failing (rapidly). More about that later.

We had plenty of time to drive the 100+ mile trip to Racine, so we stayed on the two-laner’s all the way. And along the way, a couple of the towns offered food and beverage. We stopped, but didn’t eat, since we planned on lunch at Gus’s Drive In.

We got to Gus’s before they opened, so we spent some time on Main Street, watching the cars pass by.

When Gus opened, we were ready, and we were fed well! The half-pound burgers were the best we’ve ever had, and the fries were just as good. Three of us had Ford Burgers, and one had the Heavy Chevy Burger…guess who? We took some pics, including one of Gus next to the Packard, got some T-shirts and hats, and headed towards Racine.

When we arrived at the venue, which is right on the shore of Lake Michigan, the parking was a disaster! Although there was plenty of Long Hauler parking on the waterfront, we were directed downtown, about a half-mile away.

We signed in, walked around for a little while, and headed back to the hotel, where Sonny made arrangements to have his shocks delivered to South Bend tomorrow morning, and my booster (loaded, of course) will be there Tuesday morning.

Tuesday will be a garage day (morning) for the Old Guys, as we do a pair of shocks, a brake booster and a master cylinder. And we’ll still have time to make it to the venue…I hope!
No, the Cougar’s not for sale. This fix is a mere $100, which is a whole lot less than the last fix, which was the radio.

This has been the Tour with the most mechanical problems, and we’re only two days into it!

Madison Show

2009-06-06T19:06:00.003-04:00

It was bound to happen, as it does on EVERY Power Tour, and it did this morning, just as we arrived at the Alliant Energy Center…it began raining. Not a storm, or even rain by Florida standards, but a drizzle; just enough to be annoying. Add that to the already-very-cold temperatures, and it felt like it was gonna snow!

We were amongst the first to enter the show field, and the traffic behind us never slowed, quickly filling a couple thousand parking spaces. Hot Rod mentioned that there were more pre-registered vehicles this year than any year in the past.

A little rain doesn’t dampen the Old Guys’ spirits, especially since we were looking forward to collecting all the freebies the vendors would be handing out.

There were hats from Edlebrock and 104 Octane Boost, T-shirts from the Chrome Insurance Company (honest Carol, I DIDN’T buy it!), magnets from MSD, goody bags from Toyo Tires, and pens, key chains, and other semi-useless trinkets from everyone else!

We watched the autocross competition that’s part of the Tour. It’s a coned off area with lots of turns, and the best ET will receive something from Peak Antifreeze, plus braggin‘ rights. Even though that’s not much to brag about, there were still dozens of entrants!

We tried to get Packard Bill to enter, but he’s holding out for the drag strip that we’ll be visiting in a couple days.

Even though the show continues to sometime past six this evening, by noon we’d had enough excitement for one day, and headed for lunch. After lunch, we came back to the hotel, and each of us made two piles from all the stuff we collected…junk and trash.

We’re keeping the junk, and giving the trash to the hotel’s garbage system. Anyone want a couple Danica Patrick posters? How ’bout a few dozen decals?

The Old Guys try not to miss our daily nap, so we got one in this afternoon. And tonight, while Sonny and Cecil head out for some schnitzel, Packard Bill and I will probably be dining in, and working on tomorrow’s route to Racine.

All the Old Guys say hi, and be sure to check out the show photos in the album.

Madison Pre-registration

2009-06-05T18:14:00.003-04:00

With little to do today, and lots of time to do it, we still got a whole lot accomplished. Early this morning, we had the Rodeway Inn’s version of breakfast, then went to the local do-it-yourself car wash, and did some well-needed cleaning. Even Packard Bill did his version of car detailing…he actually cleaned his windshield!

Then it was off to O’Reilly’s, where I got a starter button to replace my (take your choice) ignition switch or neutral-safety switch. It was a relatively quick parking lot fix.

At lunchtime, while a few of us went to the fast food joint down the street, Packard Bill continued to eat left-overs from Interstate BBQ.

We still had some time to kill before the 2:00 PM pre-registration at the Alliant Energy Center, so Sonny and Ceil did the laundry. Cecil is a first-class laundry folder!

We’re only a couple miles from the show, so we drove over, registered, bought some T-shirts (sorry, Carol and Sheryl) saw a few people we knew from years’ past, made a couple new friends, and then came back to the hotel.

Tomorrow morning, we’ll be on the show field at 9:00 AM. In typical Old Guys fashion, we’ll do the required check in, get all the freebies, and I’m sure we’ll be back at the hotel by noon, writing the Blog! And WITH a page of photos!

Madison, Wisconsin

2009-06-04T18:27:00.003-04:00

We got an early, brisk (it was about 50*) start this morning, heading north on I-55 into Illinois.

About 50 miles south of Springfield, we headed off the interstate, and traveled a portion of Route 66.

We were looking for the Route 66 Diner, when Packard Bill saw Toni's Restaurant, and made a quick left turn into the parking lot. We parked along with four other classic cars...a Corvair, a Shelby kit car, A Buick GN, and a Camaro.

Breakfast was great, and we learned that two of the four classic guys there were also going on the Power Tour. We'll find them at the show on Saturday.

We stopped at the Coliseum Dance Hall (supposed to have been a gambling and prostitution place back in the 40's and 50's), took a picture (see above), then headed back to the interstate.

Cecil took the lead, and a few miles up the road, he saw a classic car junk yard. Even though it was right on the highway, it was a half-hour drive to get there...single lane, and the last quarter-mile was almost impossible to navigate.

This place was nothing but junk...rusted bodies, partial interiors, most with no engines, but at frame-off restoration prices! We didn't stay there very long.

We arrived at the hotel, only to find that there's no internet in the rooms. So the hotel gave us a meeting room with internet access, and here we are.

Tomorrow is the Power Tour pre-registration. We're just a few miles from the show field. It's gonna be an easy day...clean the cars (except Packard Bill, of course), then register. And then there will be plenty of time left to party!

Arnold, Missouri

2009-06-03T19:08:00.003-04:00

It doesn't matter what time we say we're leaving the hotel, because we all seem to gravitate to our cars just before first light anyway.

I won't even bother to tell you what time we left, because it had nothing to do with either Florida OR local time!

We made a stop in Carbon Hill (that's in Alabama), and while Packard Bill paid his respects up on the hill, the rest of us had egg and cheese biscuits at the Carbon Hill Cafe.

Then we stopped at the local NAPA, and got a new O-ring for Cecil's leaking PS pump. The NAPA guy had to go through a couple thousand rings before he found the right one. It was a quick fix.

We motored through the rest of Alabama, cut across Mississippi, and stopped for lunch at Interstate BBQ in Memphis, Tennessee (see the pic above). Interstate claims they're the #2 BBQ place in the country, but we've been to the alleged #1 in North Carolina, and it ain't half as good as Interstate!

Good food is an understatement. It's so good that Sonny ordered a pound of baked beans as a side dish, and Packard Bill and Cecil got another order of ribs to go.

After lunch, we traveled through the rest of Tennessee, then Arkansas, and finally landed in Arnold, Missouri...about 30 miles south of St. Louis.

Our dinner plan is a Crave Case, and if you don't know what it is, ask anyone who has a love affair with White Castle's.

Mileage so far...Sonny has logged more than 1500 miles already. The rest of us have to do some cyphering to figure out how far we've gone, and we'll do that tomorrow afternoon.

Gas prices...until this afternoon, all regular fuel ,once we left Florida, has been about $2.35. Up here in Arnold, it's about $2.50.

It'll be another early night for us. We're outa here at first light (Florida time, okay!), for the final travel day before the start of the Hot Rod Power Tour.

Birmingham

2009-06-02T20:39:00.003-04:00

We left Lake City, drove I-75 to Valdosta, had breakfast at Cracker Barrel, then drove the two-laner's for a couple hundred miles, then I-65 to Birmingham. Not very exciting, huh?

So lets turn it up a notch. I spent most of the day messing with the radio in the Cougar, and it just wouldn't work.

So when we got to Birmingham, I went to Best Buy, and bought a new one. Then, while Packard Bill and Sonny replaced my negative battery terminal, Cecil and I installed the radio. Aside from a shorted wire (still don't know where it's supposed to be), the install was flawless, and the new radio DOES play. Now all I have to do is learn how to work it!

It was pizza for dinner (delivered to the room, of course), and here we are. We'll be up VERY early tomorrow...it's Interstate BBQ day, so we'll be in Memphis for lunch. Then it's off to Arnold, Missouri for the night.

No pics today. We saw plenty of great photo op's, but at 70-80 MPH, we just blew by them! I can promise some pics from Interstate, but we probably won't take any more until Friday or Saturday.

We've still got some map research to do, but we've also gotta be on the road at 5:30 AM, and we've got over 500 miles to drive.

We seem to be having a problem with the time change. Are we using Florida time, or the correct time, which is an hour earlier. To me in's a no brainer...we're in Brimingham, so we use Birmingham time.

But it's not that simple. One of us maintains that since we just left Florida, he's still on Florida time! It took us an hour, and tons of side-splitting laughter, for all of us to get on the same page! I only wish we had recorded that conversation!

Now, there's no telling what time we're meeting at the cars, what time we're leaving, and I've got a feeling we'll arrive at Interstate BBQ about an hour before they open!

Oh yeah, and the Club Drunk is feeling pretty good, and I'm talkin' about his ribs, and not his alcohol state.

Much more tomorrow.

Lake City

2009-06-01T20:18:00.004-04:00

Trouble always seems to come in three's...yesterday it was Cecil and Packard Bill, and today it was my turn!

It started for me about 20 miles up the Turnpike, when the safety catch on my hood unlatched. That was a quickie fix.

But then, about halfway between Yeehaw and Kissimmee, on that desolate stretch of the Turnpike, my engine died.

I coasted off the road, and Sonny, Cecil and I determined that it was the coil.

Packard Bill, who was just ahead of us, made the trip to Kissimmee, picked up a replacement, and came back. Cecil jogged across the Turnpike, got nailed by a bunch of fire ants, and picked it up as Bill was southbound. Fortunately, there was a police turnaround that Bill made use of. Otherwise, he would have had to drive all the way back to Yeehaw, and make a U-turn.

Regarless, we lost two hours there, but once we resumed cruisin' north, we made up for some of that lost time.

Lunch was at Steak 'N Shake in Ocala, and we made a stop at NPD...I got a new coil (high voltage), and Cecil got a wheel center cap.

We left NPD, and my radio took a dump. There's a slight chance I'll be able to fix it, and if not, you can be sure I'll have a new one soon!

The hour-and-a-half ride to Lake City was during the hottest part of the day. By the time we got to the hotel, there was only ONE option...the pool! And not long after we got in, they kicked us out, to add some chemicals.

We cleaned the love bugs off the cars at the pressure-washing place, and while Sonny, Cecil and I picked up some stuff at Walmart, Packard Bill picked up a supply of Krystal Burgers for our dinner.

We'll be calling it a night very soon. We're headed for Birmingham in the morning, and we've gotta be on the road by 7:00.

And there's no pics to add to the photo album today. Think about it. What IS there in Lake City that you would even take the time to take a picture of?

Cars of Dreams Show

2009-05-31T18:11:00.006-04:00

In typical Old Guys fashion, the Power Tour doesn't begin until next Saturday, but we're already on the road!

Phil and Nancy, along with the Old Guys, attended the Cars of Dreams Museum benefit show today in West Palm Beach, Florida.

After a filling breakfast at the Old Dixie Cafe (we're definitely going back tomorrow), we traveled down the beach to the show.

First on the agenda was the Old Guys presenting Donnie with the Lug Nut award, which he is so deserving of. It brought a good laugh from all those involved!

Ultimately, there were more than 300 cars on the show field, and that in itself was a treat.

But the real treat was the museum! It's not open to the public, but was opened today as South East Rods & Customs hosted a benefit show there.

There's maybe 75 cars on display, and EVERY ONE is a perfect example of its marquee. But as neat as the cars are, the setting they're in is just as neat! A description won't do it justice; you've gotta visit the Old Guys photo album, and see for yourself (sorry for some blurry photos...they didn't come out well in the darkness)! There's also a Model A Museum, and we toured that also.

By the end of the day, we were ALL ready to head for home, which in our case, is a hotel room in Jupiter.

Here's some stats...Sonny fell in the bathtub, and probably cracked a few ribs. I doubt you'll be hearing him say, "put me in coach" anytime soon.

Cecil is the first vehicle casualty, breaking a power steering fitting as we pulled into the hotel parking lot. Also, the big-block clutch fan Cecil put on especially for the Power Tour took a dump, but beleive it or not, Advance had all the parts, including the muffler clamp Packard Bill needed to repair his tailpipe hanger.

It's pizza time for the Old Guys...just ONE large for the four of us, and for the first time ever, it was all we could eat!

In the morning, we'll have a late...at least, late for the Old Guys...breakfast, then head for Lake City, with a stop at NPD in Ocala along the way. We're looking at 4000+ miles this trip...let's hope it goes without incident!

Pre-Cars of Dreams Party

2009-05-30T20:21:00.003-04:00

In typical Old Guys fashion, the Power Tour starts a week from today, and the party has already begun.

Phil and Nancy, as well as the Old Guys, met in Jupiter, and will be attending the Cars of Dreams Museum show in West Palm Beach tomorrow.

But today, happy hour started a little early, and continued until it was time to stagger across the street, and have dinner at Duffy's.

After a filling dinner, the party sorta died, and after we post this, we're calling it a night!

Tomorrow's breakfast will be at the Old Dixie Cafe at 7:00 AM. No photos tonight, but be sure to check back tomorrow, when we try and post the show pics.

The Decision Is Made!

2009-05-28T08:15:00.004-04:00

After thrashing on the '68 for the past five weeks, I've run out of time, and decided that it's best to take the '70 Cougar (the blue Cougar on the left) on the Hot Rod Power Tour.

The '70 has been on at least a half-dozen Power Tour's, and having owned it for more than fifteen years, I pretty much know it inside and out.

The '68, on the other hand, is new to me, and now has a new engine, transmission, and other mods that are still unproven.

So the '68 will sit home in the garage, and when I return in a couple weeks, I'll get back to work on it. Maybe it'll be ready to go NEXT year!

The rest of the Old Guys are ready to go, and we'll be meeting in Jupiter Saturday afternoon, eagerly awaiting the Cars of Dreams show Sunday morning.

We'll have time Saturday afternoon to surf the internet, and find some unique diner's and drive in's to visit for lunch every day as we head north (Interstate BBQ in Memphis is already on the list, and programmed into our GPS's), and maybe even a couple neat places to visit.

Monday morning, we're heading out, and you can follow along. We plan to update this Blog on a daily basis. Time permitting, we'll also post daily pics in the Photo Album.

And if you happen to do a portion of the Tour, be sure to look us up!

Home Again...Finally!

2009-05-25T06:06:00.004-04:00

Because of the holiday, I was expecting the replacement wheel to arrive sometime Tuesday afternoon.

I was pleasantly surprised Friday, when UPS delivered it! Since it was coming from California, and they're three hours ahead of us, it was on the plane Wednesday afternoon, and here less than 48 hours later!

I took it right to the tire shop Friday afternoon, and had the new tire mounted and balanced.

Sunday morning, I took the wheel and tire to Donnie's shop, where he was doing some wet-sanding on the new paint.

By late Sunday afternoon, the Cougar was back at home, resting comfortably in the garage. This morning, the thrashing continues, and I've got lots to do.

We launch for the Hot Rod Power Tour Friday morning, and I'm determined to make it!

There's a couple new photos in the Photo Album...one of the front of the Cougar, and one of the engine.

With Only A Week To Go...

2009-05-22T05:54:00.002-04:00

The plan has changed...for about the TENTH time!

Wednesday, I found out the wheel was cracked, and couldn't be repaired! Locating a new wheel locally was impossible, so I went to the source manufacturer, California Pony Cars.

Yes, they would sell me one, and yes, it could be shipped third-day air.

Meanwhile, Donnie primed, sanded, primed, sanded, and then painted the fender. Remember that since the color isn't a prefect match, the clear had to be tinted, and then blended into the door.

