Event Coverage Official Vintage Torque Fest Thread May 3-4, 2013

thanks Dave! You are a cool guy yourself.

and all this time I thought BobK was a Bohemian

 

.

Ahh, Bobwop.

Just another one of the "colorful" characters I got to meet at the show.

They all warned me about you Bob. I guess they were right.

The pleasure was all mine...

.

 

Thanks for posting these Ed

 

Welcome Jessica. For those of you that don't recognize Jessica she just happens to be Miss Torque Fest 2013. And now a H.A.M.B.er. One of which she'll never forget.

 

Always here to serve jess!
Don't forget to introduce yourself as miss torque thrust!

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I had a great time at Vintage Torque Fest 2013! I will be back. Friday sucked (was driving in the rain all day), Saturday was great. Met a few people, saw lots of awesome cars. Found some parts at the swap meet. Great music and entertainment, and somebody even took a picture of my car and put it on the H.A.M.B.! Sweet!

 

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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bQj3ql0-iYc?list=UU4-ab2h1pLOSayGeAntH_Ng" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Video I took of the amazing flame show Friday night.

 

Daddy-o,...I'm so glad you brought the coupe to the show even if it was in a trailer; after you posted that you were bringin it, so many people were lookin forward to seein it. You mite not remember me, but I mentioned that if our club had made a club-choice trophy, most likely it would've gone to your car; it is an awesome looking car...hope to see you again maybe at Iron Invasion or next year's T-fest.
...nice talkin with you.

 

Some shots from Saturday

 

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Just wanted to stop in, share a few pics, and thank everybody involved in the show. I wasn't able to stay long, but I had a great time and there were a lot of great cars out there. I will definitely be putting this and Iron Invasion on my calendar .

David

 

Given the weather we had - Total and complete success....

For the weather and prevailing conditions we had to deal with, I am not sure how the show could
have gone any better.
I knew it was going to be a tough hill to climb when the weather report said 100% chance of rain
on Friday. Add to that, reports of people digging out 2 foot snow drifts just to get their cars out of their
garage north of Minneapolis and jack knifed big rigs all along I-35 and I-80. For the guys on bias
plys, this turned into a treacherous road trip and for those that emailed me privately apologizing
about turning around.....no apology needed. While our show is a good time, it is not worth
risking your ride or your well being. There were MANY people that came up to me at the show and
apologized for not bringing their ride to the show, and we totally get it. Ultimately we were just happy people showed up in the wind and rain which had a wind chill of 29 degrees!

We started the show with 535 pre registrations. We ended up with 625 registrations given out.
Of those 535 pre registered rides about 125 did not show up. There were a total of just under 600 cars on site.
We had about 175-200 cars show up without the pre registration. So when you add up the pre reg
the pre reg that did not show up and those that drove up, we would have had over 700 traditional
rod and custom cars on site. The classic and chrome section was only about 25-35 cars so that was
nothing compared to the almost 300 we had last year. It seems the classic and chrome guys refuse to
drive their cars even if there is a hint of rain. That's ok, that is not what our show is about anyway.
So while many were complaining about the lower car count from 2012 to 2013, we actually had
about 600 traditional rods and customs both years. People also seemed to think we had a lower
spectator count as well. There is no doubt we had a fraction of the people show up on Friday,
but Saturday we actually had the same amount of spectators as 2012. The difference is the size
of the grounds. Dubuque County Fairgrounds are bigger than where we have been in the past, and
therefore it will take more people to fill the place up. I am confident we will get there.

Overall it was a fun time, and while it was chaotic and a bit unorganized, everyone I talked to
loved the new location and the vibe of Dubuque. The fairgrounds staff went way above and beyond the call
of duty rearranging stages on a whim of the VTF staff. Digging out about 30 cars out of the mud,
accomodating campers, and while the lines were long - the food never ran out. These are all issues
that we deal with at the different shows we put on and it's nice to know the crew at the fairgrounds
care enough about the show to make whatever changes are needed.

Many are still not clear about the gate proceeds and the art auction. The gate proceeds go to help pay for the show, and $$$ that is leftover
is given to our adopted families. This year we were able to give the Essl family $5000. We hope this is the first of many families we can
help. The art auction proceeds go to Hannah Wells Medical Trust. This is a trust set up to help us pay for all the expenses that we incur over the
year with our daughter. This year the auction raised just over $20K!!!! With the help of all these artists and bidders this was by far the most successful
art auction ever. We can't thank you enough - our first expenses are coming up June 7. We have to have both of our daughters looked at in Boston at
Harvard Medical. We are not sure when we have to have more open heart surgery for Hannah, but we will be able to get more info by doing these tests.

