28th Annual Big Bear Fun Run 2017

Big Bear Lake California

August 10-13, 2017
by Conrad Monroe

This year we tried something different, the Big Bear Fun Run which is held at Big Bear City, California. Thanks to Bob Bailey for taking the time to plan the trip, organize the hotel rooms and coordinate with the Over The Hill Gang – San Bernardino. The San Berdo club reserves a large block of rooms at the Holiday Inn Resort. In doing so they get a major break on the room charge which was quite nice.

Making the run were the following members: Tom and Val Altgilbers in their Suburban,  Rick and Debbie Aronson in their 1941 Ford Pick Up,  Bob and Betty Bailey in their 1940 Ford Coupe, Dave and Anne Bennett in their 1937 Cadillac Sedan towing their teardrop trailer, Charlie and Danise Cover in their 1937 Ford Club Coupe,  Jim and Carol Dalton in their 1937 Chevy Sedan Delivery, Paul and Judy Nolte in their 1939 Ford Coupe and Michelle and I in our 1956 Dodge Sierra Station Wagon.

Other than Bob Bailey losing a fuel pump while climbing the last hill up to the lake, the trip was rather uneventful. We all met for breakfast on Thursday morning at the Country Kitchen in Wickenburg before heading out to Parker, AZ where we picked up CA-62 W to Joshua Tree, CA where we had lunch. After lunch I checked out an International Bus that had been converted into a go anywhere/do anything RV. It was quite a piece of work! After lunch we picked up CA-247 that took us CA-18E for the run up to Big Bear. This road is not for the faint of heart, very steep, very winding with a number of blind uphill switchbacks. The weather at the bottom was hot and sunny, around 105°F. The heat and steep climb will create problems unless you have a well designed cooling system. OH, and to make things even more exciting you will meet double bottom semi trailer trucks hauling gravel down the hill… it was a bit of a pucker factor at time. The next time we are headed here I would suggest either CA-38 that comes in from Redlands or CA-18W that comes in from San Bernardino. Still twisty curvy but without the sharp switchbacks and steep grades.


Thursday & Friday Travel, Registration and Relax

On Friday we hit registration which was an absolute breeze. The Big Bear Lake Antique Car Club definitely have their act together. The registration area was well laid out and organized, the club members were courteous and helpful.  The The town streets were closed off to traffic and each of the 500 cars were assigned a numbered parking space for the show. If you indicated that you were with a car club or other organization, they would do their best to see that you were parked together. We got eight adjacent spaces with a good sized shaded grassy area behind the cars. The space was large enough for our awning, which added to the shade.

After registration we headed back to our hotel to clean up the cars and to replace Bob’s fuel pump… as luck would have it, the local NAPA store only had one manual GM pump in stock… Paul and Bob installed it and had a devil of a time getting the car to run, even with copious priming of the carb.  As it turns out on this particular pump the inlet was mislabeled so instead of pushing gas to the carb it was trying to suck gas from it… after a plumbing change all was in order and the car ran like new…
While Bob and Paul were playing mechanic, most of us went across the street to a German Restaurant for a cold beer or two and a sandwich. For dinner we all were invited to Charlie’s old school mate Jerry’s cabin for a cookout. The weather was beautiful and Jerry was a most gracious host to open his house to a bunch of car people! Great evening! Thanks to Jerry and Charlie Cover for setting it up!

 
Saturday Car Show

We were in line and promptly at 7:00 AM the let us into the parking area. The club members handling the parking duties did a great job of getting us in and into our assigned spaces. After getting set up, we sat around and visited a bit and talked with some of the other clubs parked near us, then headed off for breakfast. Big Bear has a wide variety of restaurants and bars so finding a good place to eat was not much of an issue. Finding an empty table on the other had was a tad more difficult. Not having anything better to do, we enjoyed the wait talking with members of the San Diego OTHG who were parked along the street near our restaurant.

Around mid afternoon the organizing club came around and notified the owners of all of the cars that had been selected for an award on Sunday. In addition to the usual info that is asked for they also wanted each winner to write something down about the car, its build and or what other interesting tidbits that you would like to share with the audience. This is not often done, but I think it is a great idea.

Around 4:00 PM cars started leaving the parking area and headed off for a Cruise around Big Bear Lake. Much like the Midnight at the Oasis show in Yuma and the Run to the Pines show up in Pinetop/Show Low, thousands of spectators lined the Cruise route around the lake. From what we picked up talking with wait staff and folks at the hotel, this event is by far the most popular of many that are held in the town throughout the year. It’s crowds, even surpass the 4th of July weekend!


