***Carlisle '09***

Hey All! The Early birds made it here! Had some rain but it sorta cleared for our cruise to the "Shack". Had about 40+ to dinner. Much to my surprise when I turned around, here was Will Pierson and his Dad. That was a hoot. I'm sure some pics will follow. Just a bit buzzed from Danny P's home brew. It's clearing up now and looks like it'll be a good day for tomorrow's cruise to Hershey.
Nighty Nite! Zzzzz
~WB

I left Grafton around 8ish tonight, and after a quick stop to grab a grinder, and then another at the first rest area I came to on the mass pike to top off the tank and find an overpriced cigarette lighter outlet splitter, I was officially on the road.

Pulled into the hotel about 20 minutes ago, so the door to door time was about 5:30 or so excluding stops. That shaves at least an hour and a half from any other year's drive. I guess the absence of a trailer and the fact I averaged about 75 helped. ;)

Off to bed so I can get at least 5 hours or so before heading off to the museum tomorrow.

Night night!

Im working a half day today, have a refi closing at 4pm, 4.62% not bad, then Matt and I head out for Carlisle. Hope to see you all sometime around 8pm. Weather lookin good, La Bomba "itchin" in its stall. Looking foward to a great weekend.

Just broke out the bottle of Vince manto memorial oban. It's safe to say that Lane will require assistance for his walk back to his room later tonight. Looking forward to the potential picture possibilities.

I think he may accidentally slug someone with extraneous hand motions during his stories.

More to come tomorrow.

PS - hi Cory!!! Xoxo.

Just got back from the big show. It was awesome to see everyone!!!! There is a realllllly cool photo coming everyones way in the near future, I won't spoil the surprise. The weather was great, a little humid but no rain! Awesome cars. Lots to post later, just wanted to fill all you left coasters and other unfortunates in on the day.

MICKEY! Where's my autograph - LOL!

For the record, Mickey looks like the younger handsomer version of a member of the Rolling Stones. Swear to God the guy looks like a rock star.

It was pretty amazing getting to see everyone in real life and the beautiful cars. Also, for the record, Carlisle is one of if not THE nicests venue for a car show I've ever seen. Rolling green grass broken down with paved grids, each spot marked, plenty of vendor space in and outside of buildings, a variety of food, shuttles across the property and restroom attendants.

Yes. I said restroom attendants... At a CAR SHOW!!!

If we can swing it, we'll be back next year with a couple of cars.

angela

Angela & Steve: Was a pleasure to finally meet you two and sit with you guys at Fri. nite dinner. Hope youse guys had a good time.

~WB

PS. Thought for the day...ALWAYS carry a spare throttle cable. :)

How is it that my best experience at Carlisle to date is the one time I DON

Angela's right about the restroom attendants, you ran the risk of not having TP if you didn't leave something in the tip jar!

No, no NO Scott - you're supposed to leave MONEY in the tip jar! Bwahahahaha!!

Got to meet Carey Hines and his father. Every bit as nice as everyone has said, the type of people the replica industry needs more of. Met Bruce Meyers (Meyers Manx). Charming fellow and got an autographed shirt for my buddy Aaron (Photoaaron on the spyder site). Really amazing cars as well. This an import show and there were more Citroen's driving in than I thought actually still existed in this country. Only one came in on a flatbed.

Couple of crazy guys had dumped big american lumps into a pair of 900 series Saabs. Crazy-cool! Saw a Lexus V8 powered second gen Toyota Supra, full aftermarket performance frames and suspensions for Triumphs, some really wild dune buggy and off-road baja type machines.

And Ruby. Beautiful as ever and couldn't be in the hands of a nicer guy. Howard brought the Blue Bomb and indeed, it is everything I always believed that car would be. No detail unfinished, no part placed without thought, no bit of quality scrimped anyway. A truly gorgeous custom build with no compromises. Well down Howard, well done.

By the way - see ya all ya all again next year!

angela

Year five is in the books and it was another terrific weekend. Thanks to Gordon, Alan, WildBill and everyone else who had a hand in making the weekend a success. Great to meet/see Angela, Steve, Will, Will's dad, Musbjim from the west coast - and folks from Canada and England too (sorry, missed their names). As usual, owners with and without Speedsters showed from all over the map with too many stories to repeat about driving and trailering a TON of miles....in spite of the threat of the rain. Another great weekend with teh feel of a family reunion. My Speedster stayed at home with a blown engine so much thanks to Hoss, Lenny C, Lane, and DrClock for treating Hotfoot and I to rides to the events over the weekend!