Yesterday, Charlie and I spent a couple hours fitting the NEW fender to the OLD body, which took a pretty good jolt when the wheel and tire came off. Unfortunately, we couldn't get it to line up as well as we...no, I wanted! But if the '68 is going on the Hot Rod Power Tour, it'll have to suffice.

Back to the wheel. Third-day air would have put it here on Saturday, but because Monday is a holiday, there won't be a Saturday delivery! That means I get it Tuesday afternoon.

Once I get the wheel, I have to take it to Ft. Lauderdale, have the new tire mounted and balanced, then take it to West Palm Beach, and put it on the '68.

The new plan is better. I'm going to take two wheels and tires off the '70, take them to Donnie's, and after he wet sand's and buffs, put them on the '68.

That'll give me a couple days of engine break in before heading to Orlando next Friday, then home again on Saturday.

Talk about cutting it close!

Tryin' To Get It Done...Again!

2009-05-16T06:21:00.007-04:00

About three weeks ago, we began working on the '68 Cougar, planning to have it finished before the June 1st start of the Hot Rod Power Tour. The photo at left is the condition of the engine compartment when we started.

There was lots to do...rebuild the engine, clean up the engine compartment, add a GTE-type hood scoop, and re-paint (actually blend) the hood and fender tops.

And there were problems along the way...the heads needed new studs (twice), the paint didn't match (Donnie blended it to perfection), and other assorted minor problems that are too numerous to mention right now! The work, thanks to Donnie and Charlie, was finished last Wednesday.

I drove the '68 out of Donnie's shop last Wednesday, and headed for home. There was still quite a bit of work to be done, and Thursday morning, it would be road-tested on a drive to Orlando, where I would meet up with a couple of the Old Guys, and finish it up.

Well, I headed southbound for about a half-mile, when the drivers' side front wheel and tire suddenly, after shredding the newly-painted fender, headed northbound! The fender is ruined. The wheel is slightly bent, but the tire held pressure, and may be okay. Plus, there's a few new dings on the door, the hood, and the cowl. All because the lug nuts were ratchet-tight, but NOT torqued.

Determined to have it finished in the next two weeks, I located a near-mint fender at Harwood's Cougar Parts (thanks, Vince!) in Plant City, and Cecil and Sonny picked it up for me, meeting me about halfway from home.

The fender is now at Donnie's. The wheel can be repaired, and will be ready the middle of the week. And as of now, the '68 WILL make the almost-5000-mile Hot Rod Power Tour, from Michigan to Tennessee!

I've added some photos to the albums, and will add more as work progresses.

SSCC All-Cougar Show

2009-03-29T20:15:00.004-04:00

A couple of the Old Guys have Cougar's (the four-wheel variety), but we're ALL members of the Sunshine State Cougar Club.

As we've done for years (more than we care to count), we've attended the Spring Daytona Beach show at the Speedway.

This year we planned the Missing Man formation (we sit at the bar, order his favorite beverage, and place it in front of an empty bar stool) for Packard Bill, who wouldn't be attending.

So at 10:00 Friday morning, it was no big surprise to hear from Packard Bill, telling me he was on the way to Daytona. The only thing that keeps an Old Guy from attending an official event is a funeral, and then only when it's their own!

We met up at lunchtime at the Speedway, which was slowly...VERY slowly...filling up with cars. From there, it was lunch at the local Steak 'N Shake (an Old Guys favorite), and then off to the hotel, where we began Happy Hour(s) a little early. The SSCC hosted a pizza party in the evening, and we managed to down a few slices!

Saturday morning, we convoyed to the Speedway, and immediately headed for the swap meet area. It seems the internet, the economy, and the lack of show cars on the field has taken its toll on the vendors...there weren't many at all, and that's sad, because it's always nice to see an item in person, rather than just a picture on the internet.

Saturday evening was a spaghetti dinner (great job, Cynthia and Bill) back at the hotel, followed by the awards, door and raffle prizes, and an extended cocktail hour that ended just a couple minutes shy of midnight!

The rain moved into the area in the middle of the night, bringing violent thunderstorms and heavy rain, and slowing down the ride home in the morning.

I don't know how the Speedway crew plans to deal with the declining number of show cars, but it's a cycle...fewer show cars cause fewer vendors to attend, and when fewer vendors attend, the number of show cars decreases.

It didn't affect the Cougar Club show...we can have fun ANYWHERE, and to say the least, we ALL did!

Billetproof Welcome Party

2009-03-21T06:25:00.007-04:00

When the Old Guys say to be somewhere at a certain time, you can expect a couple of them will arrive a half-hour early! Being on time means you'll surely be the last one to arrive, and even though a couple of us arrived in Ocala twenty minutes early, we were...as usual...last!

A trip to Ocala wouldn't be complete without two stops...Steak 'N Shake, and National Parts Depot. As always, we visited both, and I picked up some much-needed parts for the new '68.

Then it was off to the hotel, where we parking lot swapped out the grille on my wagon. That would be the grille that the guy driving the Hummer backed into a couple months ago. The new grille looks great, and functions perfectly.

Last year, we went to the Nowhere Pub for the Billetproof Welcome Party. We went again this year, only earlier, and were among the first few to eat the five-dollar BBQ chicken, beans...double portion, please, and cole slaw dinner.

The parking lot was full, with nearly 100 very cool cars. Consider it a smapling of the BIG show at Don Garlits Museum on Saturday.

The Old Guys met the owner of Nowhere, and he said he's planning a monthly car show at the Pub. We might have to make that a future Old Guys Weekend!

It's morning now, and we're waiting for Rat Rod Steve to arrive. There's lots of cool cars in the hotel parking lot (including ours!)...a lot more than were here last year!

If the crowd at Nowhere last night, and the parking lot this morning are any indication, we're in for a GREAT show today!

We'll let you know this evening...

WinterFest 2009

2009-02-24T05:35:00.005-05:00

FlaCarShows.com is the WinterFest host, and the show is held in Cocoa the third weekend of February.

This year, there was a Friday evening cruise in, and a Top 30 participant-judged show on Saturday.

Cruise in and car show participation was well above last year, and those attending commented positively about the show, and a good time was had by all!

Unfortunately, due to a previous commitment, ex-Senator...now Congressman...Bill Posey was unable to attend, but he DID find time to call, and express his unhappiness about not being able to be there. He will, however, be at WinterFest 2010, and has already marked his calendar!

My thanks to ALL who attended, as well as those from the 2009 Marquee Club, South East Rods & Customs.

BIG thanks go to the Old Guys, who arrived early to help with the prep work, and who insured that the show ran smoothly...your efforts ARE appreciated!

Photos from WinterFest are coming soon.

Next month, the Old Guys are headed to Ocala, where Packard Bill will display his '49 Packard, and son Steve will display his Billetproof award-winning Chevy Rat Rod.

TitusNites - Downtown Titusville

2009-01-05T06:31:00.006-05:00

Even though it's a few hundred mile round-trip for the Old Guys, it's always worth the ride to attend the First-Saturday-Of-Every-Other-Month downtown Titusville cruise in!

At about 3:00 in the afternoon, the downtown streets are closed, then re-opened to classics, antiques, muscle cars, pro street's, and specialty vehicles, and they're ALL nice cars!

The shops and restaurants and shops stay open late, and that's part of the reason the show attracts as many cars as it does. That, and that the local businesses offer eight $50 cash prize drawings at the end of the evening!

The Old Guys arrived in Titusville just after noon, and as we always do, made a stop at the local BBQ joint.

This time it was Louie's BBQ Shack, located on US 1 in Mims, just north of Titusville. The BBQ was very good, and we've added it to our 'We Rate The 'Que' page.

We had plenty of time to check into our Titusville hotel, then take the fifteen-minute scenic drive to downtown.

We were there early enough to stake out some good parking, and were joined by Rob and Dawn, Swami and Biscuit, and the other Packard Bill, who brought his newly-painted Olds.

The first hour was spent handing out about 300 WinterFest flyers, the second hour-plus was for looking at a few hundred cars we don't often (if ever) get to see, and then it was time for more important things...the girls go shopping, and the guys sit around telling stories, most of which we've heard a dozen times before! And we were so busy talkin' that I never even took the camera out of the car, so there's no pictures for our album.

As the sun set, the temp quickly dropped, and it quickly became jacket weather. Some of the group opted for dinner, but the Old Guys called it a night, and headed for the hotel.

We had dinner, then spent the rest of the evening...until I fell asleep...watching the wild card football game.

First thing in the morning, as we always do, it was breakfast at Carcker Barrel, then as Packard Bill headed for the Bushnell Swap Meet, Sonny headed north while I went south. And when I stopped for fuel, it was a pleasure to spend $35 to fill the tank, and not the $80 I spend just six months ago!

It was a typical Old Guys laid-back, non-eventful weekend, but we're planning to turn it up a notch this coming weekend at Silver Springs!

Hooters Benefit Car Show - Melbourne

2008-12-07T15:55:00.003-05:00

The Zachary Project is unique in that it provides assistance to firefighters and their families in their time of need, so when we found about the local Hooters in Melbourne hosting a benefit fundraiser, the Old Guys planned to attend.

We considered it a short trip, being less than a couple hundred miles each way, so we would drive to Melbourne in the morning, attend the show, and then spend the night.

The weather was perfect, as was the drive. There were nearly 100 cars on the show field, which the organizers considered a success, since this event was planned just a few weeks ago.

It's always good to attend a show, and see vehicles you've never seen before. This show was no exception...lots of very cool rides, and lots of really nice folks to hang out with!

Of course, we bought 50/50 tickets. Of course, we didn't win. And of course, later in the evening, we bought lottery tickets. And of course, as always (unless you count a three-number winner for a few dollars), we didn't win that, either!

On the way to the hotel, we stopped at the Andretti Thrill Park, after hearing there was a go-kart track there that was just the ticket for the Old Guys, who have raced on the longest go-kart track in the country (1-1/2 miles in Shepherdsville, Kentucky), and drove the most powerful production karts available, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Big disappointment! With the track so short, there is no straightaway long enough to get up to a decent speed, and that's just too much restraint required for the Old Guys!

So it was off to the hotel, a visit to the Early Bird at Golden Corral, and we spent the evening watching Florida spank Georgia! Life is good!

Daytona Turkey Run

2008-12-05T14:57:00.006-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting, but the Old Guys DO have priorities, and until now, this wasn't one of them! Here's the story about the Daytona Turkey Run:

Its become a tradition. Every Thanksgiving weekend, the Old Guys are at the Speedway in Daytona for the Turkey Run.

If you've never attended, we park amongst more than 5000 show-quality vehicles, wander through more than 4000 vendors, and check out about a thousand way-overpriced cars for (Thursday prices are always MUCH higher than Sunday prices) sale in the car corral.

When we're not walking around, we're hanging out by our cars, eating (and drinking) way too much because we think that out two-to-three mile walks each day will burn off those calories...wrong!

For many years, we stayed on the beach, with the rest of the gang. Five years ago, when the evening activities were moved to the Speedway (and the beach hotels had nearly priced themselves out of the market), we moved inland, too.

We found a very reasonable hotel just ten minutes from the Speedway, and set up camp there. Did I mention that it was just up the street from the local watering hole, where the Old Guys set up their evening camp.

This year was going to be different. We took twenty-five preferred parking spaces, and offered them to anyone interested in parking with us. We even offered to cook hot dogs and sausages for those that attended. All the spaces filled quickly...on paper, that is. During the weekend, many failed to show up. Oh well, more room and food for those who did!

Next year is going to be different, too, but in a better way. We've found a reasonable beachside (even more reasonable than where we've been staying) hotel, and have already started booking our rooms for 2009.

And we WON'T be involved in the preferred club parking...the Old Guys will be parking with another car club. And we WON'T be cooking Saturday lunch on the grill, either. That other club will be taking care of that, too!

Now all we've gotta do is find a watering hole beachside, unless Cecil already has. Who knows...we may never leave the beach! C'mon, Thanksgiving 2009!

The Old Guys Reunion

2008-09-20T17:24:00.003-04:00

It's been in the planning stages for months...little did we know it was going to be a true reunion of the Old Guys!

FOUR Old Guys...not the usual THREE that have traveled for the past eighteen months...met in Longwood to attend a cruise in and a car show.

The fourth was Cecil, and without going into detail, he's back!

The Reunion basically marks the start of the fall car show season, and gives the Old Guys plenty of reasons to meet up, and of course, party a little. Well, a little is about as much as an Old Guy can!

We spent the afternoon poolside at the hotel, and later in the evening, with lower temperatures, no humidity, and a decent breeze, we attended the Casselberry cruise in. Needless to say, dinner was at Firehouse Subs.

The Old Guys learned a long time ago that at our age, we can't party two nights in a row, and after the cruise in, we returned to the hotel, and after a couple hours, called it a night! Don't be concerned, we'll make up for it tonight!

Saturday morning, we headed for Orlando, and the OCSO 9/11 Memorial Show. Car problems started immediately; my wagon wouldn't start. Figuring a dead battery, we tried jumper cables. No luck there!

But when we jumped the terminals of the started solenoid, it started right up. A couple whacks with a substitute for a hammer, and it appeared to be fixed.

Not to be taking chances, however, a replacement was picked up at Advance Auto for $10, and ultimately replaced on the show field.

And at the show, which was well-attended, we met up with a good possibility of a new Old Guy. Curt has a realy nice '32 Ford, and hopes to retire in the next couple years. Once we talked for a while, we found he fits the Old Guys' requirements to a tee!

As we usually do, we left the show early, stopped for lunch, and then returned back to the hotel. A couple hour nap, and all of us should be ready for tonight's activity...a visit to the Post Time Lounge.

I felt it is in our best interest do write now, rather than try and do it after our visit to the Post Time. And anybody who doesn't understand why, shouldn't take the time to read our blogs!

Woodward Dream Cruise

2008-08-24T19:52:00.003-04:00

This was SUPPOSED to be an Old Guys trip, but a couple of us Old Guys, in fear of outrageous fuel prices, backed out.

Packard Bill, the only REAL trooper of the gang, decided he was still going, and here's his story:

Got back on Wednesday. Went a total of 3452 miles, spent $654.16 in gas, average was about $3.69 per gallon, with the hydogen, got the best mileage at about 23.46 MPG, with average for the whole trip being 19.1 MPG. Had Packard lag by the time I got back, but all in all a great trip.

On the way there, stoped at Smoky Pig (Bowling Green, KY), wanted ribs, but they were all out, settled for a pulled pork sandwich. (take it or leave it). Then on to the Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio. They loved the Packard and wanted me to come back at the time of the Packard show in July.

Made my way to Michagan for the Cruise, was great! Forty thousand show cars, over a million spectators, the biggest one day car event in the USA. Had a ball! Being from Michigan, visited with family and friends on Sunday. But all things come to an end and had to start back.

Made my way to South Bend, Indiana and stopped at the Studebaker National Museum. Three levels and about 60+ cars. Glad I stopped.

So now on my way home started to worry about the drive and the weather, as Tropical Storm Faye had me thinking about what was happend at home. Kept in touch with family to make sure I was not getting myself into a bad rain storm.

So decided to make my way to Mephis TN, to stop at Interstate Bar-B-Que and got to be good friends with Jim Neely! Had a pulled pork sandwich, which was great, so then decided to get a order of Ribs to go, for dinner and breakfest the next day! After a good time and a full belly, made my way to Carbon Hill, AL to say hi to dad. Not being a very flower person, l left him a few BBQ rib bones, knew he would love that. (RIP).

So figure it was the best time to skirt my way thru the stormy south. Headed for home and took wrong road out of Birmingham AL, (yes, even with the GPS! It did not know the way I wanted to go.) So for the better part of the day made my way to Tifton GA.

So Wednesday took the final leg home, opting not to stop at Hungry Harrys, which was very hard to do. Had little rain but some wind. And made it home with little incident.

A trip of a life time, would have been better with friends. So whats next? I think we have a few trips planned.

Destination Daytona Weekend

2008-08-17T19:44:00.002-04:00

While Packard Bill enjoyed the comfortable days and cool nights outside Detroit at the Woodward Dream Cruise, the other Old Guys took in a local favorite, the monthly Destination Daytona Cruise In.

If you've never visited Destination Daytona, you've gotta do it! It's one of Bruce Rossmeyer's many Harley dealerships, but it's more than just a motorcycle store!

