A "street-rod" or "custom" based organization, limited to 1972 or older hobby cars.
This is a slideshow of the members that made it to this years photoshoot. Good participation this year! Note: Michelle is standing next to my Tundra 4×4 pick up since the snow was around a foot deep in front of our shop. I guess one of the days I will need to build a 4×4 COE truck with a Dodge Turbo Cummings engine so we can get out in the winter in a proper ride!
Last Saturday, the club met at Star Bucks on Central Ave for a cruise down Central to South Mountain City Park for our what is becoming annual Picnic and Photoshoot. The weather leading up to Saturday was not looking real great for either activities. El Niño had been visiting Arizona with a vengeance leading up to Friday. All week long the forecasters had been predicting a break in the weather for the week end, and for once they were spot on! Saturday came with blue skies, puffy clouds and temperatures in the 70s.
We had a total of 29 club cars show up, Michelle & I decided to take my 4×4 Toyota Tundra since we had just received a foot of snow. ADOT was out early and had the roads clear and mostly dry so our trip to the valley was our usual under 3 hour excursion. Ken & Carol DuBois showed up in Ken’s truck since the battery in their ’37 Chevy was kaput. It took Michelle and I around an 1 hr 45 min to shoot the club cars and occupants. Larry Besore helped with keeping the line full so we didn’t have any gaps waiting for cars.
After lunch we had the down hill coasting drag race which Dave & Anne Bennett won in their 1937 Cadillac. To be noted the Caddy was by far and away the heaviest car in the race. I would bet that Dave replaced the wheel bearing with a set of super low friction ceramic bearings just to get an edge! 😉
Just about the time that the race awards were wrapping up a whole group of cosplay folks arrived at the picnic area next to ours. Of course they were all decked out in Star Wars costumes that were hand made and really looked great! The name of the group is the Shonare Vhekadla Clan Arizona of the Mandalorian Mercs Costume Club. Mike Rust invited them to pose with our cars and they gladly accepted. They are a really great group of people that know how to enjoy themselves!
This was perhaps the best Christmas Party we have had to date. Cindy Bryant & Linda Barnes did an excellent job putting the evening together. Chestnut provided the music and a bit of comic relief throughout the evening. The food was great and the cupcakes and ice cream were to die for. One of the evening highlights was a modern dance celebration by the OTHG Interpretive Dance group, of Larry Besore’s 74th birthday.
Well that is about it for now, hope to see everyone at the Club Picnic and Photoshoot on January 9th, 2016
C.
The 18th edition of the Goodguys Southwest Nationals at Westworld in Scottsdale is officially in the books. We had a record turnout of entries, vendors and swap meet participants this year. My seat of the pants estimates for Saturday would be around 33-3400 cars, maybe a few more than last year. The layout this year allowed for more cars and space and so we did not have the Fire Marshal shutting down the entrance because the fire lanes were blocked like last year. The weather was absolutely beautiful for the entire weekend, clear blue skies and temps in the low 80s, frankly it was a Arizona Chamber of Commerce weekend.
Unfortunately this year I was not able to make the Thursday Shop Tours, so please excuse the lack of coverage.
Friday –
Friday is typically my day for the Swap Meet and visiting the Vendors both of which seemed to be larger than I can ever remember in the past. The Car Corral was huge this year with some really decent buys to be had. Paul Nolte sold the ’34 Ford three window project car by 10 AM on Saturday which is good because he had bought back the ’29 Rat Rod that he had sold last March.
The swap meet was also packed with sellers and buyers, I didn’t run across anything that I had to have so I went into the tent and bought a pair of stock height spindles from Fatman and a March Performance serpentine belt drive system for the LS3 in my 1940 project. Both had nice discounted show prices.
Saturday –
I didn’t make my usual two passes around the field this year. I kept bumping into to people that I haven’t seen in awhile so I spent a lot of time chatting and getting caught up to date.
Speciality Parking
On the FieldThis year I headed up to the gate for the goodbye waving car parade and was able to stand on the back seat of Larry Besore’s golf cart which made a great shooting platform with a different perspective than what I have had in the past.
