Vintage cars, fanatics Rally for the Lane Motor Museum

From the Tennesseean:  Vintage cars, fanatics Rally for the Lane Motor Museum

Vintage car fanatics got a chance to drive their dream car down scenic roads, like the Natchez Trace, on Saturday during the Third annual Rally for the Lane fundraiser event for the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville.
Classic car enthusiasts were allowed to "rent" a vehicle from the collection of vintage cars at the Lane Motor Museum and drive that car to Columbia, TN and back, helping raise money for the museum.
The drivers will stop for lunch at at the Mt. Pleasant Grille before heading back to the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville for a behind the scenes look at their rarely-seen collection of cars in the basement of the museum.
"It's such a neat collection of cars and how often do you get a chance to go to a museum and take the stuff out and play with it," Ed Krenz said.
Krenz traveled all the way from Wisconsin with his brother for the event. It is their third time participating in the Rally for the Lane and getting the chance to drive a vintage car of their choice.
"It's always fun to talk to other people at lunch and then at the end of the day and find out what their day was like too. I'm just enjoying the whole experience."
The money collected helps to defray the costs of owning, housing, restoring and maintaining the over 330 cars in the museum's collection.
"It is one of the most unique collection of automobiles that you will ever see," Franklin resident and vintage car enthusiast Doran Edwards said.
"There are some cars here that you will never see anywhere else in the world."

 

Gleaming classic cars draw crowd at cruise-in

From Statesman Journal:  Gleaming classic cars draw crowd at cruise-in

Grill-to-grill gleam beneath sunny skies.

That was the scene Saturday at Macleay as car aficionados cruised in from around the valley and beyond to take part in the Flywheels 27th Annual Macleay Cruise-In.


Warm weather and spirits ensured a hearty, festive turnout of both classic cars and appreciative viewers. Attendees range from toddlers to old timers as the several-acre field behind host Macleay Country Inn filled up with 163 hobby vehicles, many immaculately conditioned under the TLC of owners possessed by vehicular fervor.


A beer garden and barbecue also proved popular, while the country inn served a full midday crowd and the adjacent Macleay Country Market greeted a steady stream of drink and snack seekers.

“They always put on the barbecue and beer garden over there, and they kept it open until Monday,” said Flywheels organizer Bob Noble. “Since they already had the beer garden, they decided to add the motorcycle show.”


The motorcycles pull in today to take place of the classic cars. Organizer Chris Bryant said he expects to see about 100 on hand between noon and 5 p.m.



“This is the ninth year with the motorcycles,” Bryant said. “Depending on the weather, I’d say we’ll get about 100 bikes. If we get this kind of weather, we may get more.”


Blue skies and comfortable temperatures were ideal for this event, which is conducted by the Silverton Flywheels and hosted by Macleay Country Inn owners Jerry and Danny Miller. The Millers purchased several acres directly south of their inn, affording the event’s growth.


“When I first started coming to this, there were only cars in this area,” Noble said, referring to the late 1990s while gesturing to the modest area between the inn and the adjacent fire station. “There were only about a dozen cars then. As you can see, there are a lot more, and it’s going good.”


Noble said the car entries, which vied for trophies among classics, hot rods, cool rides, muscle cars, trucks and chicks choice, primarily came from around the valley, but there were some from the Vancouver, Wash., area and one 1957 Ford pickup that came in from Lakeport, Calif.