There's a couple restaurants, a couple bars, an outside food court, several shops, businesses, a concert pavillion, a hotel, condos, and more!

Cecil lives in Ormond. Sonny and I, knowing that the weekend might include a cocktail or two, opted to stay right at the Destination Daytona Hotel. We originally planned to meet at the Daytona Swap Meet first, but the plan changed when Sonny's clutch rod took a dump.

No problem...the fix, although temporary, was quick, and then it was lunch in a local hamburger joint...great burgers, and excellent fries.

Later that evening, Cecil led the pub crawl through some of the beach area lounges, and a quick stop at the hotel we're staying in when we re-visit in October, for the Dream Cruise.

We finished up Friday evening in true Old Guys tradition...the Saints and Sinners Pub just 87 steps from our hotel rooms! Sonny would have no problem findhing his room this time!

After a quick breakfast Saturday morning, Sonny and I visited the swap meet we missed on Friday. Cecil was unavailable. There was nothing at the swap meet we absolutely had to have, but I did find a couple neat Dremel attachments.

Satuday afternoon was the show, and even though it rained much of the day, the show field was filled to capacity. An hour before showtime, the rain stopped, the sun came out, the heat AND humidity turned up quite a bit, and that combination forced us into the air-conditioned lounge.

Swami and Nancy...we were celebrating her 50th birthday...drank buckets of Voodoo Juice, a quart bucket filled with five different rums, and some fruit punch to make it semi-drinkable! We think it's pretty potent, but you'll have to ask Nancy to be sure, and she wasn't sayin' much last night!

All New Look. Same Old Guys.

2008-08-02T08:16:00.004-04:00

Our one-page Blog has been followed by many, especially when we're doing one of our road trips. But jamming everything into one page was making it almost impossible to read. So we've moved on up, as they say, to the big time...a full-blown website!

The upgrade includes a separate page for our BBQ ratings, a page about the Old Guys, and some more fun stuff, like the video at the bottom of the About Us page...Swami For President.

Keith is an Old Guy In Training...he's a good guy, surely old enough to be an Old Guy, but unfortunately, still gainfully employed, and the Old Guys think of w-o-r-k as just another one of them four-letter words!

Keep stoppin' back here...we're getting into the Old Guys travel season...Packard Bill is heading out to the Woordward Dream Cruise next week...and as we've always done, we'll keep you posted (with stories and photos) about what we're up to!

Monday - Marietta, GA

2008-06-09T22:01:00.002-04:00

We were on the road at 7:00 this morning...three Cougar's, period. We immediately stopped for breakfast, and still had plenty of time to make our 9:00 appointment.

After a thirty-minute ride through the countryside, we arrived at the Wild Turkey Distillery for our 9:00 Tour.

We're not really sure how to say this, but we learned about driving a bung into the hole! It's done with a wooden mallet!

The tour was great, but the crowning point was having Jimmy Russell, the Master Distiller, sign a bottle of WT, and then come outside, and take some pictures with us.

Pressed for time, we said our goodbye's, and headed for Knoxville, where we had lunch at the Pizza Palace (another place featured on the Food Network). Great pizza, and the onion ring's were even better!

By now, we were way behind schedule, and still had a couple hundred miles to go! After a couple wrong turns, we were heading south on I-75, and planning to meet up with The Truck in Marietta.

Dinner was at the Marietta Diner (yet another Food Channel favorite). Be sure to see the photo album for the dessert pics...words here won't do them justice!

The trip is coming to an end tomorrow, when we head south to Florida. It's been a great week. We renewed some friendships, and made a whole lot of new ones.

As we always do, we ate (and drank) way more than we should have, never got enough sleep, drove a couple thousand miles, and paid about $4 a gallon for fuel wherever we were. We even found a new use for vaseline...please don't ask!

Sunday - Lexington, KY

2008-06-08T17:52:00.005-04:00

Last night, Sonny and I walked the hotel parking lot, and learned just how proud some people are of their rides!

We saw a '71 Torino wagon in fair (far from decent) shape, but it was a CJ car. As we walked over, so did the owner.

We chatted, and he said he's had it since 1985, but drove it for the first time a week ago. It ran a 14.0 at 99 MPH, and he decided to bring it to Carlisle to see if he could find a buyer.

He asked what I thought it was worth, and when I told him in the high-teens or low 20's, he got annoyed, saying that a serious Ford collector told him it was worth between $80K and $100K, and he was looking for about $125K!

We hope he reads this blog. Although I hope he DOES get $125K, he's really got no clue! And people who have no clue about their cars have no business owning them!

Then this morning, Sonny almost got bumped out of his position as Club Drunk! He found some guy passed out onthe floor in the hallway, and had to check to make sure he was breathing.

After a few minutes, he woke up, stumbled backward through the exit door, and wandered out through the courtyard!

Fortunately for Sonny, we didn't have a chance to get his name and address, or his membership dues!

Our first big stop of the day was nearly 400 miles from Carlisle...Hillbilly Hot Dogs...where we planned to have lunch. Bad news...they were closed today! But take a minute, check out their website, and see what we missed out on!

Swami removed his SSCC front license plate, we all signed it, and he screwed it to a tree, with dozens of other plates that customers have put there.

Our drive today was 520 miles (took us more than 11 hours), and you know the Old Guys are only good for about 400, so you can imagine how we all feel, especially since it's another day of close to 100 degree temps.

Later this evening, we're going for a Crave Case. For those that don't know, that's a box of THIRTY White Castle burgers. That's enough for three of us; Julie will have to fend for herself!

Tomorrow is another big day. Be sure to check back...we're going on a tour of a factory!

Saturday - Carlisle, PA

2008-06-07T19:50:00.003-04:00

Last night, we heard that if we wanted to beat the traffic, we should leave the hotel by 7:30.

So this morning, we did...three Cougars, and a truck. We didn't see much traffic, but like it was when we were in New Jersey, you couldn't make a left turn, either!

About 50 Cougars eventually made it onto the show field, and the Old Guys especially liked that even though you didn't know everyone by name, we were all friends, and we all had a good time!

It's unusually hot in Carlisle, and the temp quickly rose up into the upper 90's. We walked the vendors, and looked at some of the non-Cougar cars.

We did our small part to support the vendors...Sonny bought a couple new mirrors, Swami got some polished trim, and I bought the new Meguiar's polisher, which came complete with all kinds of cleaner, polish, and wax. But the best deal so far was Phil's $100 dash pad!

There's a CCOA meeting tonight on the show field, but we're not gonna be there...it interferes with our upcoming final cocktail hour!

The Delmarva and CCNJ/PA gang gets a BIG thanks from us...they hosted the show, making sure that everyone had the best possible time! Thanks, guys!

We've decided to move our departure day up by one, so tomorrow morning, the three Cougars are heading southwest towards Lexington, Kentucky, while the truck goes south. We may meet up in Marietta, Georgia Monday night.

We've got some big plans for the next couple days. If you've ever seen Diners, Drive In's and Dives on the Food Channel, you might be able to figure out our Sunday and Monday meal menu.

Sonny, who has earned the well-deserved title of Club Drunk, says to cut this short...we're wasting percious cocktail hour time! More tomorrow...

Friday - Carlisle, PA

2008-06-06T19:57:00.005-04:00

Last night, the gang arrived...Paul from Jersey, Mark from Massachusetts, Jeff from Louisville, and a few others. Renewing friendships, which is something the Old Guys really enjoys, took until about midnight!

This morning, we headed out to the show field...three Cougars and a truck. We quickly found our parking places, and Sonny did a burn out with his wagon! Okay, okay...so he did it onthe wet grass, but he DID do it!

We shopped the vendors...said hi to Lin and Felix, Scott, Randy, John, Bob, and a few others, and as usual, bought some stuff we didn't know we needed until we saw it!

Those who've been coming to Carlisle for the past several years said that the number of show cars, as well as the number of vendors, has significantly decreased this year. I wonder if it has anything to do with $4/gallon gas!

We spent the rest of the day renewing friendships that we've made over the years, and watching a bunch of new-to-us Cougar's filling the show field.

We called it a day about 4:00, and headed back to the hotel. While Phil and Nancy went to dinner in his truck, we opted to order from the pizza place again (hope they deliver faster than they did last night).

If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on finding all the gang in the hotel lounge tonight. We'll let you know what happens tomorrow.

Thursday - Carlisle, PA

2008-06-05T19:44:00.003-04:00

Last night, we hustled through the Blog, so we wouldn't be late for Happy Hour. Unfortunately, what we left out was most important to us.

First, Sonny and I drove in the Missing Old Guy formation most of the day out of respect for Packard Bill and Cecil, who weren't able to make the trip.

Then, it's important that Packard Bill know that if we had attended the BBQ Festival in Lexington, it would have been a total waste of our time...Bill, it ain't your kind of sauce!

Now, today's happenings. Starting out this morning, it was breakfast at the hotel. Not just the usual fare, but scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits, grits, gravy, and much, much more. No one left the table wanting more, and it was included in the room rate!

We drove the two-laners for the first couple hundred miles, and it was a real treat! Well, except for a couple miles of backed-up traffic, which tied us up for about a half-hour. In the afternoon, we drove I-81 straight into Carlisle. The trip has been entirely without incident...not ONE car problem!

The hotel is even more retro than our cars...gotta be at least fifty years old, but it DOES have a bar, and that's a GOOD thing!

There's already a few cars here, but nothing remarkable. Maybe it'll get better later this evening.

We opted for a healthy dinner...pizza, and we're waiting for it to be delivered. After dinner, we're off to the lounge, and tomorrow morning, at first light, we're headed for the show field. Tomorrow's Blog should be interesting!

Wednesday - Lexington, NC

2008-06-04T18:18:00.002-04:00

Three Cougars and a truck...still! Promptly at 6:30 this morning, we headed north...sorta...with Sonny taking the point. He zipped us through Jax in record time!

Breakfast was at a Cracker Barrel somewhere well into Georgia, and with plenty of time, when we got into Charlotte, we made a stop at Holman Moody.

If you've never been, you've gotta go...there's a lot of history there, and some VERY COOL cars, and the photos will be posted in the album sometime next week.

After an hour or so, we continued north, and about 4:00, we arrived at the hotel. A quick clean-up, and it was off to Lexington BBQ.

We've been told it's the Number One-rated BBQ in the country. In our opinion, not quite. It's not the typical Southern BBQ. This is NC style, and the sauce is vinegar-based. The beans were good, but comparing the meat to some of the others we've tasted is like comparing apples to oranges. So we're not going ot rate them. Bottom line...Interstate, you've got NOTHING to worry about!

Right now, it's cocktail hour. The hotel offers complimentary cocktails in the evening, which is fine with the Old Guys, especially since we don't have to launch outa here very early tomorrow morning!

Tuesday - Jacksonville

2008-06-03T19:18:00.003-04:00

Three Cougars and a truck. That's the way we started out, but it WASN'T what we planned.

Sonny's Cougar wagon is going, Mrs. Swami's '68 Cougar is going, and my Cougar wagon is going, too.

But last-minute work plans forced Jayson out, and a last-minute oil leak forced Phil to drive his truck...guess he and Nancy will have to split their time between the Cougar and the truck people.

We met in Jacksonville (major thunderstorms...thanks, Mrs. D for the chauferring), had dinner at the Cracker Barrel, planned tomorrow's trip to Lexington, North Carolina, and will probably spend the rest of the evening watching it rain.

Tomorrow has got to be better weatherwise, although it looks like rain all the way to Pennsylvania...not the way we like to travel!

Beach Blast XIV Saturday

2008-05-18T07:01:00.005-04:00

Day Two of the three-day weekend found the Old Guys wandering the show field (okay, the parking lot) early in the morning. Even though the parking lot was full, we did a little creative juggling, and we were able to get Brian's mucho bling '69 convertible in line with the Old Guy's rides.

Dawn arrived mid-morning, as did Swami and Julie, and Phil and Nancy, providing the makings for the party we so desperately missed yesterday. Cecil was a no-show, as was Ft. Lauderdale Bill.

The BBQ was served promptly at noon, and as always, Nancy provided the homemade baked goods. There was more than enough BBQ to go around, so we fed some of the show crew, too.

It wouldn't be Beach Blast if it didn't rain, and in the early afternoon, it did. First a drizzle, then it stopped. Once the newbies got their cars wiped down (the Old Guys know better), it rained again, then stopped. Only a few took the time to wipe them down again, only to have the rain begin again, and continue most of the afternoon.

We dined on BBQ again in the evening, as the party began to take shape. By 9:00 PM, the show field came alive, and the Old Guys and Company held their own in the party department.

Without going into any detail, Mike and Michael Kelly, the show hosts, joined our mini-party, and we hung in there until early Sunday morning. Fortunately for us, we subscribe to the what happens in Cocoa Beach STAYS in Cocoa Beach philosophy!

Beach Blast XIV

2008-05-16T22:33:00.006-04:00

A few of the Old Guys haven been attending the Beach Blast for several years, arriving on Friday, and spending the weekend at the beachfront hotel.

Every year, the pre-registration fills up earlier, and as we found out this year, everyone arrives earlier, too. We arrived at noon, only to find the usually-nearly-empty parking lot almost 3/4-full of show cars!

Oh well, the more the merrier, we figured, so we munched on Publix subs, took a break from the heat for a few hours, then gathered in the parking area, where we're known to be the last to leave, which has always been sometime early Saturday morning!

But alas, the entire gang wasn't here, and the party atmosphere dissipated early, sending us to our rooms just before 10:30...the security staff, who stays in the parking area all night long, couldn't believe it!

The gang, however, WILL be here tomorrow for the homemade BBQ lunch we've planned, and will hopefully keep the party going until the wee hours of Sunday morning!

You know, the Old Guys DO have a reputation to maintain, and it's not shying AWAY from a party!

Savannah - Sunday

2008-04-15T19:01:00.003-04:00

Sunday was Girls Day...since we dragged them along on this trip, they got to decide the plan for the day.

Sunday morning, we headed out to Tybee Island, about 40 miles from the hotel. The weather was ideal for a day at the beach, but after taking a few pics, and wandering around the shops, it was nearly lunchtime, and food is the Old Guys number one priority!

We'd already been told that the best seafood could be found at the Crab Shack, so we headed west, and found this rustic, Jimmy Buffet-type outdoor restaurant, where NOTHING is offered fried...c'mon, I thought ALL seafood was fried!

Lunch was great, in spite of it being either steamed or boiled, and only a couple of the really brave had any room left for dessert.

The it was off to downtown Savannah, where we boarded a trolley, and took the Downtown and Riverfront tour. That took a couple hours, and now we're authorities on Savannah's history.

We were going to take the Haunted Building tour, but learned it was exactly the reverse of what we just did, and even worse, it didn't start until 9:30 PM, which is just a half-four before the Old Guys usually call it a night! So we passed on that, went back to the hotel, rested a bit, and then made dinner plans.

After much discussion, we decided to try Sticky Fingers, which has been rated the number one BBQ in Savannah for the past few years. It was good, but unfortunately, the Old Guys are BBQ authorities, and we've had much better in Little Rock and Memphis . In fact, it was a notch or two below the Smokey Pig in Bowling Green!

After dinner, it WAS time for the Old Guys to retire for the evening, and we did, resting up for the eight-plus-hour ride home on Monday.

The bottom line...there's plenty to do in Savannah, and it was a great car show. And that's a combination the Old Guys really appreciate!

Savannah - Saturday Show and More

2008-04-13T18:15:00.004-04:00

About 8:30, we drove onto the show field. Old Guy "I know exactly where it is" Sonny, who was leading us there, drove right past it the first time.

We were pre-registered, so the actual registration process was quick. We got goody bags, which actually had some usable stuf in them, including T-shirts!

It was great seeing cars we'd never seen before, and we made lots of new friends, some of whom will be traveling south to River Ranch next year!

I was one of the first door prize winners, and my door prize was a four-foot workbench, with a pegboard back, and a soffit light...probably worth a couple hundred dollars!

I've got no where at home to put it, so I gave it to Packard Bill, and in return, I'd get whatever it was that he won. After a few more drawings, they pulled his number, and his door prize, nearly equal to what I won, was a JEGS hat and a bottle of Meguiar's Detailer...just what I needed!