Saturday Cruise Around Big Bear Lake

I must say that the 500 cars that were on display were all very high quality builds. Some of the higher end cars have had national acclaim at various major shows on the west coast. The organizing club members were tasked with selecting 70 notable cars for the Awards on Sunday. They have a Best in Show, a number of Best Makes, Interior, Engine etc, Top Twenty and several interesting categories. Dave and Anne Bennett were chosen for a Top Twenty Award and Michelle and I were chosen for the Best Fins Award… as an aside, when I picked up the car it was missing one of the chrome bolt on rear fins that identified the car as a 1956 Dodge. After several weeks of searching on EBay I saw a listing that showed a photo of both fins (the are of course right and left handed). The seller had identified them as “I have no idea what these are, or what they belong to” He had a buy it now price of $40 for the pair. I don’t think I have ever bought anything that quickly before… anyway had it not been for EBay there would have been no fins on the car… I have never seen another pair again.

Once again the organization of the awards was 1st class. Each winner was assigned a number and numbered parking space. The parking spaces were laid out to make it easy for the winner to get in line when the awards began. Each car was directed to park in front of the grandstands with two large US Flags displayed behind them. The announcer would cover the details of the car and owner and also would share with the audience the write up that each owner provided. It was a lot of fun, the driver was handed the award and the passenger received a very nice long stem Rose.

Having an 9 hour drive home ahead of us, we chose to leave as soon as we received our award. The ride down the mountain was very enjoyable. We stopped for gas at perhap the fanciest Circle Ks in the world. Complete with marble walls and floors, a waterfall and premium coffee. Outside seating with free WiFi… almost made the price per gallon that we had to pay seem justified … 8-)…

Our ride home was uneventful, and other than the 100°F desert temps for 6 hours out of the 8.5 hr drive it was enjoyable.

Larry Besore had asked me if I thought that the show was worth the drive and money to get to it. I have to say it was.  I have been to numerous car shows since 2002 when I bought our 1939 Ford Sedan, and I would have to say that this one is well in the top ten, maybe top five of all of them. The organization, courtesy, venue and weather all teamed up to make for a very worthwhile experience. I would not mind coming back again…

Till next time…
Next up for Michelle and I is our annual trip to the Pacific Northwest to visit friends and family and then the 2017 Run to the Pines show in Pinetop, and possibly a trip to Tennessee and Arkansas to visit an old friend and a couple of 1st cousins that I never knew I had… After this trip to Big Bear, Betty has 34,000 miles on her Dakota Digital odometer and will probably pick up another 5 to 6K by the end of the year… You Gotta Drive Them!

Conrad


Sunday Awards and the Drive Home

2017 Cruzin The Rim

Show Low, Arizona

June 3, 2017
by Conrad Monroe
Photos by Danise Cover & Conrad Monroe

Last weekend we attended the 2017 Edition of Cruzin The Rim presented by the Rim Country Cruisers to benefit a number of local charities. Joining Michelle and I were Tom & Val Altgilbers, Steve & Terry Besore, Charlie & Danise Cover and Paul & Judy Nolte who drove over from Pine Saturday morning. Also in attendance was former members Frank & Rose Svancara who drove down from Greer, AZ. All in all, I was disappointed in the low turnout by the club for a show that used to be one of our main events. I cannot believe that everyone prefered staying in the valley instead of enjoying our 70-80 degree weather.

Friday evening there was a cruise around the Show Low area that ended up at Hatch Toyota in the Show Low Auto Mall for the annual Burger Burn which was catered by Grumpy Jakes who went all in this year. The burgers were a good 1/3 of a pound and came with all of the fixings plus chips and drinks. I have to say that this was perhaps the best car show burger burn that I have ever attended.

On Saturday morning we headed over to the Soccer Field on 9th St, making sure we left home in time to miss the closing of the Deuce of Clubs for the Derby Down the Deuce race which is held in addition to the Arts & Crafts Show at the Baseball field, the Farmers Market and the Cruizin the Rim Car Show which are all part of what has now become Show Low Days weekend. Danise walked over to the Arts & Crafts Show and was able to grab a few shots of the Derby Races. She was expecting that the cars would be driven by children and was surprised to find out that they were piloted by grown men. 😎 The Derby Race was started a few years ago and has grown into quite an event with a growing list of participants.

