Third Annual SOC Weekend in the Smokies !

Just what you need to cure a Carlisle hangover: John(Hoss) Hallstrand, Steve(Specialty Auto)Lawing, and Tom(Speedsterless, but keeping the faith)Raymond are proud to present the Third Annual SOC gathering in the Smoky Mountains, October 16 - 18, 2009.

We will again be headquatered at the Talley Ho Inn, Townsend, TN. There are currently twelve (11 plus mine) rooms reserved under the name "Speedster Club". Please call 800-448-2465 ASAP & transfer one or more of these rooms to your credit card. Rates are about what they were last year ($240 - $270 for Friday & Saturday night).

We will follow the basic plans from last year for runs on the Dragon & the Cherola Skyway, PLUS a very special Sunday event: Specialty Auto will be our host on Sunday AM for a brunch, shop tour & loop run. For those of you who want to get back on the road home, the brunch & tour is planned to end by 11 AM on Sunday, so you will still have the entire afternoon to get back.

I look forward to seeing many more of you in October. FYI: this weekend is scheduled one week AFTER Alan Merkin's fall weekend, so you mid Atlantic, Northern folks can grab some egg sammichs & bring them down with you.

Forgot to post more info channels

Talley Ho Inn: www.talleyhoinn.com
Steve Lawing: www.specialtyauto.com

Thanks for putting another one together, Tom. I certainly plan to be there.

Me too!

I'll have to RSVP as a no-show this year, Tom.
I won't even leave Africa for another week after the run.
I am going to make myself a promise, though; after this, I'm gonna tell Uncle Sam to put the brakes on any deployments over an SOC event weekend.
Happy motoring!

Tom--count Alice and me in! Thanks for the arrangements!---Jack

YAWWWWWNNNNN....Huh??....What?????....Oh yeah....I'm in......Thanks..

I have made my reservation, now for Steve to get my Cab done before 10/16. He tells me that Teele & I will make the run with our cars.

Keeping the faith.

Also for those dragon neophytes amongst us:
www.tailofthedragon.com

Ok folks, I've made my reservation. Apparently I'm the only one other than Tom who has done so. I can attest to the frenzy of October leaf peepers who will snarf up the rooms if they are not reserved soon. I know Tom has them blocked on his credit card, but I would assume he would rather that wasn't the long-term situation. C'mon, guys, you know you wanna come!

We're signed up at the Inn, woo hoo!

I would like to participate this year and would go ahead and make hotel reservations for the event if I knew SAS would definitely have our car ready in time. I have asked Steve via e-mail for an up-date on delivery status - but I haven't received an answer. That was about three weeks ago. Unless I am certain that we will have our Tubaru in time I am hesitant to make any plans, much less hotel reservations. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

Join us anyway. You're welcome to drive your rental car (make it sumthin' cool :-) and you'll have a chance to see your car in progress.

Yes, join us anyways, someone may even have an empty right seat. In any case I understand the scenery and drive is amazing regardless what you're driving. This will be my first run following my first Carlisle. Just meeting the other SOC and SAS members was as memorable as the car show. The cars, as cool as they were, didn't measure up to the people my wife and I met. Who knows, maybe someone may come up with a "I Ran The Dragon" grill badge, hint, hint, nudge, nudge.

I checked with the car rental deal and all they have available is a '78 Yugo (Pea Green) or a '59 DeSoto (Primer)for that weekend. I asked my neighbor if I could borrow his '88 Geo Metro (which is all tricked out) and he said "No Way! Are you nuts?" so we may have a problem with transportation. As far as finding an "empty seat": you may recall from other threads that my wife is over 600 lbs. (but very small boned). Could be a problem. I have sent another e-mail to SAS this morning requesting an up-date. If the info is positive, we will definitely make our reservations.

Ill be there hell Iamm already here .Won't have to travel cool, did the dragon yesterday at 6.45 A.M. no trafic from our house to Robinsville past four Harleys on the dragon that was all the trafic It was a great ride (The Harleys waved me by )They got tired of me flashing the lights and beeping the horn these guys were from Florida going like 15 MPH some people should not ride Harleys

Doug, look into Hertz, they may have a Hummer you could rent then all bases would covered.

Tell your wife that this is an investigative trip and that you should come alone. That way you could bum a right seat ride from someone.

Tom---wonderful! Thanks for working to pull this event together---and you are "between Speedsters".

This will be an especially exciting Dragon Run for Alice and I----well mostly for "I" as right after the Dragon Run we drive the Speedster to Jake Raby's engine works in Georgia and fly home from Atlanta. I guess we'll drive part way Sunday and get there early Monday morning, drop off the car for a week or so and fly back to Hot Springs from Atlanta, then fly back later to drive it home.

Jake is installing one of his custom Type 4 engines in the car. He has received the proposal back with my deposit so I am on the list.
More data later but it is to dyno around 140 hp which is about twice my present type I, so it should go pretty good. Also he is exchanging the rear drums for discs for more stopping power. Additional gauges for Oil temp and CHT too.

He is installing a new transmission as well---same gearing for 1st and 2nd with taller gearing for 3rd and 4th. This will provide a lower noise level on the highway rather that doing 3,300 rpms at 70 like I see now. Could be as low as 2,500 but I don't know yet for sure. My car has always felt like it wanted a 5th gear when I'm cruising at 75-80 and now I'll have the same thing as a 5th with the new tranny. OK-close.