We bought tickets for the $1000 raffle (didn't win), the Money Hat (didn't win), and even the MegaMillions lottery (didn't win that, either).

The awards were presented...I received the Long Distance award, and Packard Bill received the Under Construction award for his Packard. Obviously, they never read the "It IS Finished, *%#*#!" slogan on the back bumper!

Anyway, a great show, and highly recommended. But it was all downhill from there!

The girls came back from downtown, and we made dinner plans...BBQ, of course. But then we had to try and find the restaurant. We drove east, never saw it, called, and were told that "it's just a block from Circuit City." After driving several miles, we made a U-turn, thinking that we must have already passed it.

Wrong, and to make a long story short, we ended up waiting in line for a half-hour at Cracker Barrel, only to find out we made our U-turn just three blocks before the BBQ place! Oh well, tomorrow has got to be better!

Savannah - Friday Afternoon

2008-04-11T18:21:00.002-04:00

When the Old Guys plan to attend an event, our timing is most important, since everyone is coming from a different part of the state. The trip to Savannah was no exception, and except for Sonny's decision to take the scenic route through northeast Jacksonville, we pretty much arrived at the Cracker Barrel at the same time!

After dinner, we headed straight for Savannah, and in a move not typical of the Old Guys , arrived at the hotel, and did nothing more than unload the cars.

Saturday AM, the Old Gals got up early, drove to downtown Savannah, and personally made lunch reservations (they can only be made in person) at Paula Deen's restaurant. While we waited, the Old Guys did a little car cleaning and maintenance.

Later, we all got together, checked out some of the shops along the river, had lunch, and then the girls felt the need to shop some more. The Old Guys, in their own cars, headed back to the hotel.

We talked about the Dixieland Cruisers Poker Run and Low Country Boil, and decided, after the monstrous lunch we enjoyed, there was no room for any more food!

So here we are. It's about 6:30 PM, and most of those attending the show have headed out for the poker run. We'll surely spend the evening in the parking lot, with the rest of those who've decided to stay behind.

And at 8:00 tomorrow morning, we'll be heading over to the show. We've already taken some great photos, and there will be many more taken tomorrow. Look for them to be posted in the album sometime early next week.

Sonny, Cecil, Packard Bill, and I, along with the significant others (for the first time in a long time, they're ALL with us!), say hi!

SSCC 11th Annual Cougar Show

2008-03-31T07:33:00.003-04:00

A few of the Old Guys own Cougar's, are members of the Sunshine State Cougar Club, and for years, have spent a late-March weekend in Daytona for the SSCC's All-Cougar Show.

This year, Swami produced the SSCC's portion of the Spring Daytona Show, and we were treated to a photo session on the Speedway track, a plaque with a dash plaque and photo of your car, prime lakefront Speedway parking, and a ton of great door and raffle prizes.

There was pizza Friday evening, Ken "have it MY way, or NO way" Cruci did his usual showfield hamburger and hot dog cookout Saturday, and Cynthia and Bill cooked up a steak, salad, baked potato and corn on the cob dinner Saturday evening, feeding about fifty people.

And topping off an already great show was me winning the 50/50 drawing...$153, which covered the cost of the convertible's fuel for the trip up and back!

To find out more about the Sunshine State Cougar Club, visit the SSCC website.

And The Winner Is...

2008-03-22T16:33:00.004-04:00

Before we even talk about how he did it, we've gotta tell you that Billetproof out on a great show!

There were more than 500 cars on the show field, and even though they said that the gates won't be open until 9:00 AM, we arrived at about 8:30, and there were already a couple hundred cars on display!

This show isn't for everyone...there were year restrictions, and they don't like ANYTHING billet...cars WERE turned away!

There were vendors, a live rockabilly band, and some pretty decent BBQ available for lunch. But the cars were the main attraction, and there will be dozens of photos in the album sometime next week.

This was the debut of the Strall's Automotive Rat Rod, and Steve, Eric and Leroy brought it over from Englewood early this morning. There were a couple issues on the shakedown cruise from the hotel to Garlits...the alternator doesn't charge, and it heats up at idle, but nothing that can't be fixed in the next couple days.

For those of you that don't know, Steve and Packard Bill bought the 1934 Chevy cab at the 2007 Turkey Run, and the built the frame around it.

We had an opportunity to see the awards in advance, and they WERE creative! Hand built by members of the Poor Boys Car Club, and not a drop of billet anywhere on them!

So when it came time to give out the awards, we were all pleased to see Steve receive the Jive Bomb award, which was for creative use of frame tubing, as well as excellent backyard engineering!

Even though it sprinkled a couple times during the afternoon, this was still a great show, and we'll definitely be back next year!

Billetproof Welcome Party

2008-03-21T21:52:00.002-04:00

We found out about the party through the Rat Rod underground a couple weeks ago, and since we were planning to be in Ocala for the Saturday show anyway, made plans to attend.

So at about six o'clock this evening, we headed for Nowhere, which is the name of the bar where the party was being held (she asks, "where have you been?", and he says, "Nowhere"). We got there an hour early, and the parking lot was nearly full!

With more than 100 cars in attendance, my '70 Cougar was the newest car on the show field. Didn't matter...those guys like ANYTHING with four wheels!

There was dinner...a BBQ'ed quarter-chicken, with baked beans, cole slaw, pasta salad, and corn on the cob...for which we happily paid $4 each! Actually, Packard Bill graciously picked up the entire tab.

There were cocktails...generously mixed, and the price was about as low as we've ever seen...our three drinks were just over $10 total!

And there were cars! Lots of cars...pre-1964 classics, and tons of rat rods! And with the exception of a couple, they were all cars we've never seen...they were ALL very cool! And when the photo album is posted, we're sure you'll agree!

Even better were the people! In general, car people are great folks, but these guys (and ladies) were the friendliest bunch of people we've ever encountered!

We stayed for a couple hours, enjoyed the dinner, the cars, the people, and the cocktails, and then headed back to the hotel.

We met in the hotel's lounge, and had just one more. We made the usual cocktail-hour calls to Mikey and Boss Hog, and since they're both blanketed in snow up in Michigan, we made a point of rubbing it in!

We're calling it a night rather early, so we can be up early, awaiting Steve's arrival with the Strall's Automotive (Packard Bill and Son) rat rod debut.

We plan to have an early morning breakfast at Waffle House (no more breakfasts at the Quality Inn after the last time...over an hour to be served!), and then it's off to the Don Garlits Museum for the show.

Check back tomorrow evening for an update.

On The Road Again

2008-03-01T08:59:00.004-05:00

The good news is the wagon is all back together, and running. More good news is that it's running rather smoothly! There's still a few bugs to work out, and the distributor is one of them.

The pic is of the culprits...a broken piston, and the front half of the cam. The other half of the cam is still in the engine, which is currently on the way back to the company in Tennessee that built the replacement engine.

Needless to say, Ill mount the piston and cam on a board and hang it in the garage, where it will serve as a reminder (again) to never buy a car you can't push!

'Nuff said on this subject!

WinterFest 2008

2008-02-26T13:37:00.003-05:00

Hosting a car show by yourself is pretty much impossible, so when FlaCarShows.com announced it would be hosting WinterFest 2008 in Cocoa, the Old Guys jumped in, and did all they could to ensure the show would be a success!

And the Old Guys received lots of help from the membership of the Sunshine State Cougar Club, who brought sixteen cars to the show field, assisted with parking and registration, and made certain the lounge didn't close early!

The two things the Old Guys had no control over...the weather and the hotel's food, proved to be stumbling blocks.

There was a major weather system to the north, and although the rains held off until later in the afternoon, the skies were cloudy (and threatening) all day. The hotel's food was, well, not even what you would expect as hotel food, and you can be certain that, along with a couple other things, will change for WinterFest 2009!

In spite of the weather and the food, the show was enjoyable to those in attendance. Thanks for attending, and we hope we'll see y'all next year!

You can read the story, view the pics, and see who received the awards at FlaCarShows.com.

The Dump Continues...Lessons Learned

2008-02-20T14:29:00.003-05:00

The reason for the super rush repair was to be able to take the wagon to WinterFest tomorrow. That said, we all agreed it would probably be a waste of money to do so.

Regardless, the block went to the machine shop, the crank was replaced, the broken rod was replaced (overnight from North Carolina, of course), as was the piston, the bent pushrod was replaced, all new lifters were installed, a new rocker, and the engine got a general cleaning...all for about $800.

While waiting, I cleaned up all the pulleys and brackets, and painted them. And you already read about the sandblasting.

Rather than take any chances, when I picked up the block, I also got a new starter, fuel pump, oil pump, alternator, and water pump.

And after lots of assembly time (ever sat there and watched paint dry?), the engine went back in the hole last evening.

It pretty much started right up, and there were a few fuel leaks at the carb. Several attmepts to fix them proved the dual-feed fuel line was bad.

We repaired that, only to find the water pump was leaking! Yes, it was a reman, and yes, the leak was at the where-it-usually-is weep hole. And it means the entire front end has to be removed before it can be fixed. But it was still running, although a little rough from the one-reconditioned cylinder.

So this morning, I went in search of a fuel line, and by the time I got back, the engine was nearly disassembled. I finished it up, and was preparing to install the fuel line, when we decided to see just how good it was running.

It ran much worse than last night, and after pulling the plugs, and finding half of them gasoline-soaked, we pulled the valve covers, and found that it was now a V5! Yep, the cam cracked...almost in the middle, and the back half of the engine wasn't firing at all!

So here's the Lessons Learned...you can't do ANYTHING half-assed, such as repairing just ONE cylinder, especially when that one is dependant on seven others to work properly. And replacing used with even more used is not a good idea, either!

The bottom line...five full days of work (and I'm talkin' nearly twelve-hour days), more than $1000 invested, and I've still got nothing!

Well, not exactly! I've got some usable engine parts that I can use on the new reman engine I ordered today (at about twice the cost of repairing ONE cylinder), and will be here the first of next week. And from there, it's just swap over the tin, drop it in the hole, and start it up.

Had I done this in the first place, my blood pressure would still be about normal, I wouldn't have wasted a week's worth of my (retired, but still valuable) time, and I would have more than a couple dollars in my wallet!

The DUMP Continues

2008-02-17T07:21:00.003-05:00

Monday evening, the crew at Last Chance pulled the engine, put it on a stand, and pulled the pan, which was found to be full of metal that didn't belong there...NOT good! Even worse, the rod in number six hole was snapped cleanly in half...NOT good, either!

We all agreed there's NOTHING we could do, but send it to the machine shop. Tuesday morning, I delivered it. Bill checked it over, decided he would simply turn the crank, replace the bearings, hone the cylinder, replace the rod and piston, and put it back together. There was no damage to the block.

I had him go a step further...since the engine was bone stock at this point, and had never been apart, I decided to replace the timing chain with one that was made of metal instead of nylon, and while he was doing that, move the cam straight up, instead of the original-emissions-setting of four degrees retarded.

And well, as long as you're in there, you might as well replace the now-full-of-metal-shavings oil pump, too.

So I get the call late Friday evening...your block is ready! That means early Monday morning, I'll pick it up, take it back to Last Chance, and hopefully, during the day, I can paint it, reassemble it, and have it ready to go back in the hole sometime Tuesday.

Meanwhile, yesterday, I started to sandblast the inner fenders and part of the frame, and repaint it. I've never sandblasted in the open before, and I can tell you it's an experience! Sand everywhere you DIDN'T want it to be, and very little of it where you DID want it to be! And even after about five hours, I didn't nearly finish the job!

One thing I DID learn is that women can go to a spa and pay hundreds of dollars for a skin peel. Guys can get one for free using a sandblaster! A day later, I'm STILL trying to get the sand out of places like my hair, ears, eyelids, and another orifice we won't mention!

And if there's any GOOD news in all this, it looks like the wagon will be heading north for WinterFest in Cocoa on Thursday, which was my original goal!

The Wagon Takes A Dump

2008-02-11T09:16:00.001-05:00

What would have been a 150 mile trip north to attend a local car show turned into much more when the wagon developed an engine knock just about a mile from the hotel in Palm Bay.

Thinking it might have been the A/C compressor, I pulled the belt, but the knock remained.

Sonny arrived, and using an engine stethoscope, we tried to isolate the knock. It wasn't in the power steering pump, the alternator, water pump, or anywhere in the valve train. And there was only a slight vibration at the tranny pan.

At this point, the weekend was already shot. No way to attend the show tomorrow, and without knowing what was wrong, no way to fix the wagon before the trip back home.

So the big plans for the weekend turned into dinner, a couple cocktails, and the Bud Shootout on TV, which we could just as well have done staying home!

Sunday morning, I started the wagon, and the knock was much less pronounced. I decided to head south, and see if it might possibly correct itself.

Twenty miles down the road, it did. The knock stopped, but the engine developed a vibration. I stopped to check it, and it felt as if the vibration was coming from the area between the block and the tranny.

I decided to have it towed the rest of the way home. With AAA picking up the bulk of the towing tab...would have been $505, but I paid $40...we were back in South Florida in less than a couple hours. And after removing the inspection plate, I could feel a crack in the flex plate.

This morning, the gang at Last Chance took a look at it. It may be the converter, it may be the flex plate, or it may be worse, like some damage to the rotating assembly. You know, like a piston separating from the rod.

We won't know what it is for sure, until it gets some lift time, which will be later this afternoon. Meanwhile, unfortunately but just in case, I'm already thinking the worst, and will be searching for a replacement engine.

Catching Up

2008-02-08T11:48:00.000-05:00

In January, a couple of the Old Guys attended the National Parts Depot Mustang and Ford Roundup in Silver Springs, and also the River Ranch Rod Run in Lake Wales.

We didn't take even ONE picture at either event, but thanks to Nancy Elder (soon to be former SSCC Newsletter Editor), I'll be able to post some pics of the Rod Run.

Real quick...the NPD show had just under 1000 Ford-powered vehicles on the show field, which may be a record-breaking number of attendees. I had an opportunity to spend a good deal of time with Mark Houlihan, Mustang and Fords magazine editor, and that's always a fun experience. Except for a driving rain storm that pretty much cleared out the show field early Sunday, it was another fantastic weekend hosted by NPD's Rick Schmidt and crew!

The Rod Run was also a fantastic weekend, with the Old Guys and the rest of the gang spending Friday and Saturday evening around the campfire, doing what we seem to do best...drinkin' cold beer and good whiskey, telling tall tales and occasionally, an outright lie!

Hosted by Rich and Linda Martin of Sunshine State Rodding News fame, this annual event always fills the Ranch to capacity, and this year was no exception, with about 350 cars on the show field!

Now that I'm pretty much caught up with putting the FlaCarShows.com WinterFest Show (February 23rd in Cocoa) together, I took some time, and uploaded the River Ranch Photo Album...sorry for the delay!

Biff Burger Toys For Tots Show

2007-12-03T16:54:00.000-05:00

The Sunshine State Cougar Club, of which the Old Guys are members, planned to attend the Toys For Tots show at Biff Burger in St. Petersburg on December 2nd.

Since the Old Guys are always lookin' for decent BBQ, and Packard Bill recently found Hungry Harry's, we started the weekend in Land O' Lakes, about 40 miles north of St. Pete.

Bill was right...the BBQ was excellent (just don't ask for french fries!), and we ranked Hungry Harry's right below the Number Two-ranked BBQ joint in the country (Interstate in Memphis), which adds credence to our belief that those who do the BBQ ratings have missed a lot of good, local places in their travels.

After lunch, we headed south, and most of us took turns getting lost. We eventually checked into the hotel, gathered poolside, and made plans for the evening.

As it turns out, the Old Guys opted out of a visit to Quaker Steak and Lube, and it was probably a wise move on our part...we learned later that while the place itself was pretty neat, the food left a little something to be desired. And no matter what anyone else says, the Atomic Wing Sauce is unbelievably HOT!

As the evening progressed, the size of our party increased, as did the cocktail consumption. Even Phil drank a few beers! But by 11:00, the party was over...about an hour after the Old Guys ussal bedtime!

Since the show officially began at 10:00 AM, we left the hotel for the ten-minute drive at 8:30. When we arrived, the entire front of Biff Burger's was full, with only a very few spaces in the back. After some jockeying with a couple dozen motorcycles, the SSCC was pretty much parked together.

