First off I want to thank everyone who was involved in hosting the "Viva Weekend" It was my first time but not my last, It was by far one of the most fun events I have ever attended. What do you get when you put 4 Canadian guys in a 86 Caprice wagon with trailor and 37 ford truck in tow for 5000+ Km...........A great time and one hell of a bad smell! I'll let the other guy's chime in here with all the pic's and info but here is a quick rundown on how our road trip went. We left Vancouver at 12pm and planned on 30hrs of driving with gas & food stops. That should have been the case but 10 hrs into the trip somewhere in Oregon we pulled over for a bathroom break and noticed smoke coming from the trailor wheel. It's 10pm and everything is closed. We ***esed the damage, One outer wheel bearing, axle nut,cotter pin , thrust washer and wheel cap were toast. Not a big deal we thought, we can buy some parts in the AM and be on our way. With a closer inspection we noticed the axle nut was badly damaged and needed to be cut off. 7;30am rolled around and Laurie and Bob drove off in search of parts and tools while Mike and I sat with the truck and trailor. A few hours p***ed and the boys made it back with all the parts for both sides, better to be safe than sorry. 30 min later we had the axle nut chisled off ,new bearings in both side and back on the road. Vegas here we come!!! We rolled into Vegas at 5am Friday morning, with a little confusion at the front desk we managed to get into our rooms for a few hours sleep. We drove to the show in the 37 and for the next two days had the time of our lives! We met some of the best people, cool cars and had the chance to snap a few great shots with girls all over the truck. I'll let all the guys post their pic's and thoughts from the show and keep this short. The trip back was also a little long as we hit a snow storm in Utah. Here are a few pic's, we pulled over around 2am as it was getting to slick to drive. We were stuck for 7 hours until daylight and the snowing stoped enough to drive out. Can't wait till next year. What a trip!
i'm not usually a fan of odd cab and grille combos, but i really like this truck. something about that grille and the way it is situated in relation to everything else just grabs me. and that color is great. how did you get that shade of non-red red oxide? quite a storm too. sounds like a great trip with good stories to tell. someday i'll make it to vegas. i'm just not cool enough yet.
Man - I want to head down so bad! but I refuse to go without my project at least friggin started! Love your truck - it's killer! Also have to hit Bonniville as well.
HELL YEAH! I know I don't need to tell you guys how much you rule for accomplishing this but....you all RULE!!! I have dreamed of doing this...thanks for the kick in the pants...maybe next year there will be a Canadian caravan... silas
*****en Pickup mang. I thought the attention to detail on it was absolutely amazing. I got some pretty good shots of it, they are at photos.yahoo.com/straycatec if you want any full size of them let me know.
The truck belongs to my Brother Laurie Peterson, Canada Customs & Hot Rods. He should see this post and reply soon, his name here is Ratstu
That truck RULES! Any chance it's going to be at Paso or Billetproof? I need to see it in person.....I promise not to stand too close so as not to drool all over it.
Cool truck and it was good meeting you guys. I would have followed you guys when I caught you just past St. George, but I was trying to make it home before that snow storm.. This was the first year I went to Viva without driving through ANY snow at all! It was nice for a change.. Good to hear you guys made it home safe..
Hey guys this is Laurie - First of all I'd like to thank Axle & the Shifters for putt'n on one *****'n non stop AMERICAN style show. I don't care how many worn out wheel bearings or blizzard style snow storms we had to go through I would do it again in a heart beat.We had a chance this weakend to get hooked up with some excellent people & cars - such as the guys from Reno parked next to us with their attention to detail rides, Squeak Bell & his friends from New Zealand, Tom Branch(studebaker engine guy),Throttlers, Road Zombies & Bo Huff (Hey Bo - looks like that guy had some that bad shrimp!!!!!)I also had the pleasure of meeting people from all over Europe who came over for the show.All of our group will be talking about this weekend for many years to come. Thanks to my brother Geoff for getting this thread started & stay tuned for more pics ! Cheers everyone - Laurie
Hey Muttley - we are hopefully going to make it to Paso. We've got a room booked but what about show registration ? I'd love to do all the events if money was no object!
Hey 50 Chev - It was very cool talking with you one Saturday night & putting a face to your web site. It's amazing how so many people can get connected together through a common intrest - a car. Keep up the good work!
Damn Geoff!! Don't you ever WORK?? Truck looks great man... and why didn't ya bring that TOO when you were down here last weekend!?? Oh and Laurie... your brother dances like a girl. Love the truck! ~Steve
You guys rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And here I am *****'in 'bout the drive home and look what all of you had to go through to make it home!!!!! That looked like a good snow storm. Let me tell ya. I don't miss them bad winters back in Toronto I tell ya that! Thanx for taking me for a ride in yer truck in the the parking lot at the show. I do want a shirt like the ones that ya had at the show. A size large will be good. Let me know the $$$ and whom to send the cha ching to to get one. Love to see all of you at 'Paso this year. Do keep in touch......KNUX!
Laurie It sure is nice to make the connection between your logo and the truck and finally to you. Your door has been making rounds in email over the past couple months. I've received it at least three times. Not one person who relayed it could tell me where it came from though. I ran that photo on the cover of our club newsletter in April in hopes of finding out. Mike
Ahhh i drooled on that truck a lil at vlv ! And I thaught I had a interesting journey home with the winds blowing me in the oncomming traffic... the ***** houses and the 9 hr drive!!!!!
Someone sent me this pic to post as well. That's Laurie with the truck and me "The Happy Drunk" with the camera. To the left the fuzz in street wear drinking a beer.
Hopefully we'll have a Canadian convoy headin down next year. Went last year without a car didnt go this year cause I wasnt sure about the "new rules" I kept hearing about. Next year I'm hopin for Viva or Paso (less chance of snow) and WITH a car this time!
The Jalopy Journal