The turnout for the car show was well in excess of 125 entries, so the lack of participation from our club was not really noticed…

One good thing that has been instituted at the Cruizin The Rim show is that they have eliminated all the class judging and replaced it with a Top 5 People’s pick that was compiled from the voting of the 1st 250 spectators. They also had a Top 20 Pick based upon the voting of all of the entrants, and to top it off they had very nicely engraved beer mugs for Best GM, Ford, MOPAR, Studebaker, Orphan, Import and Special Interest vehicles along with Best Paint, Best Interior and Best Engine. Basing the awards this way eliminates all of the problems with class voting at small car shows… IMO, GOOD JOB!

Frank & Rose picked up a Top 20 Award for their 1940 Ford Convertible and Michelle and I also got a Top 20 for our 1956 Dodge Wagon. Frank and Rose also garnered the Best Convertible award over stiff competition from a newly completed 1949 Chevy Town & Country Convertible which went on to win Best in Show.

Saturday Evening Michelle hosted our mostly annual After the Car Show Party with her usual array of fine cooking. In addition to our club members we had invited a fair number of local car enthusiasts and other friends for a nice mix of party goers. All in all I have to say that my wonderful wife knocked another one out of the park!

Cruzin The Rim 2017

My sincere apologies to Tom & Val Altgilbers for not having a photo of their Suburban. I had gone over to where they were parked to take the photo and the truck was surrounded by people, so I said to myself, I will just continue on, and come back when the crowd is down… yup, that didn’t happen. Sorry guys!

Also, please note that all of the photos are in reverse order… I have screwed with this all day and finally gave up. No matter what I tried, WordPress decided that it wanted my photos in this particular order, why? I have no clue… nor do I know why WordPress takes all the jpegs shot with Danise’s Iphone and turned them all upside down… sigh.

2017 Blast From the Past

Alpine Arizona

May 27, 2017
by Conrad Monroe

On Saturday, Steve & Terri Besore in their 50 Chevy PU, friends of the club Rick & Kim Fernau in their 79 Corvette and former club members Frank & Rose Svancara in their 40 Ford Convertible joined Michelle & I for the drive over to Alpine AZ. for the 9th Annual Blast From The Past Car Show. The weather was great, running in the mid 70s with gentle breezes keeping the temps even in the sun down in the moderate range. I am guessing that the show drew a bit more than a hundred entries. Frank & Rose picked up a 1st place in the Convertible Class and Rick & Kim had a third place in the 1949 and newer Production Car Class. Michelle & I were very pleased to receive the 1st Place award for the 1949 and Newer Modified Car class.

Larry & Brenda Besore and Dave & Ann Bennett were scheduled to make the run up from the valley but car problems kept them both home.


Blast From The Past!

Next up will be the Cruizin the Rim Show in Show Low on the 2nd & 3rd of June.

Until next time! Keep On Keeping On!

Conrad.

2017 Bee Line Cruise In

Mazatzal Hotel & Casino Payson, AZ

May 13, 2017
by Conrad Monroe

Steve & Terri Besore joined Michelle and I for the run down the Rim from Show Low to Payson, AZ where we met up with Larry & Brenda Besore and former club members Jeff & Vicky Bacon and Frank & Rose Svancara. Also in attendance was Paul & Judy Nolte who were up in Pine working on their cabin, they came down to join us for lunch.

The weather could not have been too much better! Mid 80s, sunny skies and light breezes to help keep the temperatures down in the Casino parking lot.

Saw a number of old friends that we had not seen for a while and met a number of new folks that were very interested in all of the cars. Frank & Rose and Michelle and I won Top 20 Awards chosen by peer voting. The Best 49 and later MOPAR was won by a beautiful 1964 Plymouth with a 426 Hemi. Also of note was the 1956 Ford Victoria Hardtop with a 427 cuin SOHC sporting Hilborn EFI. All in all a very nice group of cars in the field of about 200.

Next up for Michelle and I will be the usual round of White Mountain car shows, Blast from the Past in Alpine on May 27, Cruizn The Rim in Show Low on the 3rd of June, Holbrook on the 10th of June. Round out our summer will be the Big Bear Fun Run in Big Bear, CA on the 9th -13th of August.

Everyone have a safe and fun summer!

Conrad.