We handed over our toys (they expect to collect more than 6000), and the SSCC donated $150 to the Toys For Tots fundraiser (they'll eventually collect more than $30K this year).

Some had breakfast there, while most of us waited a little longer, so we could sample the world-famous Biff Burger burger. As Swami found out, you can only get certain burgers during certain hours, and he picked the wrong hour to order!

When it came time for the awards, two of the SSCC Cougars were amongst the Top 50, as well as the club winning the Club Participation award, which was a trophy and $100 cash. The $100 was donated back to the Toys For Tots fund.

While most everyone headed home after the show, a couple of us who had four-plus hour drives home elected to spend the night in St. Pete.

After a long night Saturday, and a long day Sunday, as you would probably expect from the Old Guys, Sunday night was limited to some TV watching, some more of Mrs. Sonny's two-fer cake, early to bed, and on the road to home just after 6:00 AM Monday morning.

Daytona Turkey Run

2007-11-24T19:33:00.000-05:00

The Old Guys have been spending Thanksgiving weekend at the Daytona Turkey Run for many years, even before we were Old Guys! And for at least one of the Old Guys, 2007 marks Year Fifteen!

This year, FlaCarShows.com hosted reserved parking for a dozen cars, and those spaces went quickly. There will probably be more next year.

Ft. Lauderdale Bill, Mikey, Sonny and I arrived Thursday morning, and our timing was to perfection. On our last contact, we were all more than 100 miles from Daytona, but as Bill and I exited I-95 from the south, Mikey and Sonny exited from the north, and we pulled onto Speedway Boulevard at precisely the same time!

One inside the Speedway, the first order of business was registration, followed by the annual purchase of Turkey Run shirts (like any of us needed another car show shirt), and then a quick walk through a couple of the vendor rows.

We enjoyed Thanksgiving Dinner later in the evening with Butch and Jen of WJBJ, then returned to the hotel to await Packard Bill’s (soon to be known as Rat Rod Bill…more on this later, and see the pic above) arrival.

Later in the evening, a few of the Old Guys visited a local cocktail lounge (no surprise there), but the big surprise is that they were back at the hotel by 9:30 PM.

Friday morning we were all back at the Speedway about 7:30 AM. The Old Guys have routines, and the first order of business was getting a breakfast sandwich from one of the food vendors we visit every year.

Well, they weren’t there this year, so we went in search of what we hoped would be a good replacement, and we weren’t disappointed in our choice.

We began walking through the vendor area…there’s about 3000 of them…and had our usual hot sausage lunch at another food vendor we’ve been visiting for a few years.

We all bought some inexpensive stuff we really didn’t need, but just had to have, and after walking close to four miles, we returned to our cars and took a well-deserved break.

Packard Bill’s son Steve and his buddy Eric arrived, and since this was their first visit, spent the better part of the afternoon touring the Speedway.

Packard Bill, who rarely does anything on impulse, was bitten by the Rat Rod bug, and after some serious negotiation, bough a 1934 Chevy cab. The good thing about Rat Rods is that the worse they look, the better they are, and this one is no exception…lots of rust, lots of missing metal, and even a bunch of bullet holes!

This father and son project will eventually become the company part’s hauler, but first it had to make the couple hundred mile trip back to Englewood.

Steve and Eric, along with lots of help, managed to get the cab into the bed of his pickup truck, and we eventually met them back at the hotel.

Dinner was at Firehouse Subs, and then it was off to the lounge again. We made up for Friday night by staying out well past midnight, and the good news is that when we got back to the hotel, there was valet parking. If you want to know more, just ask Sonny!

We went back to the Speedway Saturday morning, and as Stevie drove into the parking lot, he hit a pothole, and almost dumped the ‘34 cab. After buying a couple really good ratchet tie-down’s, they headed for Englewood, and we heard from them when the arrived…the trip was without incident.

After winning nothing in the door prize drawings, we called it a day, and came back to the hotel. Dinner was BBQ, chips, and carrot cake. No one has any room left for pizza…yet!

So tomorrow morning, it’s back to the Speedway, but just long enough to get in on Advance Auto Part’s dollar sale…everything on the shelf, regardless of what it is, will be sold for $1. This is the gear head’s version of shopping on the day after Thanksgiving!

Our next trip is next weekend…Biff Burger’s Toys For Tots show in St. Pete. Be sure to check back for our report.

Station Wagon's STILL Rule!

2007-11-11T07:18:00.000-05:00

It's no secret that the Old Guys are fond of station wagons...a couple of us have them, and a couple more wish they did, so while attending the local cruise in last night, I came across this one, and it's one that's worth sharing with everyone.

The restoration has been done to perfection, the black paint and red interior are flawless, and no detail has been left out, including the curb feelers on the passenger side!

There appears to be every option available, with the exception of power windows...there was even a factory reverb mounted under the dash!

Powered by a dual-quad, Holman Moody built 427 side-oiler, and backed by a toploader four-speed, this may be the ultimate cruiser.

The bottom line is that everyone who stopped to look at it gave a BIG thumbs up, including the hardcore Chevy guys!

The Demise Of A Great Cruise In

2007-11-09T11:52:00.001-05:00

I just received word today from Rockin' Rich, longtime South Florida Oldies DJ, that the Crabby Jack's Cruise In he has hosted for just short of ten years has been permanently canceled.

That's too bad, because it was a Sunday evening event, and was the perfect place for everyone to cool down a little and unwind after a Sunday daytime event in the hot South Florida sunshine. Usually, the first topic of discussion amongst those in attendance was which show we would be attending the following weekend, and that was followed by what we would be having for dinner.

Crabby Jack's itself, a Key West-style open air saloon serving great food (which Rich arranged to be discounted to cruisers), loved the cruisers, and that alone made the venue better.

The cruisers themselves were well-behaved, kept the parking lot clean, and caused not one headache for the police.

It was, according to most everyone attending, the perfect combination of ingredients for a really good cruise in. and they were right.

Then, abruptly, about a year ago, the cruise in was canceled. The reason had nothing to do with Rockin' Rich, Crabby Jack's, or the cruisers, but rather was another business in the same shopping center constantly complaining.

Rich dealt with those unjustified complaints, and several months later, the Crabby Jack's Cruise In was up and running...again!

I don't know the details of this cancellation, but I know it potentially involves Rich and the center's attorneys, and we all know that once attorneys become involved, NO ONE wins!

So Rich, ever the gracious host, has decided that rather than fight...again...it's easier to find another location, and I'll bet he's agressively seeking one as I write.

Cruise In's come and go with regularity, and some will say this is just another victim. But that ISN'T the case here...Rich deserves better, Crabby Jack's deserves better, and most importantly, those who regularly supported this cruise in deserve better, too.

And if I know Rich as well as I think I do, he may concede that he lost this battle, but I can promise you that when the smoke has finally cleared, that he will, on behalf of the cruisers, have won the war!

EVENING UPDATE: As they say, 'the show must go on,' and today, Rich successfuly rearranged the Ft. Lauderdale Zo's cruise in schedule...the sporadic Saturday nights have been eliminated, and beginning next week, Zo's is an Every Sunday Evening Cruise In.

Good job, Rich!

The Old Town Weekend

2007-10-28T21:12:00.000-04:00

If you've been following our blog, you know the Old Guys aren't fond of day trip's, and we stretch them out as long as we can. The Old Town weekend was no exception.

The Sunshine State Cougar Club, of which we're members, was to be the Host Club For The Day at Old Town on Saturday, so we arrived in Kissimmee, under cloudy skies, at noon on Friday.

Along with a Friday and Saturday Cruise In, which often features several hundred cars, Old Town also has about 75 shops, a half-dozen restaurants, and rides and amusements for kids of all ages!

Packard Bill is particularly fond of flea markets, so that was first on our to do list. Less than a mile from Old Town, the 192 Flea Market has about 400 vendors, and amongst all the junk we looked at, Sonny and I DID find cell phone chargers and cases. English was definitely the second language here!

The Old Guys are BBQ authorities, having sampled some of the best throughout the USA. Packard Bill found Fat Boys BBQ, using his GPS. We gave it a try, and while it wasn't as good as some we've had, it would still rank in the top ten...maybe!

Then it was off to our hotels...Packard Bill was staying next to Old Town, and Sonny and I were in Lake Buena Vista. Both the hotels have a ton of rooms, which is something the Old Guys try and avoid. But they did have lounge's, which is something we look for when making hotel reservations.

Our hotel had over six hundred rooms, making check in a rather lengthly procedure. The first thing we did was hook up the computer, expecting the update the blog. It didn't matter that the Internet Fee was $9 a day, because the system wasn't working, anyway.

We immediately opted for Plan B, and met Packard Bill in the hotel lounge. A couple cocktails later, and we were munching on the hotel's version of pizza...you know, the pizza with the cardboard crust! It was pretty much an early evening.

Saturday morning was going to be car cleaning time, but the rain took care of that. We went to the local Cracker Barrel for a lesiurely breakfast, the off to flea market number two, which was five miles east of the one we visited yesterday.

It was a carbon copy...same vendors, same junk for sale, basically the same everything, but it did have higher prices.

We arrived at Old Town, and before the day was out, there would be about twenty members in attendance...not bad, considering the rainy weather!

There's a new go-kart ride in Old Town, and several of us planned to give it a try. It's actually two intermingled-but-separate tracks, one being a vortex, and spirals about fifty feet in the air, and the other has some great turns.

We watched the more experienced drivers put the karts through their paces, but by the time we all got together to ride, it was raining too hard. Maybe we'll try it next year.

After the semi-annual SSCC meeting, we headed out for dinner. Our Cougar Wagon's, being 1977's, are too new for the Saturday cruisers, and we had to be out by 5:00.

So, it was dinner at Krystal Burger (another Old Guys favorite), then another attempt at updating the blog. Still no luck, so we watched part of the Red Sox whipping the Rockies game, and called it a night...early!

Sunday AM, we were on the road by 7:30 (still raining/drizzling), and another Old Guys adventure is now history.

Tallahassee, Florida

2007-10-03T20:33:00.000-04:00

Actually, we arrived in Tallahassee yesterday, but about a block from the hotel, it started raining, and by the time we parked, all we wanted was food, drink and sleep...it has been a long day!

We left Tupelo as the sun was coming up, and headed for Strall's Mountain in Carbon Hill, Alabama. That's where Packard Bill was born, and where his father is buried.

The best thing about Carbon Hill is the two-laner that goes right through it! The drive up the mountain was brutal...the roads were paved back in the 60's, and I doubt they've ever been re-paved!

Another high point in Carbon Hill is the local restaurant...breakfast was a whopping $13 for the four of us! Egg sandwiches were $1.19, Hamburgers were $1.39, sodas were less than a dollar, and that's all good! What was bad was that they were out of most everything...you could have whatever breakfast you wanted, so long as you didn't want biscuits or hash browns!

We took some pics as we left town, and continued our trip southeast. Along the way, Sonny's Cyclone began to lose power, and we stopped to check it out. Cecil, who was not planning on stopping in Tallahassee, eventually continued on.

After replacing a couple spark plugs, an ignition wire, and a check of the rocker arms, it was agreed that it was a burned valve, and making a roadside repair was out of the question.

Sonny drove the rest of the way with, at best, seven functioning cylinders, something FE engines don't much care for! So we motored into Tallahassee just after 7:00 PM...a 12 hour day...very long, especially for Old Guys standards!

We opted for pizza, and had one delivered. Actually, we got two...one was the Oreo cookie dessert pizza. If you like the cookies, you'll LOVE the dessert!

Just before 9:00, I got a call from the front desk, saying that a woman had hit my car. My first thought was that the desk clerk didn't know what kind of car I had, and I was being set up by Sonny, Bill, or both.

Anyway, I went to the front desk, and the clerk was laughing. She handed me a note from Kevin and Boss Hog, saying HI! in big letters. Yeah, ha ha, guys!

So this morning, I told Packard Bill about it. He called Kevin, who said that they had to call three hotels before finding the right one! I'll give them points for their effort, but will also warn them that revenge is sweet!

We all headed for home this morning, and by the time I got home (I live the farthest south), I had traveled 3060 miles. We traveled through nine states, visited Summit Racing and Atlanta Motor Speedway (and several other places of interest), raced go-karts until we ached, ate just enough White Castle's, found out it's not worth the trouble to bring a video camera, watched Mikey argue with his GPS as he missed the turn, and headed for Indy, spent as little as $2.54 for a gallon of fuel, ate good BBQ a couple times, and THE BEST BBQ once, enjoyed the humor of Boss Hog and Kevin, drove for about 60 miles on the original Route 66, attended an excellent car show, traveled some twisty two-laners (the Old Guys LOVED that part), enjoyed several mornings where it was actually too cool to put the tops down, and overall, had one of the best Old Guys trips on record!

Coming up next...a Sunshine State Cougar Club night in Old Town later this month. Be sure to check back...

Tupelo, Mississippi

2007-10-01T17:32:00.000-04:00

We headed out of Springfield just after 5:30 this morning, and the Old Guys agree there's no better way to travel the Interstate than early in the morning. The only problem is that it's much more difficult to pick out the cop cars!

We stopped for breakfast at a Cracker Barrel (where else?) about 7:30, and decided to put the tops down. The temperature was still in the low 50's, and the sun was shining. A couple miles down the road, the sun disappeared, and it didn't get any warmer. We ran our heater's for the next few hours.

At the next gas stop, Sonny suggested we try and find Interstate BBQ in Memphis. The GPS took care of that, and for a change, we didn't even have to go out of our way to get there.

The Old Guys are authorities when it comes to BBQ, and for years, considered Smokey Pig the best BBQ we've sampled.

On the Power Tour, we tried Sim's BBQ in Little Rock, and ranked it right beneath (or equal to) Smokey Pig.

But that was until today! We have a new ranking...Interstate is number one, Sims is number two, and Smokey Pig dropped to third place!

Interstate puts more meat on the bun than either of the others, it's more tender, and as a plus, puts cole slaw on the sandwich. Their BBQ sauce is by far the best, although their hot version is a bit more mild than Sim's We had baked beans, and they were better than both Smokey Pig and Sims. Overall, it was EXCELLENT!

The Interstate waitress said they were rated number two, behind the number one BBQ place in the country, which is somewhere in North Carolina. If that's the case, as good as Interstate was, we've GOTTA go to North Carolina.

Anyway, here we are in Tupelo. Cecil wants to go visit Elvis, who was born a couple miles from the hotel, but no one else is interested. So instead, he's gonna go to the hotel lobby, where they have a cardboard cut-out of him. If we catch him doin' that, look for a pic in the photo album!

Tomorrow, it's off to Tallahassee, with a stop on Strall's Mountain, which is Packard Bill's hometown. Please...don't ask!

More Show and Awards

2007-09-30T18:21:00.001-04:00

Kevin, Boss Hog, and Mikey headed out together this morning, and as you already know, Mikey ain't the best Interstate driver out there, so it'll probably come as no surprise to you as you hear that not far from Springfield, Mikey got lost...for the first time! He did it again shortly thereafter! He's gonna have a tough time making his Old Guys Probation!

Meanwhile, the rest of us went to the show. We zipped right into our parking spaces, right across from the Old Capital Building.

We walked through downtown again, checking out the cars, and waited to hear from Mikey (he never called).

We had lunch at the local sub shop (cheap and good), and walked a little more. The weather, by the way, was perfect again today...there's nothing like driving with the top down in sunny, mid-50's weather!

We talked to a guy with a 1951 Buick Riviera (yes, they made them...starting in 1950). He was leaving this show, and heading for the Cruisin' The Coast show in Biloxi.

You know the Old Guys; all we saw was Road Trip! We would have to wait until we got back to the hotel to check it out on the Internet...the logistics might be a problem, but we were already thinking of excuses to give to our spouses for coming home a few days late!

The awards were presented at 2:00 PM. Sonny got the Best Mercury award, and I was confident we would get one at least of the three Long Distance awards. Well, two cars came from California, and one from Washington (probably all trailered), which is a couple thousand miles, so we got nada!

And speaking of trailering, Sonny saw a great T-shirt today..."I Drove My Car To A Trailer Show!"

Back at the hotel, you know what the Old Guys did first! But the logisitics of attending the show in Biloxi (actually covers the entire Gulf Coast) were next to impossible. The good news is that we won't have to create any spouse excuses!

