Van Nuys Spring Fling 2022 date is set!

[autoxcuda]

I am wiped out. What a weekend!
876 miles from door to door. Great people, great cars, great weather and a few parts scores at the swap meet. It is good to be home though. The steady diet of burgers and fries gets old.
I got to meet up with Dennis and John....two stalwart staples of the show that are sorely missed when they skip out. Rich and Maria were great to see....My wife was really happy to have another woman to chat with and they got along well. My Brother-in-Law Jeff drove over from Phoenix and was a welcome addition to the group. Today I got to see Beanhead, 1972GY8 and a couple other FBBO members. Phil A Buster was there too, making his presence known to everyone.
I was so caught up in the fun, I didn't apply any sunscreen yesterday and since I had no hat, I wound up looking like an Oompa Loompa from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Surely Dennis will post a picture to keep me humble.

You definitely looked a little sunburnt

 

[autoxcuda]

View attachment 1275337

Little more info about this car.... Super cool story, it was being driven on the Malibu cruise by the original owner, he bought it new, had a photo album of back when the car was less than a year old towing a boat to the lake... Had another photo of the car towing a pop up trailer in Yosemite Valley.... He'd taken the car off the road thirty years ago & had recently given it to his son in law who's a dyed in the wool Mopar guy.... The son in law got it running for the first time in thirty plus years & has shown it at a few smaller event recently... This was it's first big event & won't be it's last... The son in law drove his other Mopar on the cruise & the original owner drove this beast.... He said while driving it the sounds & smells triggered memories that just came flooding back, it was a very special moment that he'll treasure forever....

@davidarch90

 

[Kern Dog]

You definitely looked a little sunburnt

Yeah....

 

[Kern Dog]

I loved this display....

The guy had a Mod Top Road Runner.

Note bird seed and TNT...

 

[Kern Dog]

While I am not a huge AMC fan, I do check them out when I see them.
This shows a stark difference between a stock one and a wild 70s flared custom.

 

[Kern Dog]

The swap meet was fun.

Hidden deals were there to be found.

I'd never run them but I love the look of these tires.

 

[Kern Dog]

Inside a "Street Van", the owner had some factory brochures and promotional items.

 

[Kern Dog]

A few unusual cars I saw:

Herbie VW parked on the street:

ULTRA Widebody Charger:

Here is one you might not see in the Northeast shows.....A Mexican spec "Super Bee" with what looks like 71 Road Runner roof stripes.
Heater delete, based on what looks like a Dart Demon body but....

A Valiant emblem?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Yeah....

View attachment 1275684

I didn't realize you were off the reservation...

Chief KD...

 

[Kern Dog]

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Years ago I was in Reno for HAN, saw a bright red 32 Ford, only thing redder was the guy driving it's head....

I got no room to talk, I'm a little burnt myself....

 

[autoxcuda]

Speaking of wierd…

this showed up a the last minute

2nd hemi stuffed into a Bugeye Sprite

Owner said it had traction control. No $#!t, it’s called the size of your b@!!s. But actually it had electronic traction control.

 

[davidarch90]

View attachment 1275337

Little more info about this car.... Super cool story, it was being driven on the Malibu cruise by the original owner, he bought it new, had a photo album of back when the car was less than a year old towing a boat to the lake... Had another photo of the car towing a pop up trailer in Yosemite Valley.... He'd taken the car off the road thirty years ago & had recently given it to his son in law who's a dyed in the wool Mopar guy.... The son in law got it running for the first time in thirty plus years & has shown it at a few smaller event recently... This was it's first big event & won't be it's last... The son in law drove his other Mopar on the cruise & the original owner drove this beast.... He said while driving it the sounds & smells triggered memories that just came flooding back, it was a very special moment that he'll treasure forever....

Thank you for the shout out to my Father-in-Law and his Coronet. Glad you were at the show – I would have liked to meet you. It was an incredible weekend for him and one he thought would never happen when he gave me his car 2 years ago. You are correct, his emotions came flooding back on the cruise, but I was actually driving the first portions because he didn’t want to, even with my constant prodding. But after the Rock Store stop, he decided to get back in the driver’s seat after 27 years and he did not disappoint. As you said, the emotions came back and I could see him “tearing up”, and he said, “this skinny wheel feels great”. He was cautious at first but after a few miles he started hammering it in the straight-a-ways to where I was a little nervous – the guys 80years old!

 

[davidarch90]

Yep...The Son came up to me and told me that his dad claimed to have had the car up to 153 mph back when the car was a couple of years old. That is some old school, bad *** stuff. Hemi with a 727 and 3.23 gears....I wonder what rpms that would be at 153?

I bought some B body torsion bars for $50 and when I got home, they measured 1.0" ! They will be going into this car:

View attachment 1275353

Hey Kern Dog, it was nice meeting you at the show and you have a beautiful Charger. I had that same RPM question for my Father-in-Law. He said he was just above 6000 RPM’s at 150 MPH. Another funny thing about that same story is he discovered a driveline vibration and took it back to dealer in Napa Ca, where he bought it. The service tech took it for a test drive and said he didn’t feel any vibration. My Father-in-Law said it happens between 112 and 120 mph. The service tech said we aren’t going to test it at those speeds and threw the keys back at him. Old Hemi Guys….

 

[Kern Dog]

That is great! I enjoyed meeting you and love the stories. Memories like this can pop up in our heads for years to come, sometimes brightening a sad or dull day.
Thank you for that.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Thank you for the shout out to my Father-in-Law and his Coronet. Glad you were at the show – I would have liked to meet you. It was an incredible weekend for him and one he thought would never happen when he gave me his car 2 years ago. You are correct, his emotions came flooding back on the cruise, but I was actually driving the first portions because he didn’t want to, even with my constant prodding. But after the Rock Store stop, he decided to get back in the driver’s seat after 27 years and he did not disappoint. As you said, the emotions came back and I could see him “tearing up”, and he said, “this skinny wheel feels great”. He was cautious at first but after a few miles he started hammering it in the straight-a-ways to where I was a little nervous – the guys 80years old!

View attachment 1275941

80 years old and sharp as can be..

 

[watermelon]

wow…you guys did it all!

thanks for sharing!


watermelon

 

[beanhead]

View attachment 1275712 View attachment 1275713

 

[beanhead]

Thank you for the shout out to my Father-in-Law and his Coronet. Glad you were at the show – I would have liked to meet you. It was an incredible weekend for him and one he thought would never happen when he gave me his car 2 years ago. You are correct, his emotions came flooding back on the cruise, but I was actually driving the first portions because he didn’t want to, even with my constant prodding. But after the Rock Store stop, he decided to get back in the driver’s seat after 27 years and he did not disappoint. As you said, the emotions came back and I could see him “tearing up”, and he said, “this skinny wheel feels great”. He was cautious at first but after a few miles he started hammering it in the straight-a-ways to where I was a little nervous – the guys 80years old!

View attachment 1275941

Very cool car to see. It was like looking into a time capsule... thanks for bringing it out!

 

[beanhead]

I've always loved the fast-cackle of the old nascar engines...reminds me of my uncle's roundy-round racing days.