 Beeline Cruise In – 2017

2017 Chrome in the Dome

Springerville – Eagar, AZ

April 29, 2017

by Conrad Monroe

Last Saturday, the Show Low contingent of the OTHG Phoenix Steve & Terri Besore and Michelle and I braved the snowy and icy US60 hwy to headed over to Springerville/Eagar Round Valley High School. Our goal was to attend the Chrome in the Dome Car Show that is held for to raise money for local charities. Over the past few years the show had gone somewhat downhill with declining attendance. This year the management of the show was taken on by an experienced car show guy, Mike Campbell, and the results were greatly improved! Entries were right at 90 cars & trucks this year which is almost double the past few years turn out. I am very sure that the entries in coming years will grow from here.

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The show management decided to keep the class structure rather simple with only 11 classes, which allowed them to offer some really special trophies that were made by the High School shop class.

I have to say, being at an indoor venue at this time of the year has a lot going for it! Up until Saturday we had been having beautiful spring weather with temperatures running in the high 60’s to low 70’s. The weather turned on Friday evening and by Saturday morning the south end of Apache county was covered with up to 4-5 inches of snow. By noon it had mostly melted and by 1:45PM it began snowing again… By the time the show was over at around 3:00PM it was dry and clear in Apache county, but snowing in Navajo county. By suppertime, all the bad weather moved out of Arizona… as we like to say, “Dont like the weather? Wait an hour and it will change!”

Both Steve and I ended up in two of the larger classes. Mine was Custom & Modified Cars from 1942 to 1964. Steve was in the Custom & Modified Trucks 1959 and Earlier. Michelle picked up a Second Place Award for our 1956 Dodge and Steve made the walk for a 1st Place with his 1950 Chevy Pick Up.

Michelle and I were very pleased to pick up the Award for Best Interior. The Award was made from a pinion gear with a broken bearing, which I think was quite apropo since the pinion bearing is the only bearing in the rear axle assembly that I have not had to replace. No more Chinese bearings for me…!!!

As a special treat we met Larry Besore’s son Ron, and his lovely wife Sherry. They were on their way back to Phoenix from Colorado and heard that Steve and Terri were at the show so they stopped by for a visit. They joined us for an early dinner in Show Low.

Mike Campbell should be applauded for the great effort that he put into getting this event back on it’s feet! We for sure will be coming back next year…

Till the next time…

Conrad.

2017 Goodguys Spring Nationals

by Conrad Monroe

Westworld in Scottsdale, AZ

March 9 – 12, 2017

According to the Goodguys staff we had around 2500 cars at this year’s spring show. The weather was clear, sunny and warm with temps in the mid to high 80s. Actually on Saturday it may have been over 90° F. by 4:30 PM the field had pretty well left for cooler territory.

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Thursday – Shop Tours

Very large turnout for the shop tour this year, I am guessing we had around 200 cars or more leave the Registration Tent for the tour. Unfortunately we only had 4 shops on the tour, the other 4 shops that had been lined up, canceled at the last minute.

The 1st stop on the tour was to Speed Sports in Gilbert. Mark Clark and his crew offer a broad scope of service including EFI & Turbo systems and Chassis Dyno Tuning for optimum performance. Unfortunately I was not able to get a lot of photos due to the large number of tour members in the shop.  One of the better speed shops in the valley in my opinion.

We next headed over to Squeeg’s Kustoms in Chandler.  It is always fun to visit Squeeg’s shop, they always have several interesting projects in work. I was especially impressed with the 1963 Corvette with a tube chassis and LS engine & transmission. It would be a joy to own and drive when it is completed! For the 1st time ever I saw an LS powered off road buggy in the shop getting a custom aluminum interior. King shocks all around and a Mendeola transaxle with 20+ inches of wheel travel… another I would love to own!

We skipped the 3rd stop since it was basically a car dealer, and headed up to Fountain Hills to Mods for Rods. Pretty impressive shop with a number of cars being worked on. From what I saw it looks like they do some quality work. This was the lunch stop and the end of this year’s tour.

 

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Friday – Swap Meet and Vendors

This year’s swap meet and car corral was one of the largest that we have had. Nice selection of parts, memorabilia and cars to look over and buy. One of the big hits this year was the Bob’s Big Boy statues in either bronze or fiberglass. One of my friends from Show Low bought one of the smaller 4-5′ bronze versions and asked me if I could haul it back up the mountain for him.  I was hoping that I could stand him up in the back of the wagon, but he was too tall. It would have been very cool to have him looking out the back window. As it was he laid down and took a nap while we drove home.  Paul & Judy Nolte bought one of the bronze one as well…

It seemed like there were less vendors in the tent this year but more down on the field.

I watched the autocross for a bit thinking that it would be fun to build a car for it, but then I went into the tent and had a cold beer and the feeling went away!

