Jim Ward

If this has already been covered my apologies. I was recntly reading the 356 registry magazine and came across the article for a gathering they recently held in Saint loius Obisbo (spelling?0 They listed Jim Wards' car for best replica. I was wondering if it is the same Jim Ward of this site and wanted to offer my congratulations

It is the same Jim Ward. Jim also won the long distance award by driving from Oklahoma for the meet. Nice guy, nice car!

There is a mistake here, Jim Ward was at Knotts in 04 and 05, once with his original Vintage which was a long way from home (but did he get the long distance award?) and then with his Intermeccanica which he drove from up north and then home but not at San Louis Obisbo in 06......(really Paso Robles 06)
I could be mistaken if he did a run we are not aware of.....

It is a fact. Jim Ward, several others and myself participated in North Meets South with all the "nasty" 356 Porsche owners. I'd say, speaking for others, we all had a great time. The 2006 event was organized/managed by the Northern group, friends of mine. A couple of us were members of the organization committee. The Southern group will be doing the organization/management of the 2007 event. Because of a few, and I mean a very small minority, I don't know if the replicas will be welcomed as they were by the Northern Group.

That would be a shame because the majority of the members liked us, our cars, and our ability to share in the festivities. All of the replica owners that registered participated as car placement guides for the car show.

Thanks for the congratulations Chris. We drove our Speedster from OKC to LA to see friends and then joined them in meeting Dale, Bruce and others up at SLO. A good time was had by all. The 356 Nor Cal club (356CAR) were excellent hosts and I agree with Dale; most all of the owners were receptive to our participation. In return we got to ogle some of the most beautiful 356s around while helping with the parking of cars by Type and year. The award(s) were nice, but seeing our friends, driving our Speedster, and enjoying the group activities were reward enough. Judging by 'peoples choice' is such a subjective thing, and some equally nice and better prepared/detailed cars in the Replica group could have easily won. Every single car in the Replica line up deserved to win in my opinion. Our hobby/passion was represented with pride by owners of JPS, VS, CMC & IM. Dale and others in the community made this happen, along with Dave from the No Cal 356 Club. It was a blast and something I enjoyed very much, along with all others attending.

We drove on from there up to Big Sur for a couple of days, then on to relaxing stays at Monterey, Yosemite, Kings NP, The Grand Canyon, and back home in a long road trip/vacation that we, my wife and I, will never forget.

Can I ask what the dates were for this event, it obviously was not made public on the SOC site.....just curious.....

From what I've seen the majority of real 356 owners like our replicas too. I have to admit that if I had the funds I would own a real Speedster but I wouldn't look down on replica or VW owners since I love those cars too. After all they were designed by the same entities....

Last weekend in April.

I would have voted Jim's car as "Best Replica" also. Sounds like an awesome road trip, Jim. Glad you made it home safely.

Any other pics from your road trip you'd like to share?

Jim here's a few pics. I'll send some via p-mail. Thanks for asking. I have your Dana Pt. Pics up on a page to look at!

Hey Jim, how do you keep the bra from scuffing the paint? It looks like it'll do a heck of a job protecting the front end, but I've heard tales of paint damage. Where'd you get it?

Me too Jim. I have a bra like yours that I have never had on the car, in part for fear of damaging the paint. I would certainly use it with your reassurance that it will be OK, since I am driving to Watkins Glen in September for the Zippo and avoiding a few (more) stone chips is always a good thing.

Your digi-pix are outstanding. This must have been the trip of a lifetime, or nearly so. Thanks for sharing them.
Hoss

Jim W. -

Beautiful pics, particularly the shot near Nepenthe! Speaking of Nepenthe, I guess because of the spectacular view of the coastline they feel they can gouge you for their crazy restaurant prices.

All those road-trip miles in a gold-standard Speedy, man, you are living my life - more power to you, Jim!

On another note; Car Bras - my experience with these (for what it's worth) is that a poorly-fitted cover, or over-use is what causes paint scuffing/dis-coloring. At hwy speeds poorly-fitted covers shift and flutter on your car. Also, the same ill affects can be produced by leaving a cover on when not needed (overnight,or overextended periods) trapping dampness and grime. For best result, make sure your cover fits properly, check for dirt or debris on the body side of the cover and don't leave it on when not needed. But then again, you probably already know this.

Peace - Out!

Thanks. I have a ton of pics, but it would take a boring slide show to share them with you. Jim, we stayed near Nepenthes at Deetjen's. Had a great time hiking down to the beaches, etc.

The bra is a Colgan that Henry's interior/top guy custom fit for the Hellas and Guards. It has a soft flannel inner lining, double padding, and the S hooks are plastic coated. I've used it on three long trips now without any damage to the paint. I am now using 3M Painters tape (blue) to line the areas the S Hooks clamp to the fender wells and underbody front lip... a tip Dale Bates passed to me this past Spring. With a little Stretching I can make a tighter fit, but as is, it works fine.

Jim W.
Great photos of your trip. We took that same route on our drive home from Vancouver. Shots brought bach fond memories. Congratulations on your win.
Bob M.

Sounds like some of you guys got together and didn't bother to tell the rest of us. What's with that? I guess it was just a bunch of real 356s.....who would be interested in seeing those!

I wasen't going to say anything, but I agree with you Ron....
Thats cool.....I run highway 1 every year............
Here's proof.......

Brian Bell, me and Eddie Janis.