I sought a combination of best possible reliability, longevity (twice the old engine) and power, which there should be more of than a sane person could ever need. Plus at car shows the engine will be something folks never see as it will resemble a 914 engine so I won't be hearing the standard comment about the engine.

Jake has been awesome to work with on this project and I have learned so much in the process. Check out his websites---just Google Jake Raby and you'll see them all.

I am planning to take this car to Morrow Bay with Marty G. next April---also Jerry McAllister, who is getting my present engine, is planning to hook up with us along the way. We are looking for a couple of others too.

--I wanted to share this with my SOC friends----Jack

Jack -

Very cool reading about your Speedy's re-power/trans conversion. I can only imagine the screaming-machine your car will be after Jake finishes his magic.

WRT next year at Morro Bay, it can only be more awesome with you, Jerry, Marty and Mickey joining us. Hopefully, Cal & Carol Monsma will make a return visit as well! We have great plans for making that event even more fun!

Hope you all have a great run during the Weekend in the Smokies cruise!

Glad to see more are signing up. There were 12 rooms that I initially reserved at the Talley Ho Inn. It now looks like close to half of those have been taken.

I am "between Speedsters" as Jack said, but the next one will not be ordered until the economy improves. Besides I must admit it is alot of fun going between the C4S Cab & the R8 (when my wife says I can drive it !)

I will be off the radar till early August. I am on the west coast 6/18 - 6/28, and then a thosand or so miles below Cory (Botswana and Namibia) for most of July.

It should be a great fall run !

Maybe we'll get to see you, Tom! I'll still be here. ...
If your flight takes you through Djibouti -- which I doubt -- I'll certainly be able to arrange something.
If you go through Nairobi or Kampala, we know people there. Let me know, okay?

We refuel in Dakar, Senegal. I do not believe we are allowed to get off the plane during this 60 minute stop

Yikes. That usually means you wouldn't want to.
Safe travels.

Jack has been great to work with.. We interviewed each other thoroughly initially and I feel we have another winning combination in the works!!

We need top put one of these evenets together in my area, lots of great roads here and German food is abundant in Helen GA 5 miles from my shop..

Go for it! In the meantime, why not join us in the Smokies? It's not NEARLY as far as some of your jaunts have been.

Jake - Jack is the epitome of the 'Southern Gentleman'! Now if we can just get him to stop saying 'Jeez Louise'!

I never have time to go anywhere... My schedule between VW and Porsche events would make most of you dizzy..
The weekend of this event my Wife will hopefully be setting a new Land Speed Record in a Porsche 911 and if we are lucky the "Peanut Special" will get his 8th Land Speed Record with RAT power going just over 133 MPH with only 1500ccs.

I'd love to make the trip but my schedule is bpoked almost a year in advance and October is always a real nightmare for scheduling.

So just how far away are you from say, Gainesville, GA? Leon Chupp lives there and could scout out some local roads.

Jake and I practicaly rub elbows......His shop is about 30 mi. from the house......I don't visit his shop very often as it would be a distraction to his work schedule....(busy, busy, busy...)

I drive by his shop 5-6 times each summer, visiting Helen, and Dalonegha (sp?).....I hope he has repaved his driveway since my last visit....Probably has...I haven't seen the latest shop addition yet....(hint, hint;)

He probably has a better feel for the roads in his area, as I do more tooling around in S. Ga. & the Fla. panhandle....Hope to hit the S.C./Ga. coast this fall....

"Hope to hit the S.C./Ga. coast this fall...."

You have my number. Give me a call when you're in the area and we can meet for dinner and maybe a cruise.

I need to see how far you are from here, Leon. Maybe we should plan another mountain event in that area. Jake, if you're close enough to the Dragon you could just cruise up and meet us on the day of the run. I'm just sayin'...

Ooooh, I know - Hey Jake, my CB Perf. engine will beat whatever you got! (Shut up, Gordon)

Think that'll bring him?

....or bring some Goomba with a black shirt and white tie to your door step, to adjust youz think'n waaz :)

"Found in the trunk of a '78 Coupe DeVille......"


A friend of mine with ties... Seems his then 23 y/o daughter got roughed up by the then... boy friend.
Dad, is made aware of this event and sends a couple of his assocciates over to converse with the bf as this practice is heavily frowned upon. They politely removed the bf from said apartment wearing only his Fruit of the Loom's, allow him ti occupy the rearward most section of the Caddy said associates then discuss loudly where they are dumping trash.
Shorty there after, the now former bf is standing at the back side of Newark Airport on the shoulder of the NJ Tpk. wearing only his urine stained FOTL's.
Epilog: former bf did not return for his belongings and were sold at a yard sale ;)

Just made my reservations - looking forward to the Dragon (my first)!

I understand the New York Familia has taken over a new enterprise!




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhuIwC65EjY

Excellent, Rob! See you there.

Great Rob! will see you there, New York Pizza will be catering the picnic at SAS, You got a problem with that?

Just booked in for Thur, Fri., and Sat. nights.....Anyone else coming early???