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Saturday – Car Show

I usually spend Saturday walking the grass and taking photos of all of the wide variety of cars that Goodguys draws. This year I had to stick around the wagon. My daughter and son in law were coming to the show and also my newly found Grandnephew who I had not met in person yet. I wasn’t sure when everybody was going to show up, so I spent a good deal of time in the Specialty Parking Area photographing some pretty nicely done cars in the Home Built Heaven section.

 

 

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Sunday – Awards Part One

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Sunday – Awards Part Two

The Sunday Awards were special this year in that Terry & Barb Scott won the Trick Truck award for their Chevy Pickup and Mike Combest picked up an award for this blown Chrysler powered Model A coupe. All in all this year we were treated to a great selection of cars in the winners circle!

After the awards Michelle, Big Boy Bob and I headed up the mountain for home, with a late lunch, early dinner stop at our favorite restaurant in Payson, Mackey’s Grill for a cold beer and pattie melt with sweet potato fries.

Early spring evening in Payson AZ outside of Mackey’s Grill

Another Goodguys in the books, next stop for Michelle and I will be ViVa Las Vegas Rockabilly Car Show in Las Vegas… it should be very interesting! We attended a similar show in Austin Texas last year and had a great time. What is not to love, traditional hotrods and customs and Pinups… doesn’t get much better.

Till the next time, stay safe and Keep On Keeping On!

Conrad.

2017 Grand National Roadster Show

Fairplex, Pomona, California
January 27, 28 & 29, 2017

by Conrad Monroe

On January 26, the Over The Hill Gang Phoenix made it’s yearly assault upon Los Angeles for the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona at the fairgrounds.  Making the trip this year was Dave & Anne Bennett, Dan & Carol Burdett,  Jim & Carol Dalton, Charley & Danise Cover, Paul & Judy Nolte, Larry & Theresa Way and Michelle & I. Also tagging along with us was Val & Sandy Muyres who may soon be joining the club!

We stopped at Chiriaco Summit on I10 for a bathroom break and found that they were in the process of rejuvenating the old gas station to display a number of older cars, mostly Model As that were in a new shop building located behind the gas station. Looks like they should have a number of good displays from what we saw in the shop. Well worth the stop if you find yourself on I10…

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Chiriaco Summit

When we were ready to leave, Jim Dalton found that the fuel pump had died in his new sedan delivery build. We checked it out and found it was moving fuel, but was not producing the 60 psi that the LS3 needs to run. Carol called AAA and got her first ride in a tow truck back to Phoenix.

After we were sure that Jim & Carol were in good hands we continued our journey to Pomona.  We made decent time and found that we had enough time to pay a visit to Kennedy Brothers Hot Rods in Pomona.  They have a decent size shop and a good selection of hard to find parts. If you are having a hard time finding early parts give Joe Kennedy a call at (714) 307-8095. If he doesn’t have it he may know where to find it… they have a lot of contacts…

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Kennedy Brothers Hot Rods

After we left the Kennedys, we went to the Kellogg West Hotel and Conference Center which is located on the Cal Poly campus. It is used to train students in the hospitality industry and I must say they do a great job. I don’t believe you can find a nice room with breakfast anywhere in the LA area for less money than what they charge.

On Friday we got up at a reasonable hour, had breakfast and then headed over to Santa Fe Springs to visit Lime Works Speed Shop. Lime Works is probably best known for their steering columns, column drops and steering wheels. I was quite surprised to see that they have a number of interesting project builds going on as well.  The most interesting one, for me anyway, was a 1936 Ford cabriolet that was being done pretty much old school, rack & pinion A arm front suspension aside. The workmanship and attention to detail was quite nice.

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Lime Works Speed Shop

We then headed up to North Hills, near Van Nuys/ Northridge area to visit Galpin Auto Sports which is one of the businesses in the Galpin Ford complex. Quite an impressive dealership. In addition to the usual new cars & trucks, they have a Diner – The Horseless Carriage where we had lunch. The place was swamped with customers, it was right around 1PM so I figured we would all be split up, but no, turns out they have a very nice sized private dining room that they seated us in. The food was great as was the service! and the prices were reasonable… nice find Charley! After lunch we walked a couple of blocks to Galpin Auto Sports – their customizing and performance shop. In addition to the shop, they also have a nicely done auto museum with a wide selection of hotrods, custom cars, sports cars and race cars which are on display and also available for sale. Michelle and I had a chance to talk with one of the techs who had just finished putting an LT4 VVT direct injection and supercharged crate motor into a 1967 Chevelle. He gave us a lot of detail on the build… the LT4 is one hell of a great engine! We later saw the Chevelle at GNRS in the Galpin tent. He also showed us a 2017 Acura NSX supercar that they have been customizing. It will be the centerpiece of  a charity auction that will be held later this year. The car has every option that Acura makes for it, plus a lot of neat aftermarket parts. To give you an idea of the costs involved, the base car starts at $157K and goes up from there. The optional carbon ceramic rotors and calipers are only $11K!