Hot Rods and Hot Dogs serves up classic cars at show in Chicago

From Examiner.com:  Hot Rods and Hot Dogs serves up classic cars at show in Chicago

For the classic car enthusiast, the 2012 Hot Rods and Hot Dogs show in the parking lot of The Vienna Beef Company at 2510 N. Damen Ave. on Sunday, September 23, was an event not to be missed. Owners and admirers came out to see classically restored and tricked out rides that appealed to both the purist and to the person who likes a little bling with their wheels. Everything from an Avanti to a Rolls Royce, Mustangs to Chevys, and several trucks and jeeps, as well as a few of indeterminate origin had admirers inspecting paint jobs and interiors, wheels and engines, and chatting up the owners to find out more about the car. And to further set the mood, music from the Shirelles, Bobby Vinton, The Supremes, and other 60’s groups filled the air and had more than a few singing along as they reminisced about days gone by.
There’s something about a classic car show that has us waxing nostalgic. These cars bring back memories of drive-in theaters and soda fountains. Some may have thought about how they had worked hard and painstakingly saved to purchase their first car. Others may have remembered how they carried home their firstborn child from the hospital. Whatever the memories they evoke, there is an emotional bond between people and their cars: unlike a house or almost anything else you purchase, your car often is a reflection of who you are or who you want to be.

View slideshow: Classic cars are the order of the day at Hot Rods and Hot Dogs Car Show in Chicago

Most of the cars that were shown are of another era, another generation, a different time. They are of a time when Detroit was king of the auto industry and everything was big and bold and heavy. A time when bumpers were made of chrome and gas mileage was not even measured. These cars - the Buicks, the Chevys, and the grandaddy of the big luxury cars, the Cadillacs, ruled the road. When you drove down the street in your Caddy, people stopped and looked. You were envied and admired...you had made it. There were more Chevys than any other model at the show...probably because we all wanted to ‘see the USA in our Chevrolet." And the owners of these cars have restored them meticulously, showcasing their beauty and allowing those of us who love these cars and remember when they were common sights to take a trip down memory lane. Even the owners who are not of the generation where the car was king have a healthy and loving respect for these motorized chariots. These cars are gems of the automotive industry and have inspired a generation of new cars - the PT cruiser and the HHR to name two. But the day of these mansions on wheels is over, and so the classic car buff loving owns and maintains what will never be again.
And not to slight the European car makers, there were plenty of those cars being shown as well; a red Avanti, a while Rolls Royce, an Aston Martin. Back in the day owning a foreign car was rare and those that did own one were usually wealthy and thought to be quite sophisticated.
Hot Rods and Hot Dogs is more than a chance to show off your car. It is a place memories are revived and car lovers meet to pay homage to an industry that once ran the world, fed a nation and took us to places in class and style.

 

Posts resume 24 Sep 2012

My mom, who is 75, wants to go up to teeny tiny town near Rapid City, to see her sister, who is 80. They live in a house in the boonies and have no internet.

I'll be back online on Monday the 24th and promise not to miss another day.

Please bear with me, your patience is appreciated!

Antique cars roll through the Western Slope

From the Cortez Journal:  Antique cars roll through the Western Slope

DURANGO — Dozens of vintage sports and race cars rumbled through downtown Durango on Thursday as part of The Colorado Grand, an annual 1,000-mile Western Slope charity tour.

The exact route and stops vary each year, but the tour traditionally begins and ends in Vail; it last visited Durango in 2009. Thursday’s itinerary involved a complete loop around the scenic San Juan Skyway. Drivers left Telluride in the morning and passed through Ridgway, Ouray and Silverton before making a pit stop in Durango. From here, they continued to Mancos, Dolores, Rico and finally Telluride again.

On the lawn outside the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Durango Elks Lodge 507 prepared a lunch of sandwich wraps and antipasto salad for the drivers and their entourage. The nonprofit Elks Lodge was selected by Bob Kunkel, executive director of the Durango Business Improvement District, to receive two monetary donations from the tour: a $5,000 scholarship for a 2013 Durango High School graduate to be determined and $6,000 (less the cost of the lunch) that the lodge intends to spend on basic supplies for vulnerable war veterans. Those include meals, toiletries, clothing for job interviews and travel vouchers, said fundraising organizer Lori Rundquist.

Costumed waitresses from the nearby Diamond Belle Saloon and women in classic Victorian garb strolled the block between Fifth and Sixth streets to give the visitors an “Old West” welcome.