The bottom line is that the Route 66 Festival, including the Cruise, the Parade, and the Show itself, was one of the best shows the Old Guys have ever attended!

So we're outa here first thing in the AM, and since we've got a 500-mile run to Tupelo, we're going to leave here by 6:00.

If there's Internet access in Tupelo (not likely), we'll have an update tomorrow. And before you ask, there's no pics because I left my camera in the room today!

UPDATE: Packard Bill took some pics today, and they're posted.

The Saturday Show

2007-09-29T21:42:00.000-04:00

The show gates open at 9:00 AM, and we felt compelled to be there on time. Even though we weren't in a hurry, Boss Hog did a hotel burn out that was, accoring to him, his best ever! Sorry, but he's the only one who got excited about a 45-foot, ONE-tire burn!

NOTE: After a review by the Old Guys Judges', the burn out was measured, and it was SIXTY feet! The Old Guys apologize...yeah, right!

After a couple wrong turns downtown, we found the show entrance, and after an hour's worth of idling, we completed our registration, and headed into the show field.

Packard Bill stopped at the Firestone store to get rid of his morning coffee, and I stopped behind him. I turned off the engine (shoulda never done that!), and when he came out, the Cougar wouldn't start.

The rest of the gang headed into the show, and convinced one of the parking guys to let them park (temporarily, they said), so they could come and help push the Cougar.

Ten minutes later, the Cougar's engine cooled enough to start, and I joined the group in what is considered prime parking...right next to the entertainment stage, and just up the street from the Capitol building!

We had breakfast downtown, and Kevin, a growing lad, wanted more than just four sausage biscuits. He got a double order, which more than filled the plate. Needless to say, the plate was clean when he finished!

Along comes some guy with only a couple teeth (even low for Springfield standards), and mentioned something about a "Cheap-assed Monte Carlo." Most of us knew he was referring to Boss Hog's MC, but Boss Hog swears it was the MC across the street.

By 11:00 AM, there was close to 1000 cars on the downtown streets. We checked out the swap meet, Gasoline Alley (where they did automotive demonstrations), and looked at several hundred cars we've never seen before. In the Old Guys opinion, this is a must-attend event.

There was a rock-a-billy band playing on the stage, warming up for the Elvis impersonator...both were really good, but the music came to a screeching halt when some woman drove her car (NOT a show car) down the street, and was stopped by the crowd watching the Elvis guy.

She refused to move her car, and the police ended up in a major argument with her. We were chanting, "Taser, Taser," but they never zapped her. Eventually, they DID get her turned around, and she left. So much for the excitement, until...

Kevin and Jamie were cruising around on their Heels (shoes with wheels built in), and the police sargeant apologetically warned him they couldn't be used around the cars. Of course, I told the sargeant that we had already warned him twice, and maybe he should Taser him! Kevin quickly ratted out Boss Hog's burn out, hoping for a reduced sentence, but it didn't work.

About 5:00, we'd had enough, and exited downtown. An hour later, we were piggin' out on Corky's BBQ.

First thing in the AM, Kevin, Boss Hog, and Mikey are heading north. The rest of us will go back to the show for a few hours. Meanwhile, it's still cocktail hour, so we've gotta go! More tomorrow...

Friday Evening Route 66 Parade

2007-09-29T06:30:00.001-04:00

The Old Guys aren't big on parading down the street, but this ten-mile parade down Historic Route 66 was well-planned, and well-executed, and the fifteen hundred cars parading into downtown Springfield was quite a spectacle!

It started in the Department of Transportation's parking lot. We arrived about 5:00 PM, and the lot was already 3/4 full. Keep in mind the parade doesn't start until 6:30!

Just walking around the parking lot was a show in itself, and it's always good to see cars you've never seen before.

Precisely at 6:30, the parade began, with police stopping traffic in the intersection. A couple of the participants did short burn out's as soon as they entered the highway. About the 25th car in line, an orange 'Cuda AAR, did one, and he lit up the tires for what seemed like about a thousand feet, before losing control, spinning around, jumping the media, and coming to rest on top of it.

We could see the front tires were blown out, and are sure this idiot did some serious frame damage. Even worse, since ALL the roads were blocked to traffic, and there was no way for a wrecker to get to him, he had to sit there while the rest of the pack passed by him! We all tried to get a pic, but unfortunately, none of them turned out!

Once we left the parking area, we never had to stop, because the police had EVERY street along the route blocked...they did an EXCELLENT job of traffic control!

The entire route was packed with spectators, cheering us as we slowly paraded down Route 66. Packard Bill's wolf whistle horn was a big with the female spectators, but from the looks of most of them, they would have been much happier if we were tossing out candy, or Big Mac's with fries!

As we arrived downtown, a police officer stopped me, and asked if I would do a burn out for the spectators. She even had the crowd cheering for it! My engine was running a little hot, and I didn't want to heat it up any more than it already was, so I sent her back to Packard Bill, who we know can burn the tires for several city blocks!

She walks back to Bill, and encourages him to do a burn out. Bill thinks he's being set up, and refuses!

Parking along the streets in about a dozen square blocks was limited to parade cars. The organizers did a very smart thing, having us park nose in instead of backing in. We were parked in a matter of seconds!

The stores and restuarants were open, there were vendors throughout downtown, and the Route 66 Festival (official show merchandise) tent immediately sold out of the best item they had...a blue, zipper-front pullover sweatshirt, with the show logo embroidered on it. We ALL wanted one of those $20 sweathsirts, but the only ONE they had left was a medium...not nearly big enough for even the smallest of the Old Guys!

We walked around, looked at the cars, had a Subway sub, walked around some more, chatted with a few of the car owners, and before we knew it, it was about 9:30 (getting close to the Old Guys' bedtime), so we exited the show, and drove less than ten miles back to the hotel.

We rate the Route 66 Cruise earlier in the day a ten out of ten, and if we could, we'd give the Route 66 Parade an even higher score. Springfield is super car-friendly, puts a lot of work into the planning, and so far, the execution has been perfect!

The Route 66 Cruise

2007-09-28T16:27:00.000-04:00

We had almost no information on the cruise, but we were going anyway! It was rumored to start at the Chain of Rocks Bridge, which crosses the Mississippi River about 100 miles south of Springfield.

At 7:00 this morning, we headed south. We passed a lot of cars, but none were classics. About ten miles from where we thought the cruise would start, we were certain we were heading in the wrong direction! But the GPS came through, and took us right to where we needed to be.

After a brief orientation, we crossed the bridge (cars not normally allowed on the bridge), and headed north on Route 66.

We made a brief stop at the Route 66 Flea Market (a HUGE waste of time), but made up for it by stopping at Kountry Klassics, a car lot featuring nothing but classic cars and trucks. The sign says they have 600 cars, but we think there was more! Most were in need of a complete restoration, and few were bargains, but EVERY one had "Runs and Drives GREAT" sign on the windshield.

And the Corvette gang showed their butts...again. This time they decided to cruise at about 15 MPH, and had traffic backed up through a couple light changes. We took care of that once the one lane road became two lanes, and left them in our dust!

We're back at the motel now, but in a couple hours, we'll be parading in downtown Springfield...woo hoo!

Everyone says hey, and we'll have more for y'all tonight or tomorrow.

Arrival In Springfield

2007-09-27T20:18:00.000-04:00

We planned for the easiest day of the week...just 350 miles, and only a couple turns. We could leave late, and because of the time change, we would still arrive early. But we were wrong...

When we woke up, it was raining. And not just rain, but a monsoon, with thunder and lightning. In fact, lightning struck the hotel next to ours, and knocked out the power. We decided to leave when...well, if...the rain stopped.

It finally stopped, and in the dark, we headed for Louisville. Traffic was barely moving into Louisville, and the Old Guys were bumper-to-bumper. But as we exited towards St. Louis, Mikey blew by us, heading for Indy! We stopped for a half-hour, and waited for him to get turned around. Poor Mikey...an ol' country boy trying to find his way to the big city!

Then there was the great Route debate...I said it was Route 121, and everyone else stuck with Route 127. So we took Route 127, and they were right...guess I can't tell the difference between a 1 and a 7 anymore!

The weather cleared up, cooled off (mid 70's), and the tops went down! We ran the two-laner for about 50 miles, and arrived at the hotel just before check in time!

Then we waited for Kevin, Jamie, and Boss Hog, who were hopelessly lost, and finally arrived just in time for dinner. Corky's BBQ was next door to the hotel, and pretty good...NOT Smokey Pig or Sims, but better than most!

Right now we're working on tomorrow's Route 66 cruise, which we expected to start somewhere close by, but actually starts 100 miles south, in St. Louis!

Brooks, Kentucky

2007-09-26T19:45:00.000-04:00

As always, the Old Guys were heading north early in the morning. Not only was it dark, but it was a little too chilly to drop the tops. An hour later, though, the tops were down!

Just before we entered the Tennessee mountains, my speedometer was turning all zeros...for the second time...and we pulled over to celebrate.

As Packard Bill pulled over, one of his carefully-restored hub caps left the Packard. We formed a search party, and fifteen minutes later, Bill and the hub cap were reunited. And yes, Bill was the one who found it.

We forgot about the time change in Nashville, so we were dining in the Smokey Pig's Executive Dining Room a little early. You need to know that the Pig has been upgraded again...a new parking lot, and it even had the spaces striped! Unfortunately, Mr. Pig was out of town, but Junior Pig was there, and says hi to everyone!

So far, it was the perfect day. Then we got back onto I-65, and five miles up the road, traffic was at a complete stop.

It took us an hour to go a couple miles, where we found the road blocked to traffic. We exited, and spent the next hour going a few more miles.

When we finally got back onto the interstate, Cecil took the point, and set the pace at about 85 MPH (max speed of 90.4). We were at the hotel in about 45 minutes.

Sonny's brother, Mikey (remember him from Daytona?), was waiting there for us. He is now the newest Old Guy, after he was presented with tons of Old Guys stuff.

We went to Kart Kountry, which has the longest (1-1/2 mile) track in the world. We bribed the track guys, and they gave us free reign. Needless to day, everyone took a good hit or two, as the track guys turned their backs.

The it was off to another of the Old Guy favorites...White Castle...where we picked up a Crave Case (30 burgers) and some onion rings, and then returned to the room.

Unfortunately, we didn't take the camera this evening, so the pics are limited. We'll try and do better tomorrow.

And Kevin, you'll more than likely pay dearly for your comment last night!

Cartersville, Georgia

2007-09-25T19:33:00.000-04:00

Even though we SAID we would be leaving Lake City at 7:00 or 7:30 AM, at 6:00 AM, we were walking around the parking lot looking for something to do.

So we headed out early, and about a hundred miles later, the Old Guys were having breakfast in Tifton, Georgia.

A few hours after that, we were shopping at Summit Racing. Kathy Williams (Georgia Cougar Club) works there, and treated us all to Summit ball caps.

And as we left, I was the only one who didn't make a purchase, and who also didn't have his car keys...thanks for finding them, Cecil!

Thirty minutes later, we were on the grounds of Atlanta Motor Speedway, hoping they would give the Old Guys a tour. They didn't, so we created our own. We're sure we went places we shouldn't have, but at our age, if we got stopped, we could easily claim ignorance!

As we were turning back onto I-75, the Cougar died, backing up traffic forever. It re-started after a couple light changes, but died every time we stopped. More on the fix later.

Cecil brought us through the heart of Atlanta at about 80 MPH...some great, white-knuckle driving for all of us!

Between us, we have three GPS's, and we still overshot the hotel by about ten miles. We knew we made a wrong turn when the one-lane road dead-ended, the two homes were worn-out trailers, and the three locals had a total of seven teeth, and the stray dogs were barking at us!

We found the hotel, checked in, unloaded the cars, had a great dinner (and an even better dessert) at the local favorite, and then ASE Certified Packard Bill and shade tree certified Sonny pulled the front float adjustment, and found it clogged with metal shavings.

No idea where they came from, but once they were removed, the car performed (almost) flawlessly.

We have reason to celebrate. Today is Packard Bill's anniversary (he's not tellin' how many), so we want to congratulate Mrs. Bill for tolerating him all those years, and for sending him on the trip in spite of the anniversary.

So tonight, we raise our glasses (or bottles) to Mr. and Mrs. Bill. Let the party begin!

Day One - Lake City

2007-09-24T18:31:00.000-04:00

We came from four different parts of the State, and met at National Parts Depot. The Old Guys' timing was almost perfect, and we arrived within 15 minutes of each other. A couple hundred dollars later, we were on the way to Lake City.

If you're not from Florida, you probably don't know what a Love Bug is. If you are, you need to know they're out in force!

Traveling at 80 MPH seems to be okay with the FHP...they had THREE great opportunities to give us ALL a ticket, and they passed up each one! But just to be safe, since we're absolutely sure that the Georgia State Police don't have the same attitude, we'll cruise at 75 tomorrow!

Packard Bill refuses to eat junk food (according to Bill, White Castle's AREN'T junk food), so tonight, we had steak.

After dinner, we spent the better part of an hour cleaning the Love Bugs off the cars...except Packard Bill, who only cleaned his windshield, saying the bugs added character to his patina finish.

And we didn't bother taking any pics today...you've seen enough of us washing our cars!

Back at the hotel, we held an Old Guys meeting, and our event plans are complete through next August.

Tomorrow morning we're outa here before the Love Bugs wake up, and we should be visiting Summit Racing in McDonough, Georgia, around lunch time.

And that's about it for today. Hopefully, tomorrow will be more eventful...maybe even a couple photos!

Countdown to Springfield

2007-09-16T06:48:00.000-04:00

Next Monday, the Old Guys will be hittin' the road, and makin' our way to Springfield, Illinois for the annual Route 66 Festival.

And we're doin' our usual thing...waiting until almost the last minute to take care of all things mechanical!

Sonny took the 3.00 Traction-Lok rear out of the wagon parts car, and put in the Cyclone, replacing his 3.25 open axle.

Cecil's got his Mustang up on jack stands, and is doing some mandatory preventive maintenance...changing out the oil-soaked power steering hoses, which would otherwise surely fail on the trip.

After more than 15 years, I learned that I've been using the wrong thermostat, and this week, have replaced mine with the correct one for a Cleveland engine, and took a moment to adjust the TV cable on the AOD trans.

Packard Bill hasn't reported in yet, but you can be sure he's updated something, and it's probably electronics-related!

We'll gather in Lake City, Florida next Monday afternoon, and hold one of our irregularly-scheduled Old Guys meetings, where we'll discuss our 2007/2008 travel schedule, make some hotel reservations, swap tall tales, and enjoy a cold one (or two).

Tuesday morning, it's off to Cartersville, Georgia, with a lunch stop at Summit Racing's new showroom/warehouse in McDonough, Georgia. This could get expensive!

Wednesday morning, we'll leave I-75, and head slightly northwest (only about 100 miles out of the way), so we can take that awesome ride through the Tennessee mountains, and make a stop in Bowling Green, Kentucky for a lunch break at an Old Guys favorite...the Smokey Pig BBQ Restaurant.

Side note...the Old Guys have learned that those who claim to be the BEST BBQ are usually not, and those who make no claims at all, usually ARE! Smokey Pig IS, and so is Sim's BBQ in Little Rock.

From the Smokey Pig, it's about an hour-and-a-half to Brooks, Kentucky, where we'll spend the night, but not before joining up with the newest Old Guys Probationary Member, recently-retired (more than 40 years at the same factory job) Mikey Hamilton.

That evening, we'll race go-karts at the longest (more than 1.5 miles) go-kart race track in the country (somebody is gonna get hurt!), and enjoy plenty of (you can't get 'em in Florida) White Castle burgers!

Thursday morning, it's off to Springfield, where we'll join up with Kevin and Boss Hog Strall, and take in all three days of the Festival.

In addition to our daily Blog, and the photos we'll be adding to the album, I purchased a camcorder, so look for some video, too.

The Eustis Weekend

2007-08-26T19:24:00.000-04:00

The Old Guys were determined to get just one more show in before the end of the summer, and it was the perfect opportunity for Sonny and I to do a shake-down cruise with the convertibles before the Route 66 trip next month.

So it was off to Eustis, which would give us both a couple hundred miles of cruisin', as well as a great destination!