A terrific weekend meeting Angela and Steve Lane (Team Monte Carlo) who are just awsume people as well as Will, Alan Gallo, Alan McGuire... our on location photograper Chris Nichols and so many new faces to match up with the familiar names here and let us not for get MUSBJIM, a great guy who has to karma to possibly get me out to Morro Bay next year.
Our Canadian IM hero and friend Henry pulled off a carb fix in the rian on Saturday evening on Al Shapiro's "Ruby" as the gathered audience held a tarp over the venue.
Amazing how our casual on line friendships here become a close kit family each year at Carlislethat is a true gift !
Thanks to all that donated raffle items to help off set the misc. costs as well as Gordon & Bill s for stepping up once again to make out gathering sucessful.
THANK YOU ALL.... for coming out to Carlisle! ~Alan

Hello all!

Kathy and the pups and I just got in a couple of hours ago.

No problems on the way to Massachusetts, not even rain (a first for me!!!!)

After two days getting to Carlisle, two days there and another day to get here, I'm trashed so I'll just say that I got here and type more later, after I get some deserved rest.

Vince!! OBAN ROCKS!

As always, it was a thrill meeting all the newbies - just as much as reuniting with all the old timers (get that - old timers - and we've only been doing this since 2004)

My absolute thrill was meeting Bruce Meyers and his wife, Winnie, and having the honor of having dinner with them. "Normal" people don't have a clue what makes us Motorheads, and especially past dune buggy guys, respect what someone like Bruce has done for all of the kit car hobbies.

See all Y'all on here tomorrow. I'll get some rest and get more of my "Wustah" accent back so people here can understand me. I've also been practicing cutting people off with the truck/trailer.

gn
The only "Speedstah Guy" from Grafton, Massachusetts

WHAT A WEEKEND!!!

This may well have been the best one yet, even better than '07. I glad that we had as much cross-coast pollinization (pollinate this, Vince!), and we need to try and reciprocate for Morro Bay next year. I know Mickey's in. Hopefully I can make it as well.

Leon and Margaret Chupp, Hoss, and I are here in Christiansburg after the first leg home. I think every VA state trooper was on the highway. I've never seen anything like it. You never went more than a mile without seeing one - or two or three or... Weather was great today, but Pam tells me that I'll be driving into the southern end of the front tomorrow. Even that won't bring me down. What a great time! Thanks, all, for making it so!

Oh and Vince, we did pass around the Vince Manto Memorial Bottle of Oban (VMMBO) for everyone to have a shot or two. If I recall, a few blackmail photos might have been taken.

Matthew and I just rolled in. On the way home I insisted on MY Ipod playlist. Van, J Geils, Blue Brothers, Grateful Dead, Stones, Delbert, Norah, CSNY, Muddy, Raitt,Clapton, John Cougar, Little Feat, Brian Setzer, etc etc... We both grooved. He ( Matthew) may be on his way to becoming a Human. We both had a great time, with all of you wonderful people. This is our 2nd year at this, with many more to come. I want to go "West Coast" soon. IM's 50th presents schedule issues, but we'll try to plan for next year. Thank you for the friendship, comraderie, and converstion. Now if I can just find a Tatoo parlor, that will do that "PORSCHE" emblem in COLOR. All I have to do is find a place to put it. Any suggestions????

Depends on how big you want that tattoo... I am guessing the photos of Steve Lane's ink will be posted here sooner or later. Something of that size really limits where it can be put. Be careful, Porsche Lawyers may come knockin' on your door when you are through.

I'm still going through the 500+ pictures I took trying to sort out the keepers, but I did just quickly crop and size down "the" picture from the weekend. I'll probably do a little bit of work on it to sharpen things up in the full size version, but this one should give you an idea.

The story goes:

Theresa and I wanted to get a full group shot with the entire Carlisle crew, so we (mostly Theresa) went owner to owner to organize a time, and then we went and scouted out one of the hills usually used for parking that was clear.

So, as we're lining the cars up on the hill (mental note for next year - BRING EXTRA WHEEL CHOCKS!), the Carlisle event staff caught wind of our efforts -- not sure whether Gordon was involved in this or not -- and the next thing we know, there's a bucket truck over there with one of the Carlisle staff in it with a camera. I gave him mine for a few shots too (I REALLY wish they would have let me up there, because he was zoomed WAY out), but it turned out awesome.

