Relocating next summer to Washington DC / Bethesda area. I was curious if there are Hambers in the area and what my expectations could be for get togethers / bench racing? Thanks for any info!
Welcome! In general, the DC area has heavy traffic and high housing costs, but the good news is that unemployment is extremely low. For more general info, compare your current zip code with DC using this website: http://www.bestplaces.net/ I live in Fairfax, about 22 miles from DC and work in the Pentagon supporting OPNAV staff. There are a few other HAMBers in the area as well; Tommy is over in Davidsonville and OJ is up in Berryville. I'd recommend you join the VA HAMB and Maryland HAMB social groups to get in touch with others. Here's a website with DC area clubs and events: http://www.capitalcruisin.com/ The auto hobby in the DC area is generally kinda lame- mostly muscle cars and imports/sports cars- compared to other major metro areas. That said, two of the best traditional hot rod events on the east coast are very close by: Jalopy Showdown in York Springs, PA in May Jalopyrama in Anapolis in November Hope this helps, Gary
I second the Virginia HAMB thing. Dude, the car culture is kinda'-sorta' lame in the DC area- from fuzzy-diced-betty-boop equipped lawn chair sittin' guys sportin' coral/cream Crown Vic's to yer' typical muscle car types n' high dollar Euro-trash yuppies. I see Maserati's n' such on the beltway all the time. Seriously. Then ya' got yer' droopy-drawered-gang-banger-types n' Hondas with fart pipes runnin' 'round. For a good time check out the Wal-Mart of DC metro area drag strips: Old Dominion Speedway in Manas*** on Wednesday nites 'fer test n' tune. It's a show, I swear. Anywho, mosta' the HAMB types seem to be south'a me in Fredricksburg n' Richmond. Bethesda, huh? Dude, traffic north'a the Legion bridge in'ta Maryland just ****s ***.... Better you than me. Good luck.
mobtown greaseball is a great event up in the dundalk area. tons of cool guys around. im north of baltimore though so dc may be a bit different. minus the lonestar roundup i think east coast has the best shows/ events
Old Dominion Drag Strip in Man***as <TABLE border=0 width="100%" align=left><TBODY><TR><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; FONT-STYLE: normal; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, sans-serif; WHITE-SPACE: nowrap; HEIGHT: 9.95pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FONT-WEIGHT: 400; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px" bgColor=#eeeeee height=13 borderColor=#000000 width=140 align=middle>19-Aug</TD><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; FONT-STYLE: normal; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, sans-serif; WHITE-SPACE: nowrap; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FONT-WEIGHT: 400; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px" bgColor=#eeeeee borderColor=#000000 width=284>60 Years of Cars and Stars Show/Race</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
I went to highschool in Alexandria, Va, few miles south of DC. My dad worked at the Pentagon. Most of my friends drove 50's- 60's muscle cars. Very few 20's-40's cars. I had a '55 Chevy 2-dr back then, and my friend had a '56 Chevy. That same friend moved back to Arlington, Va (coupe miles from DC), and now drives a AC Cobra replica. I was back in the DC area few months ago and stayed in several places around the DC area.All I saw was commute cars. Saw no hotrods or traditional HAMB friendly stuff. I suggest hooking up with some of the guys at Ft. Belvoir or Andrews Air Force Base and network from there. A lot of Hotrodders across the USA are stationed there.
Pah. Car culture here is just fine. Im just north of dc and know plenty of folks with great hamb cars, and muscle cars and cool cl***ic imports. Also Hershey is only 2 hrs away! It is expensive as hell to live around here, though. And traffic is WAY worse in va. Pm me when you get in town and I'll try and show you the sights...
There are hotrods, just many of them are fibergl*** playthings for the rich crowd. Two issues, neighbors aren't too keen on people working on cars in the drive and people have to work like maniacs to afford to live there. Most of the people I know are into restorations, but that night just be the circle I am in. Only rods I see are in the mansions in potomac. Muscle cars and high end stuff is more common. Stopped for a pizza the other day and there was a pantera, a gt500 and a ferrari parked next to each other.
There's a few nice gatherings nearby, just north of Bethesda. I don't call them cruises, cuz the cars are parked. Pm me when you get to town, I'll be glad to show you the better spots.
In Bethesda you'll be just a few minutes from the every Sunday morning cruise-in known locally as the "Church of the Holy Donut" off Rt. 29 in Burtonsville,Md. There's no longer a donut shop (it's a long story), but it is a great place to connect with car buffs of all persuasions. You can find out about upcoming events, shops, etc. On a nice day there is a huge crowd, but don't be late, as most folks are gone by 11:00 for sure.....Don.
There is a long tradition of hotrodding in the DC area. It goes back to the 50s. In my biased opinion probably one of the hottest spots for hotroding in the 60s on the east coast. I know I'll get a big argument on that but what I'm saying trying to say is that it is and always has been a hot bed of hot rodding. You won't want to miss our Jalopyrama
they build them. but honestly I'm biased, I've lived here all my life and my family has been in the autoparts biz locally for the last 50+ years. so I know most of the 'grease monkeys' in the area, and many of the old guys from the 60s. Hell I even know a local guy that will do babbitted bearings. they are here, but when you're in an area with a population this large they can be hard to find. My neighbor has a 37 chevy (little street roddy) a 55 chevy 4-door (nice driver) and is building a 55 sedan. and has a backyard full of projects. he is the first to offer help when he sees me under a hood in my driveway. sometimes in my neighborhood its hard to get work done because so many neighbors are stopping to chat! I will agree 100% with your ***essment of the bethesda/potomac area, mostly rich guys with built cars in their $100k garages next to their $2.4m house. where are you in Bethesda? My family's shop was over near River Rd and Little Falls Pkwy for about 40 years. Chris
I was thinking the exact same thing when I opened the thread. Do fill us in on what you've been up to.
I also moved to northern Virginia from Texas once. We lived in Fairfax Station, VA. It was am extreme culture shock and not in a good way. Way to many people, crowds everywhere and way expensive. I hope you won't be working in D.C. The commute is a *****. They actually have such a thing called a Slug Line where people looking for rides to and from D.C. line up on the street waiting for rides from strangers just so they can utilize High Occupancy Vehicle lanes. The good news is the housing market was great. Sold our house in one week for the asking price. Good luck.
........Gary is absolutely right. These are two you don't want to miss. Just to clarify though, I think the date of Jalopyrama #9 this yr. is October 27th @ the Natl. Guard Armory in Annapolis. Don't forget the Karb Kings Mobtown Greaseball in Dundalk, Md. ( Sept. 22 ?) and the Va. Karb Kings show in Fredericksburg, Va.
Thanks to all for your information! I've got lots to work with here. Looking forward to civilization and hotrods again. HAHA - TMAN - I am about 8,000 miles from Texas right now
The Jalopy Journal