Sunday –
Another beautiful day in sunny Scottsdale! Michelle and I had planned to leave after the group photo of the club was taken at 1:00 PM so we would miss the award presentations, but I went around and photographed all of the winners.
I was very happy to see that Rick and Debbie Aronson’s 1940 Ford Pick Up picked up the award for Best Truck!
The Winners!Well that about wraps it up for this time!
Next up will be the annual Christmas Party on the 5th of December, followed by the club picnic and photo shoot on the 9th of January! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and that y’all stay safe!
Bis Später
Conrad.
Michelle and I had a little change of pace today we drove up to Springerville this morning to participate in the Fun Run that had been put together to raise money for cancer treatment at the new Summit Cancer Center in Show Low. The fun run and show were free but a $25 donation was encouraged. Somewhere around 25 to 30 cars showed up. Between donations, several raffles and other activities they were able to raise $2500 for the cause which is pretty darn good for a small rural town.
The Fun Run started at Western Drug in Springerville and proceeded down Main St to AZ 260 which we followed to AZ 273, the road to Big Lake. At Big Lake we picked up RT 249 which was paved a little over one year ago. This is a beautiful winding forest road that ranges from 8500 to 9500 ft in elevation. RT 249 ends up on US 180. You can turn right and drive a couple of miles to Alpine for lunch at Bear Wallow, or you can turn left and head up to Nutrioso and back to Springerville.
Great weather, wonderful scenery and a nice bit of fall color. All in all, we had a great day and told the folks that put it together that we would be back next year for sure… maybe y’all would like to join us!
Conrad.
It’s October and that means it is time to make the trek to Winslow for the 21st Just Cruis’n Car Show. Personally, this is one of my favorite shows because it is held on the streets of downtown Winslow on old Route 66. The Just Cruis’n Car Club of Winslow puts on the show every year and it seems to just get better every year. The show used to be held at the La Posada Hotel at the east end of town. A few years ago the venue moved to the downtown area which I think is a great improvement.
This year we had 14 OTHG-Phoenix cars at the show. Coming up from the valley we had Tom & Val Altgilbers, Page & Linda Barnes, Dave & Anne Bennent, Dave Bertram, Steve & Terri Besore, Steve & Cindy Bryant, Ken Schaaf & Dee Guintoli, Darrel & Becky Hampton, Alan & Cheryl Mitchell, Paul & Judy Nolte, Ron & Jan Olmstead, Bob & Patty Sarraillon. Barney Wilkins drove over from Parks and Michelle and I drove over from Show Low on I40 battling 40-60 mph wind gusts.
At the awards program Dave Bertram, Steve Bryant, Steve Besore, Alan Mitchell and Ron Olmstead made the walk across the grass to pick up awards. Cindy Bryant and Cheryl Mitchell went up to handout the club pick award, but the recipient had already left the show.
Yet another great show in Winslow in the books.
Thanks again to my good friend Jerry Schrunk for providing photo coverage of this year’s Run To The Pines. This car show sells out very quickly soon after the entries are mailed out or put up on line which is around the beginning of May. Unfortunately this year we had not finalized our fall trip when it was time to send in the entry, so we decided to skip the show this year. But, we took the ’39 out and did the Friday night parade which was huge this year. The parade route was lined with spectators from where we started all the way up to the Casino. The weather this year was spectacular and everyone who attended the show had a great time.
Next up; The Just Cruis’n Car Show in Winslow.
Till then stay safe!
Conrad
Making the run to Pleasanton for Hot Rod Week and the 29th Annual Goodguys West Coast Nationals this year was Bob & Betty Bailey, Larry & Brenda Besore, Charley & Danise Cover and George Thienes.
I don’t have a write up for the trip, but Larry Besore has made several posts on our OTHG-Phoenix Facebook Page.
Here are the photos that Danise Cover kindly provided! It looks like as usual a good time was had by all that went!
Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!