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Galpin Auto Sports (GAS)

On Saturday we arose early and drove over to the Fairplex for the car show.  We got in line around 6AM or so and waited until they let us onto the grounds at 7:00 where we parked in long lines until they let us park at 8:00. Michelle and I split a breakfast burrito which was excellent, if not somewhat pricy… Once we got inside we were able to park in exactly the same place as we did two years ago which was Michelle and mine’s first trip.  Instead of parking inside the building, where the judged cars are parked we park outside in the Grand Daddy Drive In area located around all of the fair ground buildings. The cars are all “drivers” and most are quite well done. With just about every thing you can think of in the way of rod & customs, muscle cars etc. I would say that this year the Drive In attendance was down somewhat from two years ago, due to a competing car show being held at the Coliseum in downtown LA. Two years ago our Dodge wagon was awarded a top ten Drive In pick and as luck would have it, we got another one this year! Needless to say it made me a very happy camper!

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GNRS Grand Daddy Drive In Cars

The indoor Show Cars were all great! So many innovative ideas and excellent craftsmanship on display.  If I was forced to judge this show I think I would have to toss in the towel… just too many truly excellent cars.  Some that really caught my eye were a 1936 Ford Cabriolet with a Lasalle grill done in mid 50s custom style, clean and low… The 1955 Chevy 2dr post with the tilt front end, suicide doors and V12 engine was another top pick of mine. The workmanship and thought that went into this build was phenomenal.  The 1957 Ford Ranch Wagon that was under construction will be killer when it is done.  The red & black 1963 Corvette Split Window coupe with LT4 Supercharged power could find a home in my garage at anytime… simply beautiful and built to drive and handle… and lastly, and perhaps my favorite a 1941 Willys Coupe built street rod style. It maybe the only 1941 Willys coupe that I have seen that was not done either vintage gasser style or pro mod…

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GNRS Indoor Show Cars Part A

 

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GNRS Indoor Show Cars Part B

Last but not least, we will tour the Suede Palace devoted to all things traditional Hot Rod! The heavily louvered black 1934 Ford 5 window with the wide fives was a big hit with me. As was the dark blue Deuce Roadster. The black Deuce 3 window coupe done 1950s custom style had a great look as well. The blue 1961 Chrysler was awesome to say the least…

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The Suede Palace

On Sunday we were able to get on the road around 8:00 AM and headed back down I10 to Phoenix. Michelle and I had a 8 1/2 hour drive ahead of us to get back home before it was too dark.  Up in the mountains the elk have been out in large numbers this year and I have no desire to meet up with one while driving! So when the group stopped for lunch we kept on truckin on down the road and made it to Show Low without major incident. We were able to gain enough time to where we could stop at Macky’s Grill in Payson for a bowl of chilli for me and a half sandwich and soup for Michelle…

Great trip, we had a lot of fun with some really great friends. Looking forward to Goodguys in March and Viva Las Vegas in April. Possibly a road trip up to Dearborn in late June/ early July to visit the Henry Ford Museum, Gilmore Museum and possibly the Auburn Cord Duesenberg in Indy before heading to Tennessee to visit a very good friend from my childhood then on to Arkansas to visit two of my cousins that I never knew I had! Should be an interesting year!

Till next time! Take care!

Conrad.

2016 Goodguys South West Nationals

by Conrad Monroe

Westworld in Scottsdale AZ

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In camera panorama made by the IPhone 7 Plus – nice little feature.

November 17 – 20, 2016

Another great Goodguys show is in the books. This year’s fall show was one of the larger ones with around 3000 cars on the fields at Westworld in Scottsdale.  Lucky for me, Michelle and I had just recently purchased new IPhones which provided me a back up camera. I packed my camera bag with my standard complement of Nikkor lenses into the back of the wagon, but left my Nikon DSLR on the front seat of my pickup, which I had parked in the shop… All in all my IPhone 7 Plus did more than a credible job of documenting some of the activities during the run of the show.

