Featured Event Coverage Can Am Curmudgeons are Road Trippin' Again

What a great trip!
First this magnificent landscape, then the fantastic cars.
Very well written.
Thanks for that, and all in all, a great journey.
Greetings Harald.

 

Full disclosure, while most of the group spent the night in Abbottsford, I drove (and rode the ferry) a couple extra hours and spent the night in my own bed. This allowed me to drop off my co-pilot, road photographer and dear wife to look after our fur kids. So road photos may not be as plentiful or of the same quality with her staying home for the next few days.

Further disclosure...I dropped off the '32 and will finish the trip in my off topic Camaro convertible...no photos as I don't wish to upset the hardworking moderators. The reason I left the '32 home is there is something going on with the idle circuit in my center Rochester carb...once off idle, it's working perfectly. But, at idle, it runs like a pile of used parts. I tried some gas treatment as it seemed to start acting up for me and a couple other Curmudgeon cars after a particular gas stop. It didn't help. Anyway, l'll tear into it when I return. If I was further from home, I'd do a hotel parking lot carb rebuild (or take it apart, blow carb cleaner through it etc.)...but given, I was close enough to home to be able to take advantage of my shop, and I've got another fun (though non-HAMB friendly car to drive) it's a no-brainer.

In the meantime @40ply agreed to take photos at the Curmudgeon first stop this morning. It's a cool private collection. I'll catch up with the group at the second stop.

 

So @anothercarguy asked me to cover this mornings 1st garage tour and I will try my best to do that. Today started with the usual driver's meeting followed by some almost emotional goodbyes as Mikiver and his wife were heading south early to meet their new grandson. Also leaving the tour were Barefoot Bob and Oak and their respective wives.
Then it was wheels up and off to Allyn Edwards collection of beautiful collector cars. Tim will know more but Allyn has been an automotive journalist most of his life and a love for cars is in his DNA. There was so much to see it was very hard to take it all in.


His collection contains many convertibles and rarities.

This was one of my favorites

 

Here's a few random pictures of his collection.

 

Also on the property is a full on body shop with projects in various phases of completion.
Big block Merlin powered 55 Chevy pickup



Cadillac with a fresh coat of paint.

 

Another few random pictures, this is a few of the articles Allyn has written.

The body shop



Curmudgeons doing what we do.


I'm handing the wheel back over to Tim. Lol

 

Thanks Ed!

I'll start with Rick's '40 Ford coupe. This is a relatively new car for him, purchased out of Paso Robles almost a year ago. It's powered by an sbf, and AOD. Rick has driven the new to him car about 3000 miles so far.

The next car belongs to Gary and it too is a '32 highboy roadster. Powered by a 331 hemi bored .100" with a 6-71 blower (yeah baby!) connected to a 700R4. Gary has had the cat for 17 years and 90,000 miles. Gary was the second recipient of the "rusty chain"...his road warrior status is secure.

One of our original Curmudgeons finds himself riding shotgun on this trip...Wayne's '36 Ford cabriolet was involved in a single car incident involving his hoist, a suspect transmission gear selector and a sequence of unfortunate events a few weeks before our planned road trip. The car will be fixed but not in time for the summer cruising season.

The next stop on our touring event for the day was B&N Hot Rods.

The well equipped shop had a number of interesting projects underway and completed.

The team at B&N pretty much do everything in house except body and paint. They even have an upholstery area.

I won't post any photos of the powertrain in one of the staffers American Motors airbag equipped car because it has one of the later GM engines that don't belong here and it's complete with a hair dryer...but it does trip the dyno near 750(ish) HP. Wouldn't guess based on the outward appearance.

After touring the place, we were treated by B&N to a fantastic shop bbq with all the fixin's. It's been said that the Curmudgeons are not really a car club...we're more of an eating club that drive some cool cars!

 

Next, we went to a fabrication shop, Kremyr Racing.

They are doing very top notch work, including a lot of pieces made of titanium, chrome moly tubing etc. The shop was very well equipped, the welding was pure artwork and the need for speed was apparent.

The T-bird, will be powered by a SOHC motor.

This is a bare aluminum head for the SOHC motor.
Following the shop tour, we had some down time before we again gathered for a group dinner...where Dale and his '54 Olds were given an award which included the "best backseat". I'll say no more, other than a waitress at a previous pub we stopped at offered her input to the selection.

 

During dinner last night, the instruct was given..."wheels up at 7:00...if you straggle down at 7:01, you won't even see tail lights". The Curmudgeons are nothing if not prompt! We began rolling out at 7:00 on the button. We were heading about 30 miles to the Coquitlam Grill. Quite a number of local hotrodders gather here every Saturday for breakfast and to bench race and bull shine in the parking lot afterwards. It turned into quite the car show!

Once inside...the Curmudgeons and locals inter- mingled and pretty much filled the back section of the restaurant. The service was spectacular as were the breakfasts.

