Open Wheel Reunion *PICS* !! LOTS OF PICS

We had a great weekend for the Open Wheel Reunion Reliability Run. We were hoping for a little bit better turnout, but with the Sycamore car show going on, I guess it’s more fun sitting in a lawn chair on 100° asphalt than getting out and driving. No matter. We had a great time, put on 120 miles DRIVING our hot rods and customs!

 

We had a few bikes too...



Driving down Route 20



Kansas and Oldcarmike


Kevin driving my Dad’s 3 window...


Very little traffic, just cool country roads...

 

Downtown Marengo, IL. We stopped here for lunch at a bar called Cruisin’ on State Street. It’s a small town car themed bar, and we filled the place up. Really nice folks and they were really glad we stopped by.









The famed Zenor coupe!





Mine...







Onward to see the B-17!

 

The Desert Rat is the 2nd oldest B-17 in existence. The oldest is in the Smithsonian. They have a LONG way to go and have been working on it for a number of years. They are hoping to have it completed in 5-7 years. Ambitious? You bet. But with donations in time and money, they just might pull it off.

Mike, the owner. He and his wife are really nice people. We had a somber moment discussing Gerry Beck’s fatal P-51 crash at Oshkosh on Friday. Such a great loss for the warbird community.



Tail...





Zenor rocking out with the “WWII” boom box.







Me and one of the props...



Hmm, I can think of a few uses for these...



Kevin and Shoeboxmags...

 

Old meets new...





Lots of models...





Ball Turret and escape hatch





This thing was cut up into 7 pieces in a junkyard that closed in the ‘50s. They used torches, saws, axes, you name it. Torch marks...

 

Cleecos!



Cockpit



They were asking for a $5 donation to have a look around. Only $5? I threw in a $20.

Relaxing outside...



Hey, I found a Panther!



And an A-26...


Someone wanted to let the Navy know just what they think of their abandoned aircraft recovery policy...

 

This stuff was all found walking around the Kingman AZ scrapyard site, just lying on the ground.



Couldn’t ask for a nicer day...



Kansas’ starter decided to give up the ghost and no amount of prodding with a hammer was going to change that. And at 4:30 on a Sunday after some valiant efforts, we had to leave the car behind. So Kansas hopped in with Kevin and oldcarmike got to ride in the rumble seat with us.



Mike’s neighbor flew over in his ‘43 L-3

 

From there we drove on to Sycamore and some people just went on their way. By the time we got there, the awards had been given and everyone left! No big deal. I think it was far cooler to see all the hot rods and street rods getting driven. It was pretty funny... My wife and I started to “predict” who would wave and who would not based on the style of car they were driving. We got pretty good at it too!



From here we split up, and we made oldcarmike go drink beer with us at the blacktop baron’s party. Rumble seat and beer? Who could say no to that?



All in all a great time. 120 miles in a hot rod is a great way to spend a Sunday!

Mike is always looking for people to volunteer to work on the B-17. How cool is that?! I can’t wait.

If you want to see even MORE pics of the B-17, go here... http://www.hotrodhucksters.com/chad/openwheel07/

 

What a treat! Big kudos to Chad & Kevin for arranging this. The B-17 was truly awe-inspiring, I still have goosebumps.

 

Thanks guys what a cool history lesson.

 

great pics! looks like a really cool time!

 

Great looking pics...

 

There is absolutly nothing cooler than shots from the road. I love it. Thanks.

 

Wow- that looked like a kick-ass time!

Thanks for sharing!

 

Hey mike, and anyone else for that matter who is into old planes. Here's an invite for you; Next time you're near the Dayton, OH area, let me knowin advance and we'll go to the AF museum. I have a close friend who works in the restoration area who might be able to show us some stuff no one else will see for a while. They've got the real Memphis Belle in there now.

Vance

 

One cool little benefit to the day...

I had been hearing rumours of 2 P-47 Razorback projects here in IL. Mike confirmed their existence and told me where they were. Awesome!

 

Yeah, my arm still hurts from the twisting Django did to make me ride in the rumble seat and drink beer. He's pure evil!!

I had a good time and seeing a B-17 up close was a real thrill. After seeing how thin the skin of that plane is I have even more respect for the men that flew in them. There's almost nothing between you, the elements (-20 degrees or so at altitude), and enemy fire.

The pictures of the the cars on the run do not do them justice. An d I have to give high kudos to Mike Zenor on his coupe. He absolutely nailed the early 60's vibe with it. It's gorgeous.

I met some good folks and we all had a great time. Next year I hope to see more cars there - including one of my own.

 

You guys sure had a great time! I gotta keep a better pulse on stuff happening around these parts.

I didn't know there was a B-17 restoration going on near the 847. I would love to check that out on day.

I did go to Palwaukee yesterday for the 3 Bomber display. That was a great sight to behold.

Awesome post Chad.....

Joel

 

Looks like a great time. Wish I could have seen the Desert Rat, maybe next year??

You're gonna have to move the date to get some time for Oshkosh

 

I will call you up on that!. I've been jones-in to go ther for a long time. And yeah, I told Django about the Oshkosh thing. I cut my trip short a day for the B-17, and I never leave the big show for anything!

Any one thinking of voluntering to help Mike on the B-17?

 

Nice picts.. Looks like yall had a blast. Thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks for sharing

Rusty

 

We would like to go back and help, but I've not set anything up yet.

 

Sorry I missed it, kind of a long story, let me know if and when you're going back I'd love to get involved or at least be able to see the B-17.

 

Don't quote me on this, as it's been a few years, but I think anyone can come out and help. I think each Tuesday night and all day Sunday. You don't have to know how to work with sheet metal ( but it helps). The last time I came out, I spent a few hours cleaning some drift meters for trading stock. Just make sure to call Mike before you come out. PM if your interested, and I'll give Mike a ring to see if I remembered all the afore mentioned crap right.

 

Very cool.

 

Great pics. That looks like fun.

 

Sure would be nice to live closer and be able to put in some time in on the B-17. My dad and his crew picked up a new one at the factory and flew it to England to bomb Germany in WWII. He was 19 at the time and turned 20 a month after getting there.

Frank

 

Dang , thats COOL !

 

Yeah, Zenor said it best... "I'll never look at a car project the same way again!"