Speedsters meet Spyders at Carlisle

Before this goes ANY further...

THANK YOU Bruce for yeoman's work organizing another amazing weekend.

THANK YOU Gordon for sharing your 24 Hours of Daytona experience. It felt like we were at the track with you!

THANK YOU Cory for the distance awards.

THANK YOU to ALL of you, for a terrific weekend. The cars are cool. But at the end of the day, it's about the PEOPLE. And car people are THE coolest people in the world.

And from the seven TD replica owners (five with their cars and two without) thank you for including us in the madness!

And speaking of cool people, to our Californians...

Jim, THANK YOU for gracing us with your presence, delightful as always.

Troy too (And ladies, he looks just like the picture he posted, the East Coast Girls were absolutely swooning at his feet!)

And to that son of a $%&#@ Vinny, if you ever dare step foot east of the Mississippi again, we're calling out the National Guard! What we see here in the forum is what we got in person. Absolutely unbelievable!

(There. I kept my promise Vinny and did NOT out you as being witty, funny, and an all around great guy! Your secret is safe here!)

Ok everybody, I lied about Vince, I saw him slap a baby and kick a dog then laugh, what a miserable old son of B he is. California can keep him and Ahhnold, together they make a great pair, one full of muscles and the other just full of it.

"Is that better Vinnie?"

Right now I'm in the Fairfield Inn in Orangeville, SC. Drove halfway home, another 582 miles to go. Wife says it's been raining there evryday since I left, Hoss must have had something to do with the weather shift.

Now I have to work on Max, oh by the way, I heard it's his birthday, everyone send him best wishes. You know it's been said the more birthdays you have, the older you get. hehehehe

Hey MAX...I bought your book for myself for your birthday.
Wanna autograph my PC screen?

There is no more humbling way of arriving at Carlisle than with your Speedster on a flat bed truck. Me and my fellow turnkey wingman Steve Pritchard(an MD and a DDS) trying to figure out the problem out on the PA Turnpike was both pathetic and hilarious. But there is no more uplifting feeling than seeing 30-40 SOC'ers standing in the hotel parking lot waiting for you. Saturday morning Wild Bill D, Rick W, Tom B, Corey D and others field repaired my Beck's front wheel spindle and bearings right there. Awesome! And it drove better than when I left Indy! And they would take to recompense-more awesomeness! Looks like I've bought an semi-rational retirement toy and stumbled onto a great group of nutty and noble guys just as Corey sez. All I can say is mega THANX to all. Dave Bash

Dave, I think your blog says a lot about this crowd. While we bicker on the SOC forum about our cars, down deep we are all kindred spirits - some Spartan; others high tech. Glad all worked out for you.

Yeah, Wild Bill and I heard about your plight Friday afternoon when we were at the show field, so we hot-footed it over to see Carey Hines to get an idea what of what it has for a front spindle, then walked over to the ACME parts truck and, sure-enough, they had bearings, seals, even wheel bearing grease! Gave that to Bill to take to the Bigga-Casa della Drayer at the hotel. When I got to the hotel Saturday morning, the car was already on jackstands and the old bearing was out, after Cory made a parts run and got a puller for the race. I was watching a small crew led by Tom Buchanan putting it back together when Bill walks up. "HOLY S#!%!" says Bill; "I go inside the camper to take a leak and the job's all done when I get back!!" The fix-it crew wasn't satisfied there, either - they pulled the other wheel and hub, just to check it out (it was OK).

No, Dave, we're not looking for re-payment. My son's diesel truck died just departing from the hotel back in 2007 and we had a LOT of help from folks in this group to get us back on the road the next day and appreciate their help still. Like Cory said - - - Just pay it forward for someone else.

Besides - We now have great pictures of Cory towing an F250 pickup - with Pearl on a trailer behind - up RT 11 and into the Ramada parking lot!

I think we're ALL glad you got home safe and sound, and see you next year!