Cherie is the regular waitress that serves the Saturday morning hotrodders. She is truly a professional, fast, efficient, has a memory like a steel trap and is unflappable. For example, there was the time the guys arranged to have Kenny's breakfast delivered to him in a bedpan...Cherie delivered the special breakfast to the table as though it was nothing unusual. This is Cherie sitting in Kenny's AMBR Contending roadster this morning.

One of the local long time hotrod painting legends in the BC lower Mainland is Sandy M.. When he is able, he's known to hang with the Curmudgeons. Here's a few shots of his drop dead gorgeous flatty powered '34 roadster.

 

After breakfast, and quite a round of parking lot chatter, the group began to break up. The plan had been for the Canadian Curmudgeons to travel south to Auburn Washington to visit Bill's Man Cave and to see our American Curmudgeon friends off tomorrow morning. Between schedules, appointments, family commitments etc. the Canadian contingent of the fairwell committee was wittled down to 8 people and 5 cars. That said we again visited Bill's amazing man cave and car collection. Bill hosted and supplied a pizza dinner with more food, drink, fruit, snacks and deserts than even the Curmudgeons could eat in a single sitting! I've posted pictures of Bill's place in my previous travell thread...but it's worth another look.

 

It's been said that the Curmudgeons are not really a car club...we're more of an eating club that drive some cool cars!

Reminds me of friends from Tennessee we used to meet at National/Regional events. One of the wives would always ask where we were going for the next meal, while we hadn't even finished the one we were at.

 

She would fit right in with our crew...lol!

 

What a man cave!!!
I wanna be like Bill.

Ben

 

Indeed! He's one of the nicest, most humble, down to earth guys you would ever get to meet or know. BTW, he's B-1 in our Bill numbering system.

 

Thanks for taking me along on the 'Carmudgeon' Road Tour!

 

You're welcome!

This morning, after the hotel breakfast (which was the best hotel breakfast so far!!) the remaining Curmudgeons gave each other manhugs (and wife hugs too!) and wished each other safe and troublfree travels home before we headed our separate ways around 9:00 am.

This is a really cool bunch of guys...and I again thanked @wstory (aka B-2 or the Colonel) for inviting me to join in the fun.

I look forward to our next meeting and hotrod travelling adventure.

Thanks to all of you HAMB'rs that followed along and for all the "likes" and positive comments. I appreciate them and hope I was able to convey the flavor of a Can Am Curmudgeon road trip.

 

I wish there was a group like yours in my area. You guys and your trips are something else. I always enjoy your taking us with you through your comments and pictures

 

I should add...I had a three hour drive to get to the ferry terminal where I'm waiting to catch the boat for a 20 minute ride to our island...and will have a 10 minute ride home once the ferry docks.

The Californians still have a 3 day adventure home, and 4 days for Tom to get to Arizona, and Ed to get to Utah.

 

Thanks...the key is to find a group that likes driving their hot rods...they might be nearby or they could be a couple thousand miles away (as is the case with our group). A couple key organizers that put in the effort to put a travel plan together (often anchored by an event...e.g. air races, boat races, major car show etc. ), a bunch of emails within the group, hotel reservations and we get "gassed up and ready to go".

 

Just got home to Sublimity Oregon. What a trip. Another great adventure with the best group ever. With this many cars having so few problems is a testament to the caliber of hot rods and participants.
It makes my heart happy to see Gordy and his grandson Jackson making memories.
I've gone to heaven and I'm not dead yet. Thanks to all for the friendship and great times.
Les and Sherry

 

The group is spread out over 2,800 kilometers physically, but are only a keyboard apart when planning, inviting and making it happen.
At one section we had 28 in the parade.
I remember reading car magazines in the 70's with lines of hot/cool cars cruising down the highway and now am living those daydreams.
The other thing to remember is to get off your backside and do it now, most of the group is over 70, cancer survivors, a kidney transplant recipient, heart complications and we are unstoppable.
You will not regret it.

 

Terry, aka @PoTaToTrUcK is one of the driving forces (pun intended) along with @Wayne Shantz that is involved in determining the route, hotel stops and interesting sites to tour along the way when the travelling roadshow is making it's way in Canada.

 

Besides all of the great pictures and commentary with almost every post, thanks for the encouraging words and advice to those that have asked on the organization of the run. It makes it sound do-able, with few growing pains and glitches to overcome.

 

I've done some long hauls in the 41 by myself. Been to California twice, 3 0r 4 times to Fla. and once to Prince Edward Island. One trip to Ca was 8K by the time I was home. I'm 81 and have had triple bypass. My car trips have taken a backseat in recent years because of my western parts hunting trips twice a year with truck and trailer.

 

Love a good road trip thread! Thanks for making the effort to post it!

 

Ditto

 

Again looked like a great trip.You have some very generous hosts, nice job all around.

 

Thanks for posting more of your fun.

 

Your write ups and pictures make me feel like I’m there with you.
Nicely done and thanks for bringing me and a few thousand friends along for the ride.

 

Beautiful countryside. I hope these gentlemen are trying to bring their kids up liking these 30s hot rods.