We arrived Friday afternoon, and...surprise, surprise...there's a Frogger's restaurant right next door to the hotel, and they just happen to have a bar!

We had burgers for lunch, and pizza for dinner. BOTH were done to perfection, and are highly recommended! The rain started at lunchtime, and continued through dinner, finally stopping sometime in the early AM.

Packard Bill arrived Saturday AM, as did Keith and Julie, and Cecil, and we arrived in Eustis well before 4:00 PM. Phil and Nancy were there, as were Rob and Dawn, and Ron Simmons...a serious Mercury gathering!

The show is downtown, and the streets are blocked for display cars. Not only did we spend the evening with good friends, we also saw lots of cars we've never seen before.

Of course, the rains eventually came, as the do almost every day in the summertime, and we decided to re-convene at Frogger's, where they were showing the UFC Chamionship fight on ALL their TV's.

Frogger's was packed...all the tables filled, and two-or-three deep at the bar! The fight was excellent. Couture methodically beat Gonzales to the ground, and we all noticed the announcer calling him an Old Guy several times.

Well, as REALLY Old Guys, we don't see Couture, who is 44, as REAL Old Guy, although in fighting age, he surely is, he WAS retired, and he IS a winner, so we've awarded him Old Guy status in our gang!

We're anxiously awaiting the end of September, when we cruise Route 66, and attend the Festival. And we hope to have a treat for y'all...Bill "Boss Hog" Strall III, live and uncensored from Springfield. Be sure to check back regularly!

Central Florida Weekend

2007-08-06T11:07:00.000-04:00

Four of the Old Guys met at the Daytona Beach Farmer's Market and Swap Meet, quickly found the Hawaiian Shirt guy, and thinned out his inventory significantly!

We spent another couple hours wandering through the vendor maze, and buying some of those just had to have items!

Then we made a phone call to Tony at Crane Cams. He was in the office, and we were in Crane's parking lot about ten minutes later.

Tony gave us the FULL tour of Crane's plant, and it's safe to say when it comes to cams, lifters, rockers, and pushrods, we now know just about everything. And it was neat to see still-functioning machinery just about as old as us!

If you happen to be rebuilding your Ford engine, Tony's the guy to call for product recommendations...not only does he know Ford engines, he RACES them!

Friday evening, we attended the Casselberry cruise in, along with some Cougar Club friends, and 100+ cars. It was hot (as usual), but the A/C was blowing ice cold in Firehouse Subs, where we dined.

Saturday was the Winter Haven cruise in, which we, after a couple wrong turns, were forced to revert to the GPS to find! A group from the SSCC (we're members) joined us there, as did a couple hundred other cars. Surprise, Surprise...the local bar just happened to be just across from where we parked!

But the heat got to us early, and by 7:00 PM, we were heading back to the hotel. About 8:00 PM, we were in the hotel pool, and about 9:30, we were enjoying dessert in the Cracker Barrel next door.

Sunday morning, we headed for Webster, and the Car and Cycle Swap Meet. Webster was where we originally planned to go for the weekend, until the Old Guys added all the stops along the way. Regardless, it was a great early-morning ride...not exactly cool out, but not hot (yet).

The Webster Car and Cycle Swap Meet should remove the "CAR" part from the name of the event, since there were maybe 200 vendors, and about 175 of them dealt in Harley parts, and another 20 were not even auto-related.

By 10:30 AM, the heat index was over 100...it was way too hot for us! Ten minutes later, we all headed for our respective homes.

We were looking for a laid-back weekend, and this was anything but! Power steering hoses got replaced, as did ignition controllers and power valves. And we almost had to do a brake job on the wagon!

We all agreed that both July and August are way too hot for Florida car shows. But at the same time, we also agreed to meet in Eustis in a couple weeks, for an evening cruise in. We don't think it can possibly be any hotter than it was this weekend!

When A to B ISN'T a Straight Line!

2007-07-24T16:11:00.001-04:00

After hearing so much about the Webster Swap Meet, a couple of the Old Guys decided we would check it out on August 5th.

Webster is about 235 miles from South Florida, and maybe a hundred less from Jax. But even a one-day visit to the swap meet turns into a big deal for the Old Guys, who can never simply go from Point A to Point B!

So we're going to meet in Daytona Beach, which isn't on the way for either of us, and visit the Daytona Flea Market, so I can pick up some more of those outrageous, but good quality, $10 Hawaiian shirts.

Then we're going to drive about 50 miles to Longwood, and spend the evening (hopefully) with another Old Guy. That'll no doubt take place somewhere there's lots of neon signs. We'll spend the night in Longwood.

Sometime Saturday morning/afternoon (depending on how Friday night goes), it's off to Winter Haven, just a quick, sixty-mile drive, for the big downtown Winter Haven Cruise In that's become so popular (find out more).

We'll spend Saturday night in Lakeland, then Sunday morning, it's just an hour's drive to Webster, where we hope to meet up with another Old Guy, Packard Bill. We'll spend half the day at the swap meet, and then all head back home.

You're probably thinking, why not go straight to Webster on Saturday, spend the night, go to the swap meet on Sunday, and THEN go home, rather than going a couple hundred miles out of the way.

The answer is simple, according to Sonny, who happens to be the same guy who had us drive nearly 200 miles out of the way just for a BBQ sandwich (and YES, it was worth it!)..."because we can!"

Got no plans that weekend? Meet us in Winter Haven for the cruise in, or Webster for the swap meet.

The HRPT Recap

2007-06-13T10:33:00.001-04:00

With the trip behind us, Sonny actually saved EVERY gas receipt (I lost a couple along the way), and here's some of the stats:

We all used regular fuel. Sonny traveled 3626 miles, consumed 236 gallons at a cost of $750.10. The average price per gallon was $3.17, and he averaged 15.3 MPG.

I drove 4017 miles, and every time we stopped to fill up, I used about a gallon and a half more than Sonny, averaging about 13.7 MPG. Packard Bill and Cecil used about a gallon and a half less than Sonny on each fill up, and their average was probably in the 17-18 MPG range.

We stayed in Choice Hotels...usually a Comfort Inn. The nicest room was proably the night we spent at the Sleep Inn in Memphis. The worst were the EconoLodge's...both were pathetic, and we've scratched them off the list of any future trips we'll be taking.

We ate well, thanks to Packard Bill basically refusing to eat an junk food this year. Our best meal was Sims BBQ. This year, there really wasn't anything that qualifies as a bad meal, except for the BBQ at Memphis Motorsports Park that was way overrated.

It was almost impossible, with a total of three GPS, to get lost, although we did manage a wrong turn or two. A couple years ago, we pretty much stayed lost!

After five consecutive years of doing the Tour, Sonny, Cecil, Kevin and I have decided to attend the All Ford Show at Carlisle next year. Packard Bill will no doubt do the Tour again (Little Rock to Madison in 2008), as he has done since 1998.

Day Ten - Long Hauler Awards

2007-06-09T19:28:00.001-04:00

It took us a week, a few thousand miles, many hundreds of dollars for gas, and a little aggravation, but this morning, we went back to the Arkansas Fairgrounds for the Long Hauler ceremony.

This year was relatively painless...we got there about 9:15 AM, Kevin had us park in an area we could easily leave from, and at 10:00 AM, Hot Rod's editor took the group photo.

Immediately after that, the lines formed for the Long Hauler gift(s), which were a $5 gas card from BP Oil (how far will THAT get you?), a Long Hauler certificate, and a soft-sided twelve-pack cooler with the Hot Rod logo on it. We were outa there about 10:30 AM!

Next year's Tour, for those that might be interested, begins in Little Rock, and ends in Madison, Wisconsin. The only stop in between that's firm is Lincoln, Nebraska.

We took Kevin and AJ to Sims BBQ, and AJ, the culinary expert, said it was the best BBQ he ever had!

The ride to Hamilton was uneventful, except for an eight-mile detour for some ice cream...Sonny will explain, but I wouldn't recommend you ask!

Tomorrow we drive to Tallahassee, and spend the night. Monday morning, Sonny and I head for Altamonte Springs, Cecil's going to Jacksonville, and Packard Bill will head towards Englewood.

No Tour for the Mercury guys next year...we've done it for the past five years, and are ready for a change. See y'all next June in Carlisle!

Day Ten - Little Rock

2007-06-08T16:51:00.000-04:00

Last night, we planned to leave the hotel about 7:00 AM. The time translastion (most of y'all are an hour later) got lost in the beer consumption, and Sonny and Cecil were late!

But no problem...Little Rock is just a couple hours from Memphis, and even going the HRPT route, only about three hours.

We stopped along the way for breakfast...good food, but it took an hour to get served, and we were pretty much the only ones in there! When they get busy later in the morning, they're gonna be in big trouble!

We were at the Arkansas Fairgrounds about 11:30 AM, and were among the first ten cars to enter the show field. They began parking us at the far end, and you wouldn't believe the number of people bitchin' about our preferred parking...it wasn't preferred enough for them!

We wandered around, picked up some of the Long Hauler gifts from the vendors (we've received at least a half-dozen T-shirts), and finally found Dan Dixon (aka Burple), who we travelled with in 2005 and 2006.

We wanted BBQ for lunch, especially after that lousy BBQ we had yesterday, so we asked one of the local's, who told us to try Sims BBQ, and gave us directions.

No description of this place would do it justice; you've gotta see the pics in the photo album. But forget the ambience, and forget the fact that we were the only white people in the place, and focus on the BBQ, which was the best we've had on this trip! This place easily gives Smokey Pig a serious run for the money!

Now it's 4:00 PM, and the Tour is over. Tomorrow morning, we go back to the Fairgrounds for the Long Hauler awards, find out where the 2008 Tour will start and stop (not that it matters...we're going to Carlisle next year!), we'll meet up with Kevin and AJ, and head for Hamilton, Alabama, where we'll spend the night.

It was a good Tour. The smaller the size of the group you travel with, the easier it is. We've driven nearly 3000 miles, and we've got nearly a thousand more to go. The price of gas never got as high as we expected, and was usually in the $3 a gallon area.

Sonny's radio gremlin was fixed when he replaced the radio. Cecil's oil leak is still a problem, even after replacing the front seal and a valve cover gasket. We're gonna take a power nap now, and then try to find and fix the leak this evening...Cecil has spent more for oil than for fuel!

Day Nine - Memphis

2007-06-07T16:54:00.001-04:00

After being in the middle of the pack for the past week, we were determined to lead the charge this morning! Actually, the excitement of the BIG RACE kept all of us awake most of the night. No, what really kept us awake was the lousy beds!

We were on the road before the sun came up, and with the Packard in the lead, we made some serious time.

About ten miles before Memphis Motorsports Park, we stopped to fill the tanks. I caught Sonny sneaking some 93 octane in his tank. Not only that, but he paid $9 for some internal engine cleaner additive! At the venue, Packard Bill added a can 10 octane boost to my tank, to help even the playing field.

Being amongst the first ten cars on the show field, we were directly in front of the main stage. We clocked in, and then Sonny and I went to Tech.

I was number 0001, and Sonny was 0002. We were ready to race, and while Cecil and Packard Bill made their way into the stands, we moved up to the start line. We stopped at the water box, then went around it! From the starting line, the quarter-mile looks to be at least a mile long!

All I can say for myself is that I didn't red light! The race was on, and at the finish line, Sonny had be by .3 of a second. We turned in whopping speeds of just about 70 MPH. The race took twenty seconds!

But Sonny wanted more, so we went again. This time, he whipped me worse, but still the same basic times. Drag racin' the wagons...how stupid...we ran faster than that just to GET to Memphis! However, there's never been a Cougar wagon down the Memphis strip, and there never will be again!

And I had no excuses. If only Phil had been here...

For your viewing enjoyment, Packard Bill took a video of the entire race, and we'll try and post it later tonight. Cecil was responsible for the still shots, but being an Analog Man in a Digital World, he screwed with the camera settings, and all the pics came out blurred, and in black and white. None were usable.

It was time for lunch, and since the BBQ being sold at the track has won the Best BBQ in Memphis for the past twenty years, we decided to try it.

There's NO WAY that it could possibly have won any award except for maybe being the Slowest Served BBQ.

Now, as the main portion of the group is entering the venue, we're back at the hotel, enjoying the A/C, and preparing for Cocktail Hour.

Tomorrow is the final stop, then Saturday morning we get to listen to how great General Motors is, and get our Long Hauler gift. We ALL hope it's better than last year's chairs!

Day Eight - Evansville

2007-06-07T16:49:00.000-04:00

You're reading this a day late because there was no internet access at the hotel last night.

Not too much to report...we did our usual trip to the venue, clocked in, talked to Kevin and AJ about the Beale Street Cruise In in Memphis, and found the hotel, which was a dump!

We did find time to have dinner in Applebee's, and the rest of the evening, Sonny and I worked on psyching each other out about the upcoming trip down the drag strip.

Day Seven - Springfield

2007-06-05T17:57:00.000-04:00

Last evening, the rain finally stopped, and I wanted to wash the car...err, wagon...but the others thought it would rain some more, so I was overruled.

Somewhere about 5:00 AM (6:00 Racine time), as the sun was rising, we were in the parking lot, loading our cars. I wanted to wash the wagon, but the others thought it would rain some more, and they were right again!

Sonny and I were ready for the big race (he practiced in the parking lot last night), but it wasn't meant to be...it began raining as we headed for the track. Nah, that's not true. Actually, we had no intention of racing this morning, but if we DID, we would have been rained out.

We ran the two-laners for nearly a hundred miles, and ended up in Lake Geneva. It was still raining off and on. We stopped for breakfast, and a photo op along the lake.

Once back on the road, the rain finally stopped, and way out in the country, we came to a stop sign. There were about three cars in front of us, and a huge crowd at the intersection, yelling for a burn out!

The first two did well, but the third car, a Chevelle, power-braked, then burned for a good ten seconds, leaving me in a cloud of burnt rubber! Of course, Sonny and I couldn't possibly outdo that, so off we went.

The two-laner was wide open, and we were running behind the Chevelle, averaging about 75 MPH. This road was actually in better shape than the interstate was!

We thought we would be among the first few into the Fairgrounds, but that didn't happen. When we arrived, there was already several hundred Long Hauler's in the lot. I guess NOBODY goes to the drivers meeting any more.

We clocked in, walked around, picked up a few more freebies, then had the famous Edelbrock We'll Serve No Swine Before Its Time BBQ.

We found the hotel with no problem...almost...and checked in. It's located directly acrosss the street from the State House, and DOES have a lounge. Did I mention we got FREE drink tickets at check in?

It had been sunny all afternoon, and the coin-operated car wash is just a few blocks away, so Sonny and I took care of that. Packard Bill DOESN'T wash his car, so he didn't go. Cecil, who always has the cleanest car, took a nap instead.

So with all the work out of the way, it's time to play. And the Old Guys have selected the lobby cocktail lounge as our playing field this evening. Surprise, surprise.

Tomorrow morning, we'll try and line up the cars on the lawn in front of the State House, and if we don't get arrested for that, we'll be on our way to Evansville, Indiana, where we expect to meet up with the world famous (alumni of 2003 and 2004 HRPT's) Robert Lee Zoom.

LATE EVENING EDIT: Springfield is the sleepiest town in the country! We took a walk...covered about 20 blocks...and the busiest bar in town had three customers! We hope the Route 66 Festival in September wakes this place up a little!

Day Six - Racine

2007-06-04T16:26:00.000-04:00

First thing this morning, just as it got light out, we found the local quarter car wash (remember when it was REALLY just a quarter?), and cleaned the mud off the cars. All of us except Packard Bill, of course.

Then we headed northwest, stopped at the Cracker Barrel for breakfast, and were back on the road well before 8:00 AM.

About 9:00 AM, it began to rain, just like during the thunderstorms we're used to in Florida, except that it NEVER let up!

Just outside Chicago, we stopped at the first toll booth. A mile away, there was another one. And just a short distance beyond that, there was yet a third...over $3 so far, and we weren't nearly done.

They've got a great system here...you pay tolls for the privledge of sitting in traffic for about an hour, as we idled all the way through Chicago. And the rains never let up!

