This is like reading a book series and having to wait on the next book. Great story and awesome car. <input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
Very cool a chance of a lifetime and cool stories to tell...I seen the car in person at the GNRS and it is beautiful. Hats off to all involved.
thanks guys! before i move into day 3's adventures my pal John sent me this pic as he has arrived back in Cali. i had forgotten about the 3 or 4 times we ran out of gas. i kept 1 gallon spare in the trunk which meant about 20 miles of driving. i can count 2 times that we coasted into the gas station in neutral! at least we never had to push the car. one of them was during the New Mexico check-point. i was already on my spare gallon and there were 3 cars ahead of me. the gate keeper let us through without a hitch. guess we should start smuggling stuff in customs, huh. this was the view 360 degrees: Day 3, Wednesday February 9, 2011 the night before was cold and beginning to sprinkle. it took me two looks outside before i understood that my car was covered in snow! windows were full of ice as were the bumpers. the padded top was frozen solid! im glad John knew what to do as he warmed up a towel and began to defrost the windshield. the thermometer at the nearby billboard said 17. flurries were still falling and the wind was still kicking. it took a very long time to get the car fired up. breakfast at a local dinner and off to Austin we go! speeds were limited cause i had no snow / ice driving experience let alone on bias ply tires. after pulling over what seemed like 100 times to put on another pair of socks and hoodies over my hoodie. we even shoved warming packs in our pockets and shoes (that didnt help). we arrived at Austin Speed Shop were Rocco took car of us by getting us some hot coffee. later he asked if my leg was ok cause i was limping. i ***ured him my legs were fine, my feet were about frozen and i had trouble walking! so after showing us around and introducing us to all the talented individuals, Bob asked if we would like to join them for lunch. afterwords we were back on the road. things warmed up a bit, well at least it wasnt snowing anymore. we pressed on to the state line and stay the night near New Orleans. at this point i felt like home was just around the corner...
It was great meeting you man, anytime you feel like firing up the shoebox and taking a short drive to Austin( after that trip Texas should be a walk in the park for you) come see us..!
very nice, I love the story,and WELCOME to your new addiction !! this is why we do it , and drive cross country 4 -5 times a year. always on the search for the rush like the first time. I remember the first time I drove to paso, straight thu 27 hrs. then after that trip none have been the same, so you take different routes in search of the rush. It is great, everyone should do it, then they would know ......
Such a bad *** car and it was great meeting you in person. What a great road trip and you are always welcome back in AZ
Great story and a beautiful car. I got a kick out of some parts as I made a "coast to coast" trip in my old '56 F100 that is my avatar. Instead of the sandblasting you got I had crickets in Kansas, made the truck look like it had a beard. Then I damn near ran out of gas between Needles and Bartstow California, the picture you posted of the desert brought back those memories. Its good to see you weren't afraid to go for the long trip. Seems like some guys don't want to take their cars out unless its sunny and '70s. Where you headed next, New England?
