Illinois Peeps

Hey guys,

Please come up and introduce yourself to me as my name/ face memory is lousy! I'll be the guy in the red Hawaiian shirt with the VWs on it.

Jeff

A likely story...I'll be the old fart in the bright red Speedster with probably the loudest exhaust.

We'll be in a blue FJ Cruiser. I'm 42. At what point do I become an old fart? Do I have to take a test? Is there a membership card?

Heading to bed so I can actually get up in time.

Jeff

Well, Jeff, it's a pretty exclusive club.  You have to fail the test and misplace your membership card.  Then you know you're a member in good standing. 

I'll just pull up my brown polyester pants to my nipples, move to Florida and complain about the government. That will be a start.

That's funny, Jeff!

Personally, I prefer tan polyester pants...

Great day! Thanks to the Starleafs for all the work in putting this together, It was a really good opportunity to see great cars and be with old and new friends.

 

Nothing like several dozen bikers lining both sides of the street cheering us on! You had to be there.

Bikers seem to "get" speedsters more instinctively than some of the guys who frequent this site, but you're right Bob-- it was kind of like being the prom queen there for a minute or two.

 

It was great to see everybody. Thanks Chris (and Sue) for hosing this really fun event. You sir, are the man.

Perfect Day! Great to see everyone and hope all made it home safe.Thanks Chris and Sue for all the planning.Peace

I guess I was so tired after returning home about 9:20 last night, then writing a quick little thanks to Chris and Sue and all attendees...then forgetting to click the post reply button...I'm still tired!

Hey Stan! I'm certain you meant "hosting" the event, not "hosing" it.

 

That last hundred miles home on 39 does put the mind into a weird gear.

Bob, that last 175 miles is why I had to cut the day short! Getting old sucks!

Your not getting older, you're gaining refinement.

 

Great seeing you, Rich.

Great Day!     Had alot of fun.    glad so many cars showed up.

My wife took most of these pix

 

 

Slept pretty good last night..   Spending all day in the sun and breeze can take alot out of you!

 

We got home just as the sun was setting,  but we had to stop and put the top up.

 

Yesterday was the last day of summer

Chris

Al and Bobbi just rolled out a few minutes ago, on their way back to Missouri.

 

It was great to see everybody! Thanks again for hosting a really fun event, Chris.

That's my buddy, Stan.

 

Kept the roof down all the way home. Still can't feel the end of my nose. Once I got away from the lights of the cities the night sky was pretty spectacular. Worth the cold.

 

Got a bunch of interesting ideas for upgrades and changes to my car that I never would have thought about without a gathering to really see what others have done first hand.

 

Soltis' golden beast = wow, what fabrication skills and true to his personal vision. Never seen anything like it. Performance monster.

 

Al & Bobbi Shapiro's "Ruby" = just one of the most beautiful cars of any type that I've had the pleasure of seeing. If you haven't seen it and get a chance, don't pass it up.

 

Rich's Beck = makes me want a Beck with a Raby Type 4. 

 

Starleaf's early IM = a real time capsule and a great chance to compare newer IM's with a classic one.

 

Grynkowicz IM Roadster = pretty much the epitome of a gorgeous grand tourer.

 

Tom Boney's VS = beautiful car and gave me a chance to compare my older VS with his newer one and see the differences in the builds.

 

Stan and Jeannie Galat's IM = another wow. Just the coolest street racer Grand tourer combo with great quality fabrication and upgrades that are so balanced between subtle and performance impacting.

 

Thanks everybody for giving me some great things to consider and do over the winter.

 

Just a great day. 

Glad to see you guys had such great weather. Whose car is at the front in the last pic? Love the look of the car; especially the curve across the top of the roll bar. That's the way it should be done...Al

 

PS- are the 5 bolt wheels aluminum?

Al-

 

That's Al Shapiro's car, "Ruby": probably the coolest looking and sounding speedster ever.

 

PS: the wheels are AL wide 5s.

Bob, you (and your shorts) are the clear winners in the "man-off" here. I must humbly (but reluctantly) concede to your ruggedness. The trip up to SRSP was pretty brisk, even with the side-windows up and the wind deflector in. Needing to pee every 30 minutes didn't exactly reinforce my self-image as a big strong man.

 

Jeanie was SO gracious about freezing the entire day, that I couldn't make her ride home with the top down. It was a beautiful night however, and I would have loved to have been rolling through the starfield of a September night. There's a limited number of days like yesterday left in this trip around the sun.