Gordon

Thanks to everyone involved in organizing this this event! Hope everyone got home safely, and there are still some on the way home now. Bruce, Norma, WB, Alan, Gordon, Cory, and any others I may have missed made the whole thing smooth. The rides and meals and the accommodations were perfect as far as we were concerned, and the way everyone just dives in and helps each other is really amazing. It really is like a family, (better than some I've seen). It was also great to meet some new West Coasters. Safe trip home.
Cory pretty much put it into words better I could. Cory, you made Heidi cry when she read your post to me on the way down Rt. 495. Nice job.
The only complaints I have are, the beds were too big, the ice buckets were too small, and I thought Vince would be bigger and meaner. All he did was go around hugging everybody...whats up with that? And who was that weird dude with the eye patch? Thanks again. Heidi will post some photos soon.

Took the slow road home again this year, south out of Carlisle on 11, down to 15, through Gettysburgh at a respectfull 25 mph, to Frederick and home. The air perfect, the engine running smooth, sunscreen working. Only thing missing was the Hoopty in the rear view, as has been the deal on past runs -- I heard he had a dinner date elswhere. Even so, the week end was a grand adventure, finished off by a neat ride home, just a scant 120 mi. I can say it took all of five minutes to change from a happy Speedster Owner w/ SEG to a grass farmer, as there was serious mowing to be done.

What a great week end.

Made it home just in time for dinner, wife had Shepard's Pie ready and after the long drive on a McDonald's cheeseburger it was like dinner at the Waldorf. Everything, other than the speedometer, went well. A few collisions with the odd butterfly and a couple of bumble bees, Subiddo came home without a scratch. Hope everyone got home safely and looking forward to next year already.

ps: Peter Venutti's Subi/IM is fantastic, Marty and Sandy's IM is beautiful, driving Hoopty scared the crap out of me and the ride in that cool 911 made this weekend one of a lifetime. I can't forget the rest of the group and who could forget the infamous Vinnie, the irrepressible Max, (I never understand what Toni sees in him), Jimbo, Troy and Marv.

I was right there with you Kelly! Got all unpacked and unhitched and it was right onto the tractor....harvesting the grass!

~WB

Parking Lot Tech!

~WB

We made it home fine yesterday afternoon. Just now starting to get over being tired. I fell asleep twice over the keyboard last night and never finished catching up on emails, etc. Thanks everyone for your compliments and friendship. Thanks again to the folks who helped made the event a success, especially Alan, Wildbill, Cory, Gordon and Rich. Having Jim, Vince, Troy and the wives join us from California along with Marv Zimmer from Utah made the weekend even better. Legends will go the way of the Hotel Carlisle and we'll do without Nigerian music next year. I have already received some leads on cruises and destinations for next year and local residents Jim Chichi and Chuck Martin have offered to help on the Friday night eatery. Next year is the 10th anniversary - unbelievable - hope to see you all again in 2013.

Inspite of all my troubles with United Airlines in getting there it was all worth it meeting all of you guys (and a few gals) and having a chance to see all your cars.
I even had lots of opportunities to drive many of the cars, but I turned them all down, because they were all so nice I would never have forgiven myself if I damaged one of them. That is all except for the Hoopty! Cory would not take no for an answer, and how could I resist driving the legend. I also got my first ride in a Spyder from Danny. He was kind and didn't scare me too much, but that car is FAST!
As I was saying my good byes to everyone, many of you wished me a better trip home, but it was not to be.
United screwed up my return flights too and I was stuck in Chicago for about 10 hours, which caused me to arrive in San Francisco at 2:00am in the morning and miss my connecting flight to Fresno. I didn't get out of San Francisco until 1:00pm on Monday.
Again, it was still all worth it.
Now which of you guys can we expect to see in Pismo this year or next year???

AWARDS AT CARLSLE

First Place Club Challenge
The Speedster group achieved 66 registrations and took home first place. Congratulations all.