I attached a sized down version... but you get the idea.

More coming - I just need to sort through the rest of the keepers and toss up a quick online album. Stay tuned, everyone!

Chris

Heidi and I just got back to the Cape. We talked all the way home about what a great time we had, and mostly what a great group of people we had just met. You all made us feel very comfortable for being "Newbees". Thank you.

Believe it or not,,, one of the highlights for us was holding umbrellas over Henry during a lightning storm, watching the "Master" at work tearing apart "Ruby's" Webber 44's. We didn't care if we died...well maybe just a little...

Heidi said my job this winter is to make sure my wreck gets there one way or another next year.

Someone said to me that this reminded them of the biggest family reunion you could imagine, except you like everyone... very true.

If anyone is out this way, you know how to find us... and please do!

We will post some pictures, and look forward to seeing everyone next year, if not sooner.

Steve's tattoo, and Lane's Oban adventures:

I am so glad to have been able to meet some of the East Coast Crew! Sorry I could not spend more time, but the time at CaddyShack was a blast and seeing the cars and talking on Fri AM was really fun. Thanks for making me feel welcome! I am so thankful to have you as friends.

I feel honored to be a part of your Oban-fest....
Oh, by the way, I think Angela must have brought a replica husband,
I have it on good authority that Steve's nick-name is Daddyo and that his back proves it...you guys saw an imposter

Wow..............
What a blast!
Thank you to all who organized this.

Lane,
Cranagranit?

Thanks to all who put this together it was a blast .Hope everybody had a safe ride home .I-81 was covered with cops they sure know how to hide in Virginia .Cant wait untill the fall event ones again thanks

PEOPLE OF EARTH!!!!

What a great time spent at Carlisle visiting with old friends and meeting new ones (Marty, Sandy, Mickey, SueZ, Mark, Max, Toni,et al). Special thanks to my rocket scientist BRUTHA, Kelly Frazer for his generous hospitality and transport.

After leaving Carlisle, Kelly & I caravaned with BERT back to Baltimore. Stopped on the way at a Roadhouse diner featuring excellent seafood for a great dinner and recap of the weekend.

Once I get back home in the OC I'll post my pics and a video of my Carlisle experience. I'll also post the Morro Bay video.

Many thanks to Gordon, Bill and everyone else who pitched in to put together a great event.

Peace - Out!

THIS WAS MY FIRST TRIP TO CARLISLE MY ONLY MISTAKE WAS MAKING IT A ONE DAY TRIP FROM CT ( SAT) AND NOT MAKING ANY OF THE EVENING EVENTS. THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR MAKING ME FEEL WELCOME. I ARRIVED JUST AS THE GROUP PHOTO WAS BEING TAKEN ON THE HILL A BEAUTIFUL SITE!!!! THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE SEEN ANY SPEEDSTERS OTHER THAN MINE. GORDON THANKS FOR ALL YOUR WORK GREAT SHOW!!! I WILL BE THERE NEXT YEAR

" . . . my job this winter is to make sure my wreck gets there one way or another next year."


Alan,

MAKE SURE that you get in touch when you get started! I live right up Route 3 and can be there in no time. Got spare parts and lots of knowledge, some skills, a few strong friends and I'm more than happy to help.

Don't forget! We can get your ride in great shape in short order. Happy to help out . . .



OH, I totally missed Carlisle again, but I have a good excuse. I got hired to redo the broken fiberglass, body work and paint on a genuine certified Ed "Big Daddy" Roth VW trike. Meaning that he actually built it, or at least claimed that he did. First thing that I did was strip down and rub myself all over it, got a little Roth and all the right places.


ForUM PrICk

TC...I don't think you're a prick at all. I actually have my car running fairly well now. The only thing I have to get done soon is axel seals and front wheel bearings. They are ok for now ,but if I flat tow it 500 miles I would feel better if they are done. I also have to fab a tow bar or find a trailer that I can tow with my Dakota. Maybe some time this summer we will venture over the bridge and say hi in person. Thanks for your kind offer and hope to meet soon. Al

We just finished up doing the seals and such on the race car and we're gonna do the same, seals, bearings, and brakes on Shorty's Beetle this coming weekend. I can do 'em in my sleep if you need help, no problem.