Conrad
While the rest of the usual suspects were getting ready to head up to Pleasanton, CA for the Goodguys show five couples headed over to Silver City, NM for the Run to the Copper Country car show. Making the trip was Dave & Anne Bennett with their Tear Drop trailer in tow, Tony & Jeanine Cruze, Paul & Judy Nolte, Ken Schaff & Dee Guintoli traveling through Safford, AZ while Michelle and I headed down 180 through Alpine, AZ Frank & Rose Svancara were planning on joining us but had to bow out at the last minute. The drive over was uneventful for everyone, which is great! We had decent weather and we (Michelle & I) didn’t have to hit the A/C until we hit Gila, NM outside of Silver City.
The show is put on by the Copper Country Cruizers and this was their 23rd year hosting the show. As usual, it was very well organized and a lot of fun. They had a rather large contingent of cars show up from both El Paso, TX, Tucson (TSRA) and a number of cars from the White Mountain area. As I recall the total attendance was a bit over 150 cars.
Once again it rained around the time of the award presentation and as soon as it was over the skies cleared. Go figure. Dave & Anne Bennett invited the club members over to their campsite for some of Anne’s wonderful Tortilla Soup and Dave’s great cheese burgers. As usual we ate, talked and laughed until well after dark. On Sunday we met for breakfast and everyone headed back home. Again the weather was wonderful.
If you have done Silver City before, put it on your calendars! Good Show!
Bis Später!
Conrad.
Mouse over to control the slide show
After a fairly dry winter we are now getting rain, in June, and it never, ever rains in June… go figure! We had a fairly large storm on Friday afternoon and evening, and although it looked like we were going to be rained out on Saturday, it blew through and we had a lovely afternoon with typical deep blue skies, white puffy clouds and not a lot of wind.
Making the trek up from the valley for this years show was Bob & Betty Bailey, Dave & Anne Bennett, Larry & Brenda Besore, Charlie & Danise Cover. Steve Besore was already up at his home east of Show Low, and Frank & Rose Svancara drove over from their cabin in Greer, and of course Michelle & I were already here. Not a bad showing for the club.
The Cruz’n the Rim Car Show is hosted by the Rim Country Cruisers who are based in the White Mountains. The proceeds from this year’s show will be given to the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army is one of the most efficient charities returning almost all of the money donated back to the most needy folks in our community. I believe that I had heard that there were around 150 cars entered this year, so after a near death experience a few years ago it has come back better than ever. Rick Fernau and the Rim Country Cruisers did one heck of a job organizing and putting the show on, I cant think of any problems or issues. Good Job!
One of the lessons learned with small shows like this, it is very near impossible to have any kind of meaning full “class” structure for judging, so they basically did away with it and had the public vote on the cars that they liked, and the participants voted on the cars that they liked. An award was given to the highest and second highest public vote getters. They then handed out the Top Twenty Awards based upon participants votes.
The club did well in the Top Twenty with Steve Besore, Larry Besore, Bob Bailey and I on the receiving end. In addition to the Top Twenty they handed out Trophies for Best MOPAR, Best GM, Best Ford, Best Convertible, Best Import, Best Paint and Best Interior, there was another trophy given out, but my old man memory doesn’t remember what it was for. Also they had a Mayor’s Pick, which Dave Bennett won for the second time! Charlie presented our “We Dig Your Ride” award – made by Alan Mitchell, but again memory fails as to which car received it… Gonna have to start hauling a tape recorder with me. Sigh! The highest vote getter in the Participant’s voting also received a major Trophy. I am proud to say that Michelle and I received the Best Interior Award, it is pretty large and takes up a fair amount of floor space so I may just haul it down to the Dreaded Valley and present it to Lui Contreras who did the work! BTW: this is the second Best Interior award that Bettie has won – props to Lui for his great work!
The Rim Country Cruisers took the illustrated design art work that I had done for the tee shirt and posters to a local artist who rendered it in oil on canvas which he donated to the silent auction with the proceeds going to the Salvation Army. The OTHG – Phoenix club members plus Rick Fernau bid on and won the auction, and then turned around an presented it to me. I will always treasure this gift from our friends… Michelle and I cannot thank you enough!
Michelle went all out again and put on another one of her Show Low Days patio parties, I of course was too busy talking to take any photos, so you will have to use your imagination! We had a nice turn out of 50-60 car lovers and the best part was that there were only a few small leftovers, so my diet can stay intact.
Until Next Time!
Stay Safe Out There!
C:>
