I will be moving to the Port Charlotte Florida in the next month or so. Any one know what the area is like for a car/bike guy. Any good shops or hang outs. Also looking for places to buy steal (tubing, sheet metal, ect)
I think what you are finding is not that people here don't want to help out, it's just that there is not much of a "scene" for traditional cars in southwest florida. However, new caddy's & towncars are popular with the retirees Port Charlotte is about 45 minutes north of me, as I am in Ft Myers. It is also god's waiting room here as well. If you need Ft Myers info, let me know though Dan
I,m in Englewood, abouy 20 miles from you. There's quite a bit to do once you get to know some people. Look me up in October when I get back down there. Phone # is 473-8283, ask for Butch.
I spent 18 years there in North port. Scene????????? Uh no. Sorry. There are cars, gold chainers mostly. Very few hamb types though. If you need stuff let me know. I know everybody there. Oh yeah, steel. Bob Dean Supply in fort myers. they deliver richarwlt@aol.com
yep, you're correct on all points. I do like Bob Dean though. It's 2 minutes from my job, and they even organized their drops so that you can actually find stuff! It's real nice now
Well at least there are a few people in the area. I kinda Of thought that there would not be alot going on. The few people I have talked to have told me its mostly old people. Oh well at least the fishing will be good. Any other helpfull hints about the area would be great.
I'm just east of Tampa and have been here about a year and a half. A lot of car shows but no 'scenes'. There are a lot of shops but they require some digging. I let my fingers do the walking on the internet if I need stuff. Coming from Detroit where we had everything within a short drive from anywhere, it's kind of a downer. But you will get to drive your car year round .
Swamp Buggy races! Port Charlotte is in kind of a dead zone, even by Florida standards, but like you said the fishing is good (fresh and salt, $15 license), and no state income tax... Yet. Make sure you make enough money to cover your homeowners insurance... It's going to be quite a shocker if you are going to be west of I-75... Not as bad on the other side, just find a place above 15ft + above sea level. Lotsa old people mean lotsa of cheap, low miles 5.0L/AOD donor cars! The Ford Edison Summer estates are close by, and you are only about an 1.5 to 2 hours away from me. One thing to remember, if a old cracker tells you to do something about the climate/bugs/wildlife/food/fishing (especially fishing) that sounds about a click and a half off from how you would think you should do it, listen to 'em, things down here are about a click and an half off normal...
Don't worry about it. Florida is made up of several factions. Snow birds, business people. Rats, regular fokes, plain good ole boy crowds and an interesting dark side of "tough guys.".(this is the latest thing I have found down here and they are are apart of the good ole boy crowd...They are quiet but to say the least many and not city mean but country/swamp F'ing mean) In all of these groups you'll find various forms of hot rodders. boats, cars, bikes and most of all, all year round..! You might be surprised at the amount of big honkin diesel trucks being drivin by the average joe down here too. It's a norm. Just make sure after you investigate the typical beach stuff and all, go into the interior of the state. It's a different florida than what you usually think of and in my opinion it's it's own something. Living in florida you'll find a very competitive environment. it will make or break you in the first year. I have met some good fokes from Port Charlotte. Most people down here are tied into some kind of construction and right now commercial is the safe area. florida has a pretty good make up of ethnic background so if your into Mom and Pop's restraunts you will be well off. Ft. Myers is loaded with greese spoons , soul joints, Italian, Greek, Polish, German, Asian etc. and when it comes to critters from the salt water Don't pass up the local hole in the wall fish joints. We have several down here that flat out rock. Bonus... Here, the fish docks just down off of the beach are where it's at. As a kid in high school I remember getting a ton of crab and having at it in the evenings after wrenching on a saturday. The absolute KEY is to identify the tourist places and avoid them because they almost always have more wrinkles than the blue hairs running to see Mel Torme's son play. Maybe a couple of visits to the local touristy food joint will be the lesson you'll need. Just remember florida ='s Mars compared to the rest of the World. It's easy to get burnt out down here after one full season. If you look for it the street racing scene is alive and well late at night as are the drag strips. You'll need to go up to bradenton( 1/4 mile) Because Ford and Edison had major ties to the ft. myers area you'll still find quite a few old stockers rolling around on the streets down off of Mc Gregor.. These guys are in their own world but still it's something. I see old T's and A's all of the time holding up the snow birds and A holes..! Oh yeah, watch out for the gator fleas and swamp gas. You'll have to make a trip down south of Naples and check the Swamp Buggy Nationals. Well Good luck!
I know this threads old but If your still looking for stuff to do check out the nostalgia drags in Bradenton Also If you get around Englewood much there is a guy on Industrial lane His name is Mac It's a big yard all fenced in first place on the left there are usually some guys hanging out there on the weekends working on cars... Hot Rod Walt use to always be building some bitchin rides in North Port but he relocated to Georgia too loved getting to go check out what he was building last time I was there I was delivering a pink caddy to his place with my Buddy Jim anyway look around there are some cool rodders around there but there far and few my biggest Highlight of living there for 16 years was when Walt had the Rockabilly Rumble It was a bitchin time for sure.
Charlotte County Motorsports Park. get a pit pass and get to know the locals,,,you will have a lto in common with the local racers http://www.charlottecountyracing.com/ FLA racing web site http://www.karnac.com/ fla racing forums http://www.realracinusa.com/forums/
Not to steal a thread, but I've never been able to make the registration part of the GreasePit site work, so I've never been able to set up an account. Anyone know how to do this? I've been in Orlando since 1977, but don't know anyone who builds hot rods or customs - despite my efforts to find them.
You need to register on the Greasepit, then wait to be accepted. The reason for this was so the moderator could weed out the spam feeders and make sure only people who were serious about hot rodding could get on.
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