Elite Award
The Carlisle staff walks the fairgrounds and picks unique cars and cars they would like to own. Leon Chupp was one of the winners and received a trophy (in his right hand in the photo), a hat and a shirt. This was the first time out for his new build. Congratulations Leon.

Standard of Excellence
Steve Maglidt's Vintage Speedster entered and received a Standard of Excellence award. Congratulations, Steve.

Made it home about 3:15 yesterday (Monday) from the best Carlisle gathering yet. Car performed flawlessly, as did the weather. I think all the rain I saw in my 7-day trip wouldn't have filled a shot glass.

I think I'll leave the bra, Carlisle sticker, and road schmutz on the car for Saturday's Car's and Coffee. That oughta spark a few conversations.

We stopped at a big Weis where I picked up a tube of No. 70 sunscreen, a jug of that aloe vera gel, a cheap pair of gardening gloves, and a ten-dollar cap that says "Mechanicsburg." Lubed myself up, and buttoned my shirtsleeves, thinking this is how vampires must dress in daylight, what nerds must think looks cool. Stopped for gas. A guy in a Cherokee offered to lead us out of there to 83 to 81. Sure. The ride from there was awesome. The engine never missed a stroke or backfired once. Danny and Lenny -- trophy time. Thanks for making me do this again. Oh what a feeling. I forgot.

Being home is tough. Yeah, there's flesh hanging off my face, a family of brown recluse spiders has eaten a nest into my nose, but that's not what I mean by tough. It's this post partem crap. Tom and Hoss and Al and Darcie and Mr. Bridges and Lane and Cory and Kelly and Norma and and and and Vinnie. Man. Jim. Ginny again. Troy and and and the other first timers. And everyone. Cory -- yes she was beautiful. She was pure medicine. Sorry. And Bruce. I've felt like crap since I got over the rush of the ride home. This is it for a year. Unless Jack Nicholson does the Pumpkin Run or I make it out to CA. I love you guys. How's that for sappy, Mr. Bones.

Nolan my man -- What kind of pie did you say your wife had ready and waiting for you?

Ah Max, Shepard's Pie is an olde world treat from jolly olde England. It is mixture of hamburger, gravy, a little garlic. onions, peas and maybe some maize(corn) covered with a layer of mashed potatoes with a sprinkle of grated cheese. Of course one needn't be British to make or enjoy it, my wife being English adds some authenticity to it.

Vince, don't even go there!

Nolan, yuuuuuum! Nuff said?

Max, Hope you feel better soon. I came home with a golden brown tan (spanish blood from mom) like I was in FL for a week. It all went so fast that it takes a few days to realize how much we packed into this weekend event. Your Tub looks awesome. Happy belated birthday. Marty

Thanks, Marty. I'm fine. Just need to leave a note on the fridge to remind me about sunburn. Right next to the note reminding me to check my fly before wandering out the door. Getting old sucks. Getting stupid sucks worse. Chicago's a haul. Glad you guys made it okay.

What a great time! Many, Many thanks to Bruce & Norma, Wild Bill, Cory & Rich and Gordon for a sensational presentation.

I won't repeat all the parts of the event except to say that the covered bridge cruise cruise was sensational---best ever!

After Carlisle Russ & I saw much of the Gettysburg battlefield then headed to DC to spend the night with my daughter and her family and pick Alice up for the 2-day drive home to Hot Springs, AR.

You ask is it really worth driving the Speedster 2,626 miles to and from Carlisle worth it---you bet it is! The finest group of people that I know.

The car ran great without a hiccup and got 26 MPG with the best tank at 29.5 ---used a total of 101 gallons of gas and one quart of Brad Penn.

I only wish it lasted a couple of days longer. Next year's Carlisle event can't come soon enough.