Of course the core of Vintage Torque Fest relies on the volunteers. They are the ones that make the
show happen. The lead volunteer coordinator (Mitch Huffington) is not just in charge of the volunteers, he is also
always coming up with ideas on how to make the show better. He and the Tin Militia (Thor, Andy, Jenny, & Jessica) are invaluable
and the show is infinitely better with them on board. There were others as well, Brandon from The Bombers CC (and hosts of the
Bombs Away Bash - this year with Reverand Horton Heat!), Rocky Hodges, Steve from The Kropdusters, Rockford Mick,
family and friends that helped at the gates,Rob and Nonda, Iowa Doug, Scott from Romin'Chariots CC, &
Pat from 3 on the Tree - all these people put in at least 10 hour shifts each day. And we also received considerable help from
the following car clubs: Rat Bastards, Wreckless Chicago, Rod Tossers, Twisted Pistons, The Instigators, Romin Chariots.
And let us tell you - the weather on Friday was TERRIBLE. For those guys to sit on their posts in the
wind & the rain means so much to the success of the show.
We also had help with vendors who make the show unique, Tin Butchers CC running the swap, and Sara & Chez running the pinup contest.

There were also many who helped out with getting the word out about the show. Harley Davidson corporate were very involved
in the national advertising budget and we can't thank them enough. Regional and local advertising help was provided by
Dubuque Chamber of Commerce and Dubuque Convention & Visitors Bureau - specifically Keith Rahe and Tyler Daugherty.

With this support of family, friends, volunteers, car clubs, spectators, and most importantly- hot rod owners, Vintage Torque Fest will continue to be
the only traditional rod and custom show in Iowa that matters. Others will try - but they will not have the massive support from you - the fans and
participants of Vintage Torque Fest.

2014 Plans will be announced soon.

Thanks - John & Kim Wells

 

Thanks for the update boss.

 

YGlad to hear! I overheard you saying on Friday that it wasn't gonna be a success because of the weather! My buddy thought I was crazy for going with what the weatherman was saying. ( glad I didn't listen to him!) I had a great time going in the rain on Friday for the adventure,a great day on Saturday! Met some cool people,and had a great cruise back! Thanks to all ] for all the hard work all put in!

 

Well sounds like it was an awesome turnout even with the rain everybody had fun and it can only get bigger!

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Just have to watch out for that Ed and his friends. Giving out cherries to unsuspecting innocent people and all..... Glad to have gotten the chance to talk to you, Ed. We'll see about a sidecar class for the minibike races next year???

 

I agree those cherries were great thanks to diamond 49 and tiger mark!
As for the side car I have been thinking about it but there is nobody crazy enough to ride with me! What a great turnout john wells your the man

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I have been thinking that I need a lighter hack. My son has the lean for my monkey man but I don't know if I can use him as he is only 11. Definitely need more power to pull the extra weight though. I think a dedicated minibike track should be in the works for next year, maybe our own place to hangout.

 

Let's just get on that track next year it was calling my name I really wanted to tear it up AND those guys from Kansas city really wanted the title.
They will have to wait til next year too!
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Big track for sure would be cool, but need a better plan B. Plus I heard a few guys may have gotten a little wild amongst the people and cars. Gotta keep everything safe if we want to keep playing.

 

Just alittle next if its on the track it will be more contained so less worrys as for plan b it was a spur of the moment thing had the weather been nicer Friday that space we used probably would have been filled with more cars because by the end of Saturday there wasn't space left there or aleast half the space was gone

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Hey Hotroded, maybe we can talk the nice folks at the Field of Dreams into letting you mini bike guys run the bases?

For those of you that missed the cruise, Hotroded made 2 laps around the bases, they were at separate times, and he was on foot, but the thought of unloading the mini bike had crossed his mind. In the end, we figured the folks there probably wouldn't have been too happy about that thought, so the mini stayed on the car.
I can tell you, just watching him run flat wore me out. Thanks for the laughs man. I was the dork that held your coat for the last lap. Gene

 

Haha I would probably have been ban for life if I took that bike off the backk of the car I would have defintly made the news
Headline;
Asshole from New York runs bases on minibike ban from Iowa for life
Thanks for Holden my jacket too
But did you notice when we first pulled up the rain did stop for a minute or two
Also who knew that home plate had all that water under it cause when I jumped on home plate that water shot up hope the video came out good!
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Just another day in MN. 18" of blizzard on the way down. The camping was great!

 

Yea, that muddy water gusher from home plate was sort of cool, that would be a neat picture, and a better video. Was nice to get that little break from the rain when we first got to the Field of Dreams, but it sure made up for it about 1/2 way back. All in all, it was a great weekend. Gene

 

I just wanted to add that the Canfield downtown was an amazing hotel to stay at. Anyone looking for a more unique/vintage hotel experience for a good price... I highly suggest booking your room there next year.

My friend and I got a room with two beds, a good size fridge/freezer, retro kitchen table with chairs, microwave... and a shower you had to step over the toilet to get into... (lol!) for $70/night.

They still had some rooms available on Friday when we checked in as well.

I'm ready to go back next weekend.

Thanks to all those who posted photos!

 

The Canfield is one block from the Five Flags Theater/Arena where we will be doing the Retro Rewind - Cars and Guitars / Fuel Injected Film Festival in Jan. Hope people will come out and participate - it will be a good time.

 

Wow, awesome! Definitely sounds like my kinda gig. I'll put it on the calendar!! Thanks!

 

... the dates for T-fest 2014 are May 1-2-3