Cool! Road trips are what makes memories. I noticed that you usually aren't running with the sombreros attached? Are you afraid to lose them? How are they attached? Rich
thanks! hopefully next time i visit it wont be the coldest day of the year for you guys. i think its your caddy in a pic in kustoms illustrated that really got me going to do this trip no matter how "nice" the car turned out, the 57 covered with bugs after a 1600 mile drive to Santa Maria. Cl***ic and burnt into my memory for ever! i cant wait for the next ride. maybe KKOA? thanks again guys i only wish i had more time to hang out more. ill be back in AZ for sure. thanks for sharing your cricket story, did you get a pick of your truck with that beard or what? think im going to Norway this or next summer. cant really drive there though, or could i? just as a saftey thing i would remove the caps. cruising at 75-85mph i just felt better not thinking about them up there. now that im in town they are back on, just last night i took the car out and me and my pal in his 63 Impala, we called it quits at just under 100 (not for a very long time) caps are still ok. Day 4, Thursday February 10, 2011 lots of bumpy highways and byways on the way to New Orleans. we rolled right into Bourbon Street and cruised at a casual 15mph until we found a little corner breakfast spot that cooks there food under Ford hubcaps, we illegally parked on the corner to keep an eye on the car. Daytona Beach, Fl was the goal for the night. so i push the little shoebox down the road p***ing up state signs one after the other. this one i had to back up on. focused on getting a day of rest we almost missed this one. Florida! wow i could almost see my house from here. well in about 10 more hours of driving. but the trip wasnt over yet. there was still one more stop to make. my pal Chris lent me his cozy inter-coastal views cabin in Daytona Beach to have a couple nights and a day to balance out all the driving and hour changes. this proved to be key in completing the trip. that Thursday night the bags were dropped off and we cruised up and down the strip. Day 5, Friday February 11, 2011 living the beach life we stroll out of the cabin for breakfast at about 1pm. afterwards the car was in need of some cleaning, so a local self wash spot was found and about 10 dollars in quarters later most of the car was clean. a cruise on the beach was mandatory! we pull off and snap a bunch of pics with the sun setting just behind us. lots of gray beards complimenting on the car and sharing stories of what they had and so on. just as all this high was flowing the local beach cop pulls up to me as we are driving p***ed each other. i slow to talk thinking he is gonna say something to the extent of be careful with loose sand or something. instead he asked me for my registration! so after driving cross country on my "show-plate" a 50 Florida plate that we color matched to the car he ran my plate earlier and nothing came up. welcome back to Florida! hahaha, lucky for me i had an "antique" plate just in case, the guy actually sat there and watched me swap the plate out. once i pulled back up to the cabin the blue plate was put away and the "show-plate" was back on! Day 6, Saturday February 12, 2011 picked up some dougnuts at the Daytona Krispy Kreme and we were off to the center of the state for a home show. timing just seemed to "work" on this trip. the natural flow of things had been working beautifully and i am returning back to Miami with a new state of mind thanks to this trip. after not being able to locate this car show, The Groundhog Gala, a random guy in a big truck directed us in the direction he knew we were looking for. we never bothered asking for directions just figured we would bump into it. well just as im pulling up through the gates Nads and JT happen to be walking out. the look on their faces was worth all the efforts of keeping from them that my plan was to make their show on my way home. it was a perfect way to complete the trip. i got to see all my Florida buds from Tampa and Orlando and all over Florida for that matter. the venue was set in an old town and everything just sorta flowed. thank you guys for the warm welcome back to Florida! and thank you Nads for picking my car as Cooles Custom! its an honor man! so at about 4pm i figured it was time to finish up the drive home. a pizza pit stop in West Palm Beach to drop off John and meet his amazing dad who is just the most lively filled individual i have met in a long long time. thank you! i will see you at local shows soon! and thanks John for the company as we charged across the US of A. back home at last with a back seat full of the coolest awards and recognition anyone could ever ask for! i made this trip, built this car just for the fun of it. everyone called me crazy and my response was simply, somebody has to be "crazy" in order for others to feel "normal". i cant wait to log on some more miles. 6,000 miles in about 3 weeks. well that completes my trip to Cali and Back in a custom. ill be updating a few more build pics later on when i have more time. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=458747
Man what a great looking car, and what a trip - maybe you would like to take a short hop upto Indy in June - Road Rockets Rumble - you WILL have a great time!!
Man that car is beautiful! Very inspiring! I wish I couldve made it to the groundhog gala..I hope to see you at Billetproof.
I imagine from the ***le of your thread that you know you're repeating some pretty neat history: Spence Murray, Bob Hirohata, and Cadzilla each did articles with a similar theme. Pretty car!
Planning on a 5000 mile rounder this summer. I plan on posting "landmark" pics as I go. Cool trip & cool car!
Awesome story!.I love reading stuff like this.I remember Chopolds and I,drove his 55 Olds '98' from NJ to Davenport,Iowa for the 89 Leadsled Spectacular.I think we spent 5 bucks in quarters to clean the car. I have pics of State signs too from that trip. Glad you guys had a great and uneventful trip.So,when are the next 6,000 miles gonna be????..........
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