We have a couple or four tow bars lying around that you can "borrow" on the long term plan any time you want. Just grab one and keep it as long as you like. A couple of years or more is just fine . . . one always turns up to replace it. Kinda weird.

If you need to move the car any real distance, we have three car trailers as well.

If you're ever in a traveling mood, the cruise night at the VO-TECH high school on the canal begins on the first Tuesday night in June. Coming from RT 3A it's on the hill just a bit after the GALLO Skating Rink. It's a great show and we're usually there making fools of ourselves. Come join us.

It was great seeing the many I met two years back and all the new folks I met as well. Looking foward to Carlisle 2010! For those that were interested in ordering one of those Yellow aluminum 356 dimond (12" x 12") shaped signs (sorry I don't have a pic to post), here is the guy's email:

John@jebproductions.com

or

www.jebproductions.com (will link you to his signs on eBay for purchase)

and last.... and address if needed:

JEBPRODUCTIONS
6221 Beck Rd
Canton, MI 48187

I'm not sure if they are on his site yet for sale (he has only made up three 356 signs to date so may need to email him if you have trouble finding them.

Only just now recovering from the long drive back. Marc & I swung through RI to see his Mom, so the ride home was 'slightly' longer than the ride down.

This was our first (but NOT the last!) Carlisle and THANKS to everyone who did so much work getting it put together and organized. I really loved meeting everyone but am STILL trying to put faces/names/cars together! The SOC group has outdone themselves with making 'newbies' feel welcome.

We've got LOTS of pics and I'm trying to figure out my 'stitch' option for the panerama shots of the cars. I can't wait to see everyone's pics, and am glad all made it home safe & sound! ...Susie

I realy had a great time.....Finaly able to put faces with the names....Angela, SueZ, Mickey, Steve, Allen, Al, Piet V., and so many others.....Thanks to all for the effort extended.....Only 360+ days to go.....I'm UP......

Made it home a few hours behind the end of the storm front at about 3:15. Smooth sailing the whole way. Like I said above, "WHAT A WEEKEND!"

Just downloaded 246 pictures. I'll post a few here tomorrow.

Just as a little background - it rained quite heavily Friday night so, of course, some cars got a little water-logged and Al Shapiro's "Ruby" was one of them. His interior seemed dry, but one of his Weber carbs got a little water in it and was running poorly when he delivered it to Henry Reisner's booth at the show as an example of a customer's Intermeccanica.

Henry told him he would look at it and did so in the parking lot at the hotel so I offered the use of my tools and then found everything else I could muster to help out, including a small tarp from the truck to hold over Henry and the parts when the rain hit.

One of the hardest things I ever did was to NOT get more involved helping Henry out, but I had Bruce Meyers and his wife waiting for me in the Hotel lobby to take them to our dinner and had to leave Henry to his own devices. Kathy, who had stayed at the hotel with our Jack Russells, went out 45 minutes after I left to lock up the truck - Henry was still at work with people standing over him holding umbrellas - with lightning flashing in the background!!!

She told them all that they might consider re-convening later on as the television news had just issued a Tornado warning (get inside NOW!) for that area. Henry kept working and finished shortly thereafter, making it to the dinner just after we had ordered our dinners (we put him right next to Winnie Meyers).

The man is dedicated, that's for sure!

Henry! I just got all the shop rags washed and dried! The back of the truck smelled like a gas pump all the way home, but it was worth it!!!!

My next big campaign on the Internet is to get EVERYONE to install carburetor hats. ENOUGH of this water-in-the-carbs BS every year!

Gordon

I can attest to how well they work. After last year's water torture for Kelly and me, I put some on. No problems this year - WOOHOO! Mine are now gloss black with chrome hardware, but Kelly's make more of a statement. They are (really!) inverted bread pans from some sort of store-bought pastry. I think he might have gotten a few drops of rain in there, 'cuz he spent Friday working on his carbs, but they sure looked, um, interesting.

Yup, definitely had that "Sarah Lee" look about them.....

I HAD THEM FOR ABOUT 5 DAYS

Who are these men....and what are they doing....?? Taken just before the sky opened up.

... and taken just AFTER the sky opened up. Notice the quickly decreasing dry patch on the ground. :)

Henry R. is top-notch in my book, both as a business man and on a personal level!!