Thursday was registration and the shop tours. I did not get an exact count but I am guessing that we had a good 300 plus cars on this years tour.  We left toward the end and hit the Baer Brakes, Martin Classic Car Museum and the Hot Rod Interior stops. Baer proves that high quality products can be manufactured in the USA at a competitive price.  Hot Rod Interiors does some really high quality interior design and fabrication. They had several great examples of their work on display, I especially loved the 1939 Lincoln Zephyr!

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Registration and Baer Brakes

We generally spend Friday visiting the Swap Meet and Vendor tent.  This year the Swap Meet & Car Corral were perhaps the largest in my memory. It ran the entire length of the south side of the field.

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The Swap Meet and Vendor Tent

Saturday was spent walking the field and finding vehicles that struck my fancy, and to be honest there were quite a few that put a smile on my face.

To start with we parked in Home Built heaven and we were placed right next to 1968 Mercury 4 door wagon. The owners were great to talk with, he built the car in his home shop and was faced with many of the same issues that I had to deal with, namely finding parts for something other than a tri-five Chevy or a prewar Ford.  He also made the same choice as I did and went with a 2005 fuel injected computer controlled engine. Instead of a Dodge he used a 4.6 L Ford with a computer controlled transmission.  This year they have put over 14K miles on the wagon… my kind of folks.

Another car that caught my eye was Dan Burdett’s 1930 5 window Model A coupe with a period correct hot rodded 4 banger engine. The quality of Dan’s work is phenomenal attention to detail after detail. When you have some time, take a close look at this car, well worth the time.

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Saturday Car Show

Sunday is the awards day, however this year the weather on Sunday was turning sour as the morning progressed. After taking a series of photos of a really nice Dodge and Dan’s Model A Ford, Michelle and I decided that discretion was the better part of valor, and we headed home staying ahead of the storm.

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A Few Parting Shots…

Next up the Over The Hill Gang – Phoenix annual Christmas Party! See you all there!

2016 Just Crusin Car Show

Winslow, Arizona

September 30 – October 1, 2016
By Conrad Monroe

Once again we headed to Winslow, Az for the 22nd Just Cruis’n Car Show, hosted by the Just Cruis’n Car Club. I believe that they had a record turnout for this year’s show with 194 entries, in spite of the poor turn out of our club. We only had 5 cars registered this year, it has been a long time since we had that small of a showing in the 22 yrs we have been supporting this show.

Those of us who made the trip were Tom & Val Altgilbers, Page & Linda Barnes, Steve & Terri Besore, Steve & Cindy Bryant and Michelle & I. The Barnes & Bryants drove up on Friday via Payson.  Steve & Terri and Michelle & I made the trip down I40 from Show Low.

Tom & Val drove up I17 to I40 which proved to be fateful.  Just outside of Winona they ran into a major storm cell, with heavy rain, little visibility and high winds. Their truck hydroplaned and did a 180 and slammed the guard rail several times, as luck would have it there was a Highway Patrol officer behind them who put on his lights which prevented major pileup. Thankfully, both Tom & Val were not hurt, their beautiful truck suffered major damage which hopefully can be repaired.

 

Former club members, Manfred & Connie Wagner brought their pair of 1939 Chevys which were a solid hit with everyone. Brent & Sharon Haines drove Connie’s sedan. Manfred had the coupe in his enclosed trailer which he was towing with his diesel pickup. They had stopped for lunch in Payson. When they went to leave, the truck would not start, the fuel filter had collapsed and cut off the fuel supply. After some running around, they were able find a filter and get back on the road again.

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  • 2016 Still Crusin_001_Conrad Monroe

We did the Poker Run Friday afternoon and I think we had the backend of the storm that hit Tom & Val. Everyone took the rain in stride, and the run was completed. Steve & Terri Besore got the 2nd best hand with two pair, Kings over Queens which was good for $300. Of course we had our typical nothing hand, a lousy pair of 8’s.

The show on Saturday, was great.  The weather was fine, clear and bright, with some clouds. There were several new cars to look at and photograph this year. Parked next to us was a 1966 Dodge Dart rear engined Funny Car. It is a very accurate reproduction of the Lil Ole Whine Marker that was campaigned in the mid 60s. The original car was built in Phoenix and ran out of Bee Line Dragway.  I remember seeing the car run at Lions and Irwindale. It hooked up quite well and was very competitive, it was great to hear it run again!

Also catching my eye, was a 1940 Ford Deluxe convertible which was done in a somewhat 1950s style custom. It gave me a few new ideas to incorporate into my build.