“Whenever they want a little ambience, they call us up,” said Eliane Viner.

Tennessee native Tom Smith was the first driver to arrive at the train depot. Despite driving a sleek silver 1952 Aston Martin with bright red leather seats that most car enthusiasts could only dream of, Smith was in awe and downright giddy about the vehicles following behind him.

“These are some really, really special cars here. I’ve seen cars this week that I’ve only ever seen in magazines,” he said.

Soon enough, 89 other classics joined. Ferraris and Allards, Austin-Healeys and Jaguars drew gawking stares from bystanders as they rolled into parking spaces. Some were alumni of the historic Circuit de la Sarthe racing course in Le Mans, France, as their owners were proud to note.

Receiving special acclaim this year was the Shelby Cobra, the “little car, big engine” icon celebrating its 50th anniversary. Organizers bent the rules to accommodate the Cobras because the tour normally accepts only models manufactured before 1960.

The cars, most of them rare collector items and normally immaculately kept, were splattered with mud and water spots from traversing several mountain passes in inclement weather.

Drivers were grateful for the warm temperatures and sunny skies, having spent Wednesday pummeled by heavy rain. More than half the cars were open-top and, unlike modern convertibles, lacked motorized roof panels that could be closed at the touch of a button. Drivers had no choice but to put on raincoats and forge ahead.

“It was a deluge (Wednesday),” said Brian Murray, participating in his 18th Grand. “I had a half inch of standing water on the floor, and my headlights were filled up with rain. But they’re still working for now.”

The late car collector and racer Robert D. Sutherland founded The Colorado Grand in 1989. In the last 24 years, the tour has donated a cumulative $3.3 million to small nonprofits such as the Elks Lodge, as well as the Colorado State Patrol, an agency with which Sutherland had a close relationship.

Since 2001, the tour also has supported a foundation, affiliated with the University of Colorado-Boulder’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, that offers affordable, sliding-scale treatment for bipolar patients. Sutherland suffered from the disorder before his death in 1999.

“It’s great fun to drive on the open road, enjoy your car and support a good cause at the same time,” Murray said.

 

OH: Classic cars, boats make splash today in Milton

From Vindy.com:  Classic cars, boats make splash today in Milton

Lake Milton
The Wheels and Keels Classic Car and Antique Wooden Boat Show is an end-of-the-summer event that puts a unique spin on the traditional car show, its organizers say.
Terry Jacob, event organizer, said the event, noon to 4 p.m. today at the Lake Milton Amphitheater, is the final major lakefront event of the summer. It’s on Grandview Road, off Mahoning Avenue, and can be located by following the posted “beach” signs.
“This is our third year, and we’re going to have between 75 and 100 cars and boats,” Jacob said. “Every year is gets a bit bigger.”
Jacob said the patrons and participants will see a variety of classic cars, trucks and motorcycles from the 1930s through the 1970s.
But the real show stoppers are the antique wooden boats on display, said Dan Mattozzi, a show participant.
“Some of the old boats are phenomenal. The rare wood is gorgeous,” he said. “The guys like to show off what they’ve done.”
Jacob said the event is free, and those who attend can participate in a 50/50 raffle, hourly drawings and arts and crafts for children.
Patrons can also enjoy food and drinks for purchase catered by The Fifth Season and a 2 p.m. water skiing show on the lake, he said.
“It’s such a nice location with the waterfront, grassy areas and shade,” Jacob said. “It’s a change from the normal car shows in this area.”
Jacob said the event is a fundraiser for the Lake Milton Nature Arts Center, which does capital improvement projects at the lake and beach.
He said the group has raised enough money through this and other events to build the amphitheater, public restroom facilities and a paved walkway that they hope to eventually wind around the entire lake.
“This is one of our major fundraising opportunities. ... It’s a way to give back to the Lake Milton community,” he said. “We’re slowly starting to see the fruits of our labor.”