 

It was a blast to meet Al and Joe S, and see everybody else again. Joe Fortino-- you were missed.

 

The cars were almost as sweet. I love 'em all. Al S's "Ruby" is amazing. Joe S's car is a masterpiece of unique crazy-sweet fabrication skills. Marty's car is a nearly perfect execution of refinement. Rich's car is understated awesomeness. Bob and Bone's Vintages and Chris's CMC are the essence of what speedsters were really meant to be-- elemental, fun, and carefree simplicity. Some of us (who shall go nameless) get pretty carried away sometimes.

 

It was a great time.

Thanks for the info, Stan. What's Al's motor and what do you attribute to it sounding so great?

It's a CB 2110.

 

It has the "old" (2005) Intermeccanica "short-merge" header (1-1/2"). The exhaust is 2-1/2" and really long-- it wraps completely around the engine and exits in the center (stinger style). It runs through two 3" canister Magniflow glass-packs piped in series (one by each valve-cover), so it has an amazing, deep tone-- but a lot of "bark" when it's taching up. It sounds really, really good.

A number of cars had great exhaust tones. Soltis, Stan, Marty, Rich come to mind (and ear as I followed each of them at some point), Al Shapiro's Ruby has a really individual deep throaty rumble that I think could rattle fillings loose if you were close and he really cranked it.

 

 

Ya, I made some boastful comment Friday might about my car probably having the loudest exhaust...NOT. First clue: being behind Joe 5 minutes into the run. Second clue: being behind Al a little later on. Yowsa!

Oh, btw, pretty sure I put on 520 miles yesterday, about $90 in gas, mileage ranged from a low of 17 plus to 27 plus. I'll let you guys figure out when it was the lowest.

Rich you are a trooper.  We only did a little over 300 miles.  Email pics for video to mioprimo1 at gmail.com

Figuring for me, about a 350 round tripper home to Starved Rock...that leaves about 170 miles of "drive em". Did that work for you, Stan?

Email the Pictures today, Sandy is a get er done kind of person.

Rich, I was thinking. You should commandeer a special shirt for the people who take the time, effort and money to plan & attend the driving events all over the Country.  Basically an SOC Drivers Club emblem, a embroidery badge or shirt.

Marty, your "thinking" is a bit flawed...http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commandeer

Thanks for the thought Stan, I was in northern Wisconsin (Crivitz) for a little R&R. It looks like everyone had a great time, and the weather was fantastic. I am hoping there are several more weekends of sunshine for all to enjoy.

 

Until corn daze part trois. 

Hey Jeff, sorry we weren't paying attention as we got started, you coulda been my right seater for the  day. I figured you were going to be tagging along behind us in what you brung?

Yep. A day driving speedsters is always a good day.

Rich, you can do it by force:-)

Saturday's Soi·rée at Starved Rock

Yeah guys, we were a little bummed. We got there at 10:10 and everybody was there. I remember reading you were going to head out at 11. We were both thinking, "Great, we made it on time and will have time to check a few cars out, ask some questions, etc..." I did very briefly, get to meet a few of you, said about 7 words, took 3 pictures and then you all left at 10:30. My wife went down to the bathroom as soon as we arrived, thinking she had time. I met her as she was walking back. She was dejected that she didn't get to see anything. (She felt bad for me and I NEVER want to upset my wife.) She doesn't get excited about cars, but she was excited to see me excited. I really wanted her to see them, show her the qualities that I liked, compare and contrast, sit in one or two to check the seats to see if she could actually consider riding in one. (Bad disk). Maybe even get a lap in one around the lot. We got up early, drove the hour down and I saw you guys for about 15 minutes and POOF, you were gone. Even if we were going to follow you, I didn't get a map and nobody waited around to see if I was going to follow. I would have felt like a hippo in a parade of swans. Obviously I wasn't going to leave my wife behind. It pretty much killed our whole day. We were going to run around a bit but just headed home instead. There went $30 in gas. Felt like a totally wasted trip.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

 I have to apoligize. About the halfway point I asked one of the guys "whatever happened to Jeff,I thought he was going to meet us"

 I didn't even realize you were in the parking lot,I thought you were just part of the crowd   that were checking out the cars.

 We definitely had empty seats to take both you and your wife along for the day.

 Sorry for the confusion.Bones