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The award for Best of Class 1936-48 Street Rod Coupe was given in honor of OTHG-Phoenix member Bradley Harrelson who unfortunately passed away earlier this year. Brad was well loved by the Just Cruis’n Car Club. In the past 22 years Brad only missed one show, last year’s when he was in hospital dealing with gallstone surgery. Brad was instrumental in getting the Over The Hill Gang Phoenix involved and supporting the show. This was a very touching and considerate thing to do on the part of the Just Cruis’n Car Club. It was very fitting that Manfred Wagner received this award. Manfred and Brad were old friends long before they relocated to Phoenix and Brad loved Manfred’s beautiful 1939 Chevy Coupe.

Steve Besore picked up a Best in Class and one of the three club pick custom trophies. Page Barnes, Steve Bryant and I all won class awards. Manfred and Connie, as usual ran the table, each picked up a Best in Class, Manfred got Best Interior and Connie got Best of Show.

Another great Winslow show now in the books, each year it gets better. Already looking forward to next year!

Next stop, Goodguys at Westworld! Hoping to see everyone there!

Conrad.

2016 Run To The Pines

Pinetop, Arizona
September 23 – 25, 2016

By Conrad Monroe

Photos by Jerry Schrunk & Conrad Monroe

Every September up here on the mountain we celebrate the change of season with the annual Fall Festival Artisan and Craft show. For the past 33 years, in conjunction with the Arts & Crafts shows has been the Run To The Pines Car Show.  This show is one of the better car shows in Arizona.  As long as I can remember it is generally sold out by the middle of May. This year was no exception with around 600 cars on the Pine Top Country Club driving range.

For this year’s show we only had Steve & Terri Besore, Larry & Teresa Ways and Michelle and I.  Hopefully, club attendance will pick up again in the future.

The show starts on Friday with registration, followed by the Parade from Show Low up to Hon Dah Casino on the White Mountain Apache reservation. The cars start lining up at the LDS Stake on the corner of Clark Road and the Deuce of Clubs around 3:00 PM. The parade starts at 4:00 PM. As a rule there are several hundred cars on line which ends up being a car show of it’s own.

During the parade the car in front of Larry and Teresa either ran out of gas or had a fuel pump problem. Larry pulled in front of him and attached a tow strap to pull him to a parking lot where they could work on the car. The found the problem and solved it, but when the got ready to leave, Larry’s car would not start, due to ignition problems. AAA was called and the car was hauled back to the hotel. On Saturday, Larry’s son drove up from the Valley with a trailer to haul the car and his parents home.

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  • 2016 RTTP Day 1_001_Conrad Monroe

Friday Parade to Hon Dah

The weather on Saturday was perfect! We sometimes have had downpours,  hail storms and very hot weather for the car show. This year the monsoon abated and we had blue skies, mid 70 temps and white puffy clouds.

The nice thing about Run To The Pines is that you can always plan on see at least a few new cars, or at least new to me. This year the standout was a 1937 Chevrolet 1 1/2 Ton heavy truck set up as a car hauler with a matching 1937 Chevrolet pickup truck on the back. Both trucks were well built and well detailed. The owner who was from Tucson picked up a total of 4 awards for his effort! Also, new to me, was a beautiful 1934 Packard convertible coupe. What an outstanding car for it’s day.

My apologies to Steve and Terri Besore, somehow I did not a photo of either of them or their truck… they were parked right behind us, and I must have zoned out… sorry guys, will make up for it in Winslow.

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Saturday Car Show

Sunday was the awards and drawing for the Gas Pump and 50-50. Neither Steve nor I got an award. Steve was in the 1950-1972 Modified Truck class and I was in the 1950-1972 Modified Car class. Both very large with a wide assortment of excellent vehicles. The gas pump was a Shell similar to the one Jerry Elliott won in 2005 or so, we had tickets but no winner. The 50-50 was $1050 and again no joy… Nice day though and I did pick up a few more cars. I like the way the tail lights look in the 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery, will probably do that on my 40.

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Sunday Awards Day

My good friend and neighbor, Jerry Schrunk was on hand at the parade line up and also at the show on Saturday. I have included some of his images from the weekend.

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Jerry’s Take on the Show

Well that about wraps it up for this show. This coming weekend we will be in Winslow for the Still Crusin Car Show.  Looking forward to seeing the new Glenn Frey statue on the corner with Jackson Browne.

Till then… Keep on Keep ON!