About an hour from Racine, we stopped for lunch at the Turnpike Oasis...the same one we stopped at two years ago to fix Cecil's brake booster. There's six or seven restaurants under one roof, and regular gas for only $3.69!

After lunch, we had just one more toll to pay, and when we finally got there, it was backed up about a mile. We can just imagine what it'll be like when the rest of them come through later this afternoon.

We got to the hotel, checked in, and drove down to the venue. The local police directed us in, we parked (the downtown streets were all blocked off), and walked towards where we though registration was, only to find out we weren't even close.

Back to the cars, and after checking with the cop directing taffic, we made it over to the venue, which was right on the water, and if it hadn't been raining, would surely have been the best HRPT venue in years!

We saw Kevin and AJ, punched our tickets, and immediately drove back to the hotel. There won't be any fast food for the Old Guys tonight...we're gonna find a decent place to eat...yeah, right!

There won't be many pics to post tonight, either. It was raining too hard to even try and take them at the show. Hopefully, the weather will be better tomorrow!

Okay, now it's Cocktail Time, and the Old Guys Evening Meeting. First on the agenda is dinner plans.

Second on the agenda is whether or not we drag race tomorrow. If we do, we have to be there about 6:00 AM, and may not be able to race until noon. That'll mess up our travel schedule. We'll keep you posted.

Day Five - Kalamazoo

2007-06-03T17:47:00.000-04:00

The day started out sunny and cool, and by mid-afternoon, it was still cool, but raining. That didn't ruin the Old Guys' spirits...we just slowed down a little driving through those torrential downpours.

We started out driving the published route, and as we passed the drivers' meeting location, we're happy we didn't attend...traffic was backed up a mile getting into the IX Center!

We thought we'd be leading the pack (as we usually do), but it turned out that only a few attended the meeting, and the rest of them were already on the road. We did our best to pass them, but the two-laners held us back a little.

All along the route, the residents sat in their lawn chairs, and cheered us on. One group was even cooking some BBQ! I guess in the Ohio country, they've got nothing else to do on a Sunday!

Lunch was just over the line in Michigan (right on Lake Erie), and sponsored by DynoMax. There were several choices, and we opted for fish sandwiches and fries...EXCELLENT lunch!

Trying to get out of the park was almost impossible, and took about a half-hour. We decided to abandon the two-lane route, and we headed for the interstate. That's when the sky opened up, and slowed us down again. The GPS kept us going, without even one wrong turn...boring!

We went straight to the hotel, and checked in. The Old Guys select their hotels by first checking to see if it has a bar, and then by the location. The good news is this one had a really nice lounge. The bad news is that it's closed on Sunday!

We headed for the Fairgrounds, which is just a couple miles from the hotel. There was only one turn we had to make, so the GPS never got turned on. Bad move...we went about ten miles out of the way, and as the rain continued, Packard Bill finally turned on the GPS.

We entered through the wrong entrance, and ended up driving a couple blocks in the dirt, which due to the rain, was now MUD!

Needless to say, we checked in, picked up our Eaton fender covers and Flowmaster hats, and headed back to the hotel. Our cars looked like we'd been muddin' for about 100 miles, and they'll definitely need a bath. Packard Bill said he was leaving his just the way it is...the mud adds character!

Anyway, it's Cocktail Hour, and we've gotta get going. Tomorrow morning, it's off to Racine, Wisconsin. I'm hoping to meet with Vic Edelbrock, and get some drag racing pointers, so I can whip Sonny on the strip.

Day Four - Cleveland

2007-06-02T14:24:00.000-04:00

Last night, we were treated to a dissertation from MC Bill about trading cars with his father (Packard Bill) on the HRPT last year. It was hilarious, and if we can work out the details, we'll post a video of it tomorrow.

The Old Guys were also reminded of an important lesson...read the directions! We spent much of the evening planning today's activities, only to find out the day started at 9:00 AM, and not noon, as we had planned.

So this morning, after we woofed down a continental breakfast consisting mostlyof donuts, we drove a couple miles to the IX Center for the first day of the Tour.

Since the Old Guys are known to be prompt, we arrived about 8:15 AM, and had to sit in line for 45 minutes. That gave us plenty of time pick up a couple T-shirts, and nitpick the other cars as they arrived.

We did our usual stroll around the vendors, picking up tons of free stuff (most of which we'll throw away), and looking at the cars.

Packard Bill, who's car is now for sale ($16K if you're interested), agreed to do a dyno run. Actually, he was shamed into it during cocktail hour yesterday! DynoMax had a contest where everyone guessed his HP and Torque, and since he's running a Vortec engine and overdrive trans, most of us guessed too low...EXCEPT Sonny, who predicted 249, and won! His actual rear-wheel HP was 254...impressive!

During the dyno run, we all stood around, hoping to catch a piece of the Packard when the engine blew up, but it didn't happen!

We had lunch, and since Cleveland is in the middle of a heat wave (upper 80's), we came back to the hotel at 2:00, just in time for Happy Hour (it's 5:00 somewhere, right?).

Tomorrow morning we head for Kalamazoo, and we'll have company...Sonny's brother. Those of you who know him from Daytona already know that he will lead the charge to Cocktail Hour!

Day Three - Cleveland

2007-06-01T19:37:00.001-04:00

Last night, a stanger joined us in the parking lot. This guy, who had apparently drank more than the Old Guys ever did, was convinced I would beat Sonny in the upcoming drag race. He thought since my wagon was running slicks, and was tubbed (how much did he REALLY have to drink?), Sonny wouldn't have a chance, and even as obnoxious as he was, I think he's right!

First thing this morning, the Old Guys did some Preventative Maintenance...Cecil pulled his spark plugs to find out why he's blowing smoke out the left bank, Sonny replaced his radio, Packard Bill replaced his carb return spring (with two paper clips and some rubber bands), and I tried to find the source of my overnight fuel evaporation (no luck).

Later in the afternoon, Kevin and AJ arrived, as did a couple of Packard Bill's sons. We went to the IX Center to register, checked out a few of the cars, and of course, I bought a shirt.

After that, we went to Flaming River Products (steering columns, rack and pinion stuff, and steering wheels) for a cook out and cruise in. We got a tour of the plant, saw some very cool cars, ate, and just after we washed our cars, got rained on big time!

Back at the hotel, we swapped out Cecil's balancer seal, which will hopefully stop the oil leak. It was accomplished WITHOUT the use of power tools, or an impact wrench.

Monte Carlo Bill (Junior) feels we should mention him in the blog. Okay, Bill, you've been mentioned!

Now it's cocktail time...tomorrow the big show begins! And you've gotta love that GPS...we still haven't gotten lost!

Hot Rod Power Tour - Day Two

2007-05-31T16:58:00.000-04:00

After a really good night's sleep, we were on Main Street in Mayberry RFD at 7:30 AM. We took a couple pics, but all the parking in front of Floyd's Barber Shop was taken. What's an Old Guy to do, but double park, take the pics, and hope that Andy didn't give us a ticket!

We had breakfast at Slappy's, right next door to Floyd's. A complete breakfast...an egg, bacon, biscuit, gravy, and more...was $2.60. We went for TWO eggs, which was another twenty cents!

Then it was northbound for an uneventful ride to Cleveland. The trip through the mountains was awesome, but the rest of the ride was boring, and no fun. Why, you ask? Well, we used the GPS, and never got lost! That definitely took the fun out of the ride!

Sonny's Stereo Gremlin is still acting up, and he figures he can fix it for about $75. He's gonna buy a new radio at Wally World!

We stopped for gas, and decided to have lunch at Pizza Hut. We pulled into the parking lot, and lo and behold, there was a White Castle right next door. Where we decided to go was a no-brainer...the Sliders were excellent! Sonny said it doesn't qualify as fast food because we had to wait while they cookem them!

Now we're here in Cleveland, and will be here until Sunday morning. Tomorrow, sometime after noon, registration opens, and we'll be there. And tomorrow afternoon, we're going to the Flaming River Cruise In.

We gotta run now...this is interfeering with Happy Hour! More tomorrow.

Hot Rod Power Tour - Day One

2007-05-30T17:27:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, three of the Old Guys gathered in Jacksonville, and spent the night at Chez Dolezel. After a couple hours cleaning Love Bugs from the cars, we had lunch and dinner combined, then it was off to Turffles for dessert. If you don't know about Truffles, just ask. The fourth Old Guy spent the night in Ormond Beach...go figure.

Today, we headed north. Cecil managed to meet us on time...about 4:45 AM!

Breakfast at the Cracker Barrel, of course, and Sonny messed with the cause of his stereo gremlin...the same one I had a couple years ago!

We stopped at Holman and Moody in Charlotte, and you've gotta see the pics to do it justice! Lee Holman gave us a tour of the facility, some of the GT40 racing background, and then showed us his 1964 Fairlane Trans Am car...don't confuse it with a Thunderbolt...this one's made for beating Enzo Ferrari's, and it DOES!

After a couple hours there, we headed north again, only to find a major interstate traffic backup! Getting off the interstate was the solution, and after a fuel stop, we returned to clear sailing.

So we're stting in Mt. Airy, about a mile from Floyd's Barber Shop, and it's time for dinner. Afterwards, it'll be cocktail hour(s), and maybe we'll end up spending the night with Otis in the Mayberry Lock Up!

Five hundred-plus miles for the Old Guys today. Tomorrow will be about a hundred less.

Beach Blast XIII

2007-05-19T05:55:00.000-04:00

One of the Old Guys' favorite car shows is the Beach Blast, which is hosted by Mike Kelly's Cruise News, and held at the oceanfront Holiday Inn.

There's a 200-vehicle pre-registration limit , and every year, that limit is quickly reached. Many participants, including us, make a weekend out of it.

The show is actually held on Sunday. Last year, we arrived mid-afternoon Friday, and the show field was about a quarter-full.

Yesterday, when we arrived, after spending more than an hour ridding our cars of Love Bugs, we found the show field about 85% full! Next year, it'll probably fill up sometime on Thursday!

The Old Guys, along with most of the other participants, immediately went into Cocktail Hour mode, and somehwere about 11:00 last night, as the crowd thinned out, we called it an evening.

Saturday: Still a day away from showtime, but you'd never know it. About noontime, fifty cars moved onto the Promenade, making room for fifty more in the parking lot. We managed to park our seven Cougars together in the same area, although not in a row.

About 1:30, the Old Guys hosted a cookout on the balcony of the Cabana Room, featuring Sloppy Joe's, and hot dogs on the grill. There was more than enough food, and we'll finish it for lunch tomorrow.

In the evening, it was back to the parking lot, where we were determined to be the last to leave, and at about 1:00 AM, we WERE the last group there, and we called it a night.

Tomorrow's the big show, and we need our rest!

Sunday: After a late start, we spent some time (actually, very little time) cleaning the cars, and suddenly it was lunchtime, which was a repeat of yesterday.

At 3:00, the door prizes were given out (of course, we got none), and the awards were presented (we got none of them, either). The just-short-of-$1000 50/50 drawing was held, and our numbers, as always, weren't even close.

Now, it's nap time for the Old Guys, because there's another party this evening! It'll be good to get back home, where we'll finally get some rest!

Two MUST HAVE Tools

2007-05-03T21:33:00.000-04:00

The rules are simple, and relatively easy to remember...

- If it moves, and it's not supposed to, use some duct tape.

- If it DOESN'T move, and it's supposed to, use some WD-40.

The Old Guys suggest you keep BOTH handy in the trunk of your car!

The Old Guys Score A Trifecta!

2007-04-26T14:28:00.000-04:00

If you're a subscriber, you already know about Legendary Ford magazine. But if you're not, and you're really into the Blue Oval, then either subscribe using the link above, or pick up a copy at any leading book store.

It's a first-class magazine...published six time a year, with well-written articles appearing on quality paper, which in turn, makes the photography really stand out!

And it's a pleasure not to have to deal with a Mustang (or a Mustang supplier) on every other page.

So here's the trifecta...Cecil's '68 Cougar appears in the My Ride portion of the issue, photographed by LFM's publisher, my '77 Wagon is in the Cougar's area, and Sonny's '66 Cyclone will be appearing in a future issue, but for now, it's the new 'poster child' on the subscription card that can be found inside each issue.

Our thanks to Dick, Colin and Dianne at Legendary Ford for making it all possible!

Just added to the Old Guys Photo Albums...some scans from the magazine, along with some photos of the actual LFM shoot in Ocala.

Cougar Prowl II

2007-04-25T09:37:00.000-04:00

You can only do it in Hawaii (possibly) and Florida (surely)...see the sun rise and set on the water in the same day, and since it's not in the Old Guys' budget to travel to Hawaii, we're making the trip across Florida with the Sunshine State Cougar Club, of which we're all card-carrying members.

The plan is to meet in Ormond Beach Friday evening, take some photos on the beach Saturday at sunrise, then work our way across the state, ultimately ending up in Crystal River, where we'll take photos of our cars again as the sun sets, then spend the night.

Our CruiseMaster won't say much about the route, except we'll be visiting Don Garlits around lunchtime. That way, if he misses a stop (remember Fort Matanzas and the Big Orange a couple years ago), no one will be the wiser!

May 1, 2007...with no Internet access, we were unable to update daily, but here's what happened:

Friday evening - As we gathered at the beachfront hotel in Ormond Beach, Swami handed out goody bags. Among other items, there was an orange with 'BIG' written on it, and a travel brochure describing Ft. Matanzas. Both were probably there because those are the two stops we missed last time!

Julie did her best (don't ask what she did) to convince the boss of the beach patrol to let us come onto the sand BEFORE the sunrise, but it didn't work.

After some pizza, and way more cocktails than anyone needed, we finally called it a night somewhere about midnight.

Saturday morning - Well before daylight, we lined our cars up along the beach, and took photos as the sun began to rise. Then it was a group breakfast at the local IHOP.

After breakfast, we began our cruise, heading west, and staying on the two-laner's. We stopped at 'Cougar Park' (really) for a photo op, and eventually ended up at Don Garlits Museum, where we had some lunch, and then spent a couple hours touring. If you haven't been there, it's a MUST see!

Continuing west, we made our way to Crystal River and the Port Hotel and Marina, where Elvis Presley stayed in 1961, while filming a movie. Apparently, the hotel was so proud of Elvis' stay, that they haven't remodeled the rooms since!

While most attended a cruise in that evening, the Old Guys opted for a nap, and rejoined the group at sunset, where we again lined up our cars, and took more photos as the sun set.

Later than evening, it was dinner, and the party continued until sometime past midnight. Sunday morning, everyone headed for home.

The Swami and Julie did an excellent job of putting the trip together, and they're already at work, planning another Cougar Prowl for next year!

Prepping For The HRPT

2007-04-18T07:58:00.000-04:00

One trip on the Hot Rod magazine Power Tour, and you're hooked! At least, that's what happened to a couple of us, back in 1998. Now we're veteran Long Haulers, and the four of us have traveled the Tour from start to finish for the past several years.

The 2007 Tour begins in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 2nd, and ends in Little Rock, Arkansas. In between, we'll be visiting Kalamazoo, Racine, Springfield, Evansville, and Memphis, attending a HUGE car show (3000+ vehicles) in each of those cities.

Beginning May 29th, we'll be updating from the road daily, in typical Old Guys humor, documenting our adventures, and hopefully, including a few photos. And you're always invited to add your two cent's worth!

And here's a possible historic first...Sonny and I will both be taking our 1977 Cougar station wagon's, and there's already talk of a grudge match on the quarter-mile at Memphis Motorsports Park.

Meet The Old Guys!

2007-04-15T11:27:00.000-04:00

We're all from Florida, and except for Bill, we're retired, but we expect Bill will be joining us in retirement soon. Our passion is our old cars, and rather than letting them sit in a garage somewhere, we DRIVE them around the country.

I'm in south Florida, have a 1970 Cougar XR7 convertible, and a 1977 Cougar station wagon.

Packard (used to be Monte Carlo) Bill is from Florida's west coast, and has a 1949 Packard, along with his classic Monte Carlo.

Cecil is from central Florida, has a 1964-1/2 Mustang convertible, a 1968 Cougar, and a 1969 Cougar convertible.

Sonny lives in north Florida, has a 1966 Cyclone GT convertible, two 1977 Cougar wagon's (okay, so one is a parts car), and is in the process of finishing his classic Mercury pickup truck.