I attended my first Spectacular a number of years ago in Wichita, KS. Robert Rolling and I drove my '65 Buick Riviera up for the event and proceeded to have an absolute ball. We reveled in the fact that we were the young guys in a crowd of older gen... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Yep. It seems like there is a mix of age in the hot rod part of life. Quality sleds are supported by the older set.
Ryan Thanks for the story and pics. Looks like a good time even though you had a little road trouble. About the posse you traveled with. I've got to say you are right on. I was lucky enough to meet every one of them except Gary Howard when I was at the roundup this year. If he's even close to being like the rest of them I'm sure he is a prince. Thanks again
Nice selection of rides! Sleds....they kinda balance the 'hot rod' end of the HAMB. Man, Steve and Reggie mannin' the chairs, that looks kinda odd! When I see 'em in Austin for the Roundup and festivities, those guys are always on the move! Good times for sure.
Cool story and I always enjoy the pics. It was nice to meet you as I surveyed the Austin crowd you were hangin with and narrowed it down to you. You do know that OLD ****E SWAGGER will fix that shy thing !!! Anyhow it was nice to meet you and I enjoyed the visit >>>>.
Wow, looks like a great turn out, and some fine - ***ed rides. Hopefully it was a little cooler than good 'ol Texas. Those are some damn fine pics, what kind of camera are you using?
Thanks Ryan for the great story and coverage. This comment struck a chord though. My first reaction was, how can you be a gearhead and not enjoy a show of that caliber every second you are there? But, as a former introvert, I do remember getting bored at car shows after I had "seen" all the cars that interested me. Somewhere along the line though, I realized the best way to truly appreciate any car is to get a personal "tour" from the owner or builder. Now I run out of time at most shows before I get to see all the cool stuff. All it takes is one comment or question to the owner or builder about an obscure or subtle feature you like. This will usually get them to open up and start showing you other stuff you would have missed, or tell you cool back-stories/history you never would have heard. I have met some lifelong friends because I commented on stuff about their car no one else ever picked up on. B.
Amazing stuff. You're right about not knowing what to do once you look at the cars at the show. It seems to me the most fun part is the adventure in getting there.
Great show, great weekend! It was cool to see the Texas crew make it up for this event. Good to see you guys. Malcolm
Reggie and I were just catching a breather during our first impromptu car show we put on in the parking lot of the gas station in Davis, Oklahoma. Little show and shine in the parking lot of the gas station while we were waiting about an hour on *****er to pick up Lee's car for the second time. You meet some pretty "interesting" people in the middle of nowhere when there are old cars involved. *****er is the man though, he made that 70 miles drive to OKC w/ the shoebox on his back in about 45 minutes. I mean he was gone......we all were doing everything we could do just to keep him in site. It was a welcomed though because it was really getting late and we still had 3.5 hours to go after OKC. Like Ryan said, the trip was great. The company was great. The fried chicken......whoa!! Thanks Jay(nosurf) for the tip on the chicken house. The only thing we really missed due to the breakdown was McPhail's hotdogs which was a total bummer because that is when you really know the party started. Dennis was a prince and was gonna wait around for us, but by 1:30 am we knew the hotdogs were gonna be cold and we told them to get going. I started going to this show only three ago when Gary Howard got inducted in the Hall of Fame and vowed to try everything possible to make it back every year. The hot rods are starting to creep in the show now due to all the publicity and I am sure the drag races, but over all it is the place to go if you are in love w/ and want to see CUSTOMS as much as I do. There is some spectacular stuff there and the cool part is you see them be DRIVEN all over town.........very few trailers. Want to thanks Roger Morrison again for taking the time to show us all around his place and his oustanding collection of automobiles. I can guaranty you there is something there for everyone(taste-wise). Highlights of the trip, aside for the roadtrip up and back w/ my pals was gettin to drive Roger's 40 ford "The Cobra in the Barn" car that Ryan has in his photos. It's the copper one. And the other highlight, our family style chicken dinner outside under the trees at the Brookville Hotel in Abilene, Kansas. If you are anywhere near this place GO......but make a reservation if you wan to sit inside or do what we did and sit way out back w/ your to go sack (I actually recommend the outside dining)
Thanks for the post, Ryan. That looked like one hell of a good show! Yea...when ar eyou going to build yourself a custom??
Good times! Now that I think of it Ryan, our conversation outside the bar Saturday night was more than I have ever heard you talk.....combined. ha ha ha
You went with a great group of fellas! How come when Lee drove his shoebox from LA to Austin nothing went wrong? I think you're bad luck Ryan The Leadsled Spectacular is a show I need to go to! -Juan
Heck yeah! I thought you guys would be there, I even loaded up extra beer in my cooler for your crew to pilfer. I had to drink it all myself.....
Great story and cast of characters... hope to make this show sometime. I just need to find myself a "gaggle of car guys" to cruise with like you got yourself. I'm guessing that the really sweet lavender colored starliner is McPhail's. I have been waiting to see more of it. Thanks for the expanded/multi view shots.
If I wasnt on the quiet and shy side Myself, I would probably say something stupid, however, I have found that everyone appreciates a kind word, and you have plenty. Thanks Ryan.
Thanks goes out to Jerry & Devona and all of their officials for putting on a "Spectacular" show. A few years went by when attendance was down and I never could understand the reason why. Kustom Kemps of America is all about the Real Kustom and Hot Rod enthusiasts. What other out door event in the country could you get the chance to hangout with so many legends. One of the guys that I meet this weekend and not talked about very much, is King George I was told he is one of the original pinstripers. West coast had Von Dutch we had King George. I'm not familar with his stuff but trying to fins some examples. Being able to shake hands and autgraphs is one of the Kool things but being able to talk to the legends is priceless. Had the chance to talk to Frank & Cathy Livingston and actually had time to get to know each other. Hopefully he wasnt saying, **** here comes that guy again. LOL!! Very Kool to be able to make relationships with the kustom guys that helped build our hobby. Im looking forward to the future in Salina. Thanks KKOA for the great time. Happy Trails, Mick