 

Watkins Glen, NY: Rarities found at U.S. Vintage Grand Prix

From The Leader.com:  Rarities found at U.S. Vintage Grand Prix]

Watkins Glen, N.Y. — When Peter Giddings first started racing in his native England, he couldn’t afford the latest and greatest cars of the 1950s, so he purchased some older models. Friday, those old clunkers were some of the rarest original machines at the Glenora Wine Cellars U.S. Vintage Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International and the downtown Grand Prix Festival.

Giddings brought his 1931 Alfa Romeo Tipo B “P3” and a 1953 Maserati back to The Glen for this weekend’s historic races. The two classic Italian cars were some of the most gawked at.

“I’ve been racing since (1959) and back in the late 50s and early 60s in England, if you wanted to race and didn’t have a lot of money, you bought an old car,” said Giddings, who now resides in Danville, Calif. “Since then the old cars have become valuable and historic and so forth. I got started with these cars because they’re all I could afford.”

Now they’re priceless.

Joining Giddings’ team this weekend is Long Islander Peter Greenfield who purchased a 1935 Alfa Romeo at a Pebble Beach auction in 2004. He’ll be negotiating The Glen’s 3.4-mile course in a car with loads of horsepower and drenched in history.

“It’s a trip. This is a serious car, almost 400 horsepower, a grand prix car back in the 1930s,” Greenfield said. “Back then, Enzo Ferrari ran the Alfa race team, that’s why it has the Ferarri symbol on it. This was the first independent suspension, transaxle car built in response to Adolf Hitler financing Mercedes and the auto union (Audi). This was the first Italian streamlined car.”

For Giddings, he was fortunate enough to buy a car driven by one of the early greats, and his driving hero, Tazio Nuvolari – a champion on motorcycles, front-engine and rear-engine cars. The Italian is widely regarded as the best racer to ever take a breath of air.

“It’s more than a thrill, it’s a privilege. These cars were driven by the great drivers – Tazio Nuvolari, (Juan) Fangio, (Stirling) Moss – and to recreate an experience in a very minor, amateur way is very special,” Giddings said. “Tremendous admiration. Back then the roads were in poor condition, the races took hours, not minutes, and they were titans – we’ve never seen drivers like them since.”

The cars are a far cry from today’s race cars with wide tires, modern shock absorbers and aerodynamic advantages built into the design.

The Alfa Romeos rolls on what look like treaded bicycle tires powered by  inline eight cylinder engines at the front. The most technological electronics in the machines are the tachometer and water temperature gauges.
“They’re a total handful. I call them very busy cars,” Giddings said. “If you don’t anticipate in the seat of your pants what the car is going to do fractionally before it does it, you’re going to be through the closest edge. They were the best in their day, but by today’s standards lacking in all departments – braking, cornering, handling, you name it. That’s the fun of it.”

“It’s a huge different from driving a modern car. It goes a lot faster than it’s capable of stopping,” Greenfield added. “Even though it looks like it has big brakes, they’re not very effective except for a couple of laps. You’re always correcting this car.”

Giddings has been coming to Watkins Glen almost every year since the 1970s, and after his first trip he admits he was smitten.

“When I emigrated to America the first track I raced on was Watkins Glen, and that’s going back 35 years ago,” he said. “It was pissing down rain, but I’ll never forget it – I fell in love with The Glen then. If I don’t have at least one race at The Glen every year, I’m the sadder for it.”

At least for the older vintage cars with narrow tires, The Glen’s weathered racing surface has proven problematic.

The cement swaths and worn out asphalt have developed bumps over time, which takes on a toll on cars with the most basic suspensions. Those aren’t easy to deal with in cars that are already difficult to drive.
“It badly needs repaving. These older cars, it’s just like a washboard,” Giddings said. “I heard through the grapevine they will repave the track. I’m looking forward to not having my teeth loosened in my gums every time I get on the track.”