It was one of those spur of the moment things. I think most of the Registry members got a notice in the magazine, Ron. Don't you belong to the 356 Registry? The Southern Group probably won't allow replicas in 2007, but there's always 2008! Hope to see you there!

The run up the PCH was fun for this Okie. We even had some real steel car owners make the drive up to Nepenthes. Another special memory from that weekend.

Cool pic there Scott. But something is wrong.... Eddie's not buffing his paint!!!! LOL.

Vince, I'd drive it in the winter too if I had a chance.

You Intermeccanica guys are elitist pigs!

Oops, I have an IM.....oh well, so much for that rant.....

I don't understand why anyone would be upset.

I have seen pictures from that event.I can tell you guys have great time.Anyway the pictures are saved in my "favorites".

Thanks Lambros. A group of friends/owners decided to get togther this year and Dale's relationship with the 356 Community in Nor Cal provided a chance for us to meet at SLO/NmS. The meet itself was open to all replica owners and was posted on the meet site, and linked to most other 356 sites and a few 356 parts manufacturers. I was suprised to find that no other owners showed up. But then, how many go to Dana Pt or the Campout other than a few...? I'll bet money that you would drive a few hours if there was a big 356 meet open to 356 Replicas around here. I would too.



I hope to see you on the road to Dallas. I live in Edmond, off I-35 and maybe this would be a good place to hook up for the road trip.

Jim,
Last year I drove the spyder down the coast route from Oregon to Cambria. Without a doubt, the most beautiful, peaceful drive I've ever been on. Kept stopping to take pictures and just enjoy the scenery. What a wonderful way to unwind! That drive was everything we built the car for. Hopefully I'll get to do it again this year.

angela

Jim
It is a good possibility. If my brother is in town that weekend, then we will come together.If not then I will have to wait (again) for the next meeting in OK. Of course,for my wife is out of the question,too long of a trip for her in the speedster (no radio,a/c,side windows).

Angela
First I want to say that the spyder is gorgeous!! Looking at the pictures reminded me back home (Greece).The drive from my house to the Aegean sea(east 20 min away) looks very much the same with your pictures.
Now If we really want to drive to some winding roads then we go to mountain Olympus(west less than 1 hour away).

Now that would be a drive to take pics of - spydies and speedies on Olympus!!

Always enjoyed the pics that Jim Ward puts up. He has the eye for beauty of artist, the adventurous spirit of a travler, and the kindness to share his passion with the rest of us.

angela

"A group of friends/owners decided to get togther this year and Dale's relationship with the 356 Community in Nor Cal provided a chance for us to meet at SLO/NmS. The meet itself was open to all replica owners and was posted on the meet site, and linked to most other 356 sites and a few 356 parts manufacturers. I was suprised to find that no other owners showed up"........

Gee, perhaps thats because all the "friends/owners" failed to mention this run on the SOC site......

Yeah, I agree with Vince. I thought you guys were my friends......

Those Bastards! I guess they didn't know it was required. I'll be driving my car this weekend if you want to join me.

Actually, I seem to recall the discussion at the time and the SOC opted for an event a couple of weeks earlier. The cost of participation became an issue for SLO/NS and the subject was dropped.

Come to think of it, I don't remember there being one Intermeccanica at the Paso run...I wonder if that is a coincidence.....

Justin and I will be driving with a group down to Dallas in September, you guys can join in if you would like!

Is there Manlove in the air, or what?

"Come to think of it, I don't remember there being one Intermeccanica at the Paso run...I wonder if that is a coincidence....."

And then there's the grassy knoll theory.

(Me, in an earlier post)"Our hobby/passion was represented with pride by owners of JPS, VS, CMC & IM".

...ahhh, the '2nd Speedy Theory'...pops ups every so often!LOL.

Jim, if I remember correctly, that 356 event in SLO was held the week after the SOC Paso event this past April. It would seem that attendance at this event, like every other event on this site (posted-or-not) comes down to coinciding with one's personal availability (vacation, work-schedule, budget, honey-do list, apathy, etc.). More power to you that you were able to enjoy such a cool road-trip.

There are many opportunities to attend/join events and cruises (Speedy related and non). If you can make it, cool, if not, hope to see you at the next one.

Whether you drive 1 mile or thousands of miles, once-a-year or everyday, manifested by every one's involvement on this site (active or lurking) I think we all share the same appreciation for Speedsters, whatever the configuration. Drive 'em if you got 'em!

Peace - Out!

I had hoped to get to Paso for that event. It sounded like it would be a lot of fun. I was going to use it as an engine break in trip for the engine I had just installed, but Home Work and finances won out.

To bad so many of you missed the IM BBQ. It was mentioned on the list, all cars & folks invited and it was a great time. I think next year, IM's 50th anniversary, I am going to invite some of my friends in 356CAR to go.

I would really like to go to next years IM BBQ. Maybe I can get a business trip near Canada.
-=theron

It will be a great time Theron, take some time off and drive up with Michele and myself, and whom ever else we can get.

No dates yet, but we are talking about taking a good part of the drive that Jim took to shake his car down. No Ferries.

And no wanna-be's.

Vince, a nice lady named Charlene (I think) came away with an award for her IM at the Paso event....oops, that was Knotts. OK, now I'm confused. I just remember that Henry was there, and Dan too if I remember correctly. And of course I was there, but when I introduced myself to you, you acted like I had the plague. I still don't get that......