Leon, Welcome to the Elite Pick Club. This means that we now have at least two of these trophies in the Hotlanta area. Your solid gold Speedster is quite an accomplishment and really looks good. Well deserved. Charles

Hey Fellas,

This saturday we are having our open house at the shop ahead of the bug out. It would be super cool to hang out another weekend and continue to sniff gas with all of you if you can make it. Of course you will see my Speedster but there should be some decent / fast VW models to have a look at, maybe eats, maybe drinks, definitely parts available, Monk and good times. 9am -????

7903 Hill Park Court #11
Lorton VA 22079

Hit me up and let me know if you are feeling like coming.

Cheers,

Todd

Todd,

What is the timing? Is the Bugout Saturday or Sunday this year?

I guess we need to start a Bugout thread and see who is coming.

A few of us usually meet at the Cracker Barrel on 234 by 95 and drive in together the morning of the show

so we can hang together at the show - I will bring a pop up canopy.

For those of you who were not at Carlisle (what.....GERD and someone else or something??) I would like to mention just one small part of the five covered bridges tour that needs mentioning:

We had made it through most of the tour, had made it through the fifth covered bridge (all of them were way beyond really cool) and following along behind ECB and Norma, maybe five or six cars back. Things are going well, we're doing, maybe, 40-45mph, watching an SAS car in front of us and quickly gaining elevation on this really delightful, curvy back road when we hit an abrupt right turn which seems to be going up a bit. All of a sudden, I see the car in front of me, only now it's not in front of me but way higher, way up over the top right corner of the windshield and quickly gaining altitude and moving out of sight. Then I quickly notice that the road doesn't exactly go around a curve as much as do a 120 around to the right, at the same time that it goes up at about a 45 degree angle. I'm hauling into the curve at about 40mph. "HOLY $#!# !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I double-clutch, pull Pearl down into 2'nd and stand on it, she pours on the power and we blast around the corner and head straight up what seems like the face of a cliff, Kathy's trying to find the grab handle, hang onto her hat, keep the stuff in her footwell from leaping across the shift tunnel onto my feet, hold onto the route instructions and hold the door handle, all at the same time when, just as suddenly, the road begins to curve to the left for a bit before straightening out (sort-of) and becoming more "civilized". "What the hell was THAT?" I hear from the right.......

"Wow.......Pretty cool road, isn't it?" I ask, as the grin gets ever wider.........

Yeah, those switchbacks going up and down the mountain and the view at the top were a cool finish to the cruise...doncha think?

Yeah, I think I remember Leon grabbing for a hand hold on that one.

No tan on those knuckles for 20 minutes.....

I know that turn! Missed the downshift last fall on it & just about stalled her.

Sorry I missed a second chance at it this year.

GORDON
I WAS THERE
VIA VINCE
BUT BASED ON HIS EMAILS I DONT THINK I WILL EVER MAKE IT THERE
HE REALLY DIDNT ENJOY THE TRIP :)
MAYBE NEXT YEAR FOR CARROL AND I

Ee, I was stuck in third too, very scary for a minute. Thanks God Peter V saw me and slowed down enough for me to adjust.

That's funny! Vince told me that he wants to move back here and stay in Intercourse! A plus being handy to Bird-In-Hand!

~WB

GERD, I'm bummed that I missed this year, but look forward to seeing you next year, rain or shine.

I dunno about Vince staying in Intercourse. Despite the name, that's Amish country. That'd be like matter and anti-matter coming together. Massive devastation! Real end-of-the-world stuff!

How many of you can say, you had Intercourse in Intercourse....
Of course it will never be the same...
Same thing happened a few years back when I visited the "7 Sacred Pools" on Maui....you guessed it, they are no longer "sacred"....
you can imagine what I do to a "Wet Dream"

Same thing when Vinny vacationed in the British Virgin Islands. Now they're just called the British Islands!

Actually, Cuba imports cigars from me, I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I drink Dos Equis....

Hey Vince, thats my line:~)

Marty,
You have the shoes, Vince is the "most interesting man alive" ;)

I dunno. My vote for that title of this group is Herbert Hofer. Those of you on FB will get what I mean.