Glad I'm a Street Rodder or Whatya mean my lug nuts are wrong?

     When I first purchased my '48 Chevy convertible project I joined a national club for the bow tie mark as a possible source for some missing hard-to-find parts.  I got their monthly magazine and signed on their forum site.  Well earlier today I was browsing the forum and a member wrote in stating he was at a show recently and was questioned whether the two bolts holding down the voltage regulator were the correct ones.  The car owner was using hex head sheet metal screws but some thought he needed to use clutch head screws and I thought, "what the fudge" really?  It made me think how happy I was I never got caught up in the restoration crap where I had to worry about making sure I had the correct date code on my air cleaner wing nut or all the mohair fibers were brushed in the same direction.  Nope give me street/hot rodders every time.  No worries about matching numbers, no siree, just build what ya want with what ya want.  Chevy in Ford?  No problem.  Hemi in a Chevy? Why but no problem. 
     Back in the mid '80's I owned a driver '65 Olds Starfire convertible.  I was in the process of starting some repair so I pulled out the carpet to have some rust holes in the floor repaired and the body though rust free had some scratches that the previous owner tried to touch up with almost matching red nail polish and a crease the same owner put in the passenger door and tried to fill by hand smoothing the bondo and using an almost matching red spray paint.  I mention this because a national Oldsmobile club was holding their national show about 5 miles from my house so I decided to drive the car over there.  Keep in mind there was no carpeting and all the body issues.  Nice summer day so I put the top down and headed out.  As I drove onto the "show field" (restorer type shows have "fields"  hot rodders have fairgrounds or parking lots) people were looking at the Olds cruising to its assigned class parking area and all the time I'm thinking "they must like my rare Olds". 
     After parking in the designated area I started walking around looking at cars.  When I returned to the car there were 4 or 5 older (I was in my early 30's then and these guys were in the 60's or 70's) checking out the ride. As I approached I greeted the gentlemen only to be met with scowls.  One asked why I brought an unfinished car to a national meet, "because it's an Olds and this is an Olds show" was my response.  Another asked, "why is the top down?"  My response was to look up to the cloudless July sky and respond "because it's summer time and it's a convertible?"  So far neither answer made these guys smile.  "But you're going to wrinkle the top!" was the response.  So I replied, "Wow, I never thought of that!" That response brought know-it-all smirks to the faces of the group of men.  As they watched in their satisfaction of showing up this young punk, who by the way chose to wear jean shorts and a street rod nationals T-shirt instead of the obvious uniform of white slacks and a golf shirt and Olds cap, I got into my Olds and put the power top up as they smiled widely.
     As the top reached it's full upright position and I latched it down I exited the car thanking them for reminding me about wrinkles to the top.  I watched, with great pleasure I may add, as their smiles turned back into scowls when they saw the silver duct tape covering the tears on the top.  It was great!
     For some having fun with cars is a perfect factory restoration which is fine, I enjoy looking at restored cars but owning one isn't for me.  But all I ask of restorers is to chill out a little and don't worry about the small stuff like a couple of screws.  Enjoy driving, that's what it's all about.

2014 and Counting

    2014.  Say it again...2014.  That's the year, can you believe it?  Seems just like yesterday there was a lot of stories and worry about the new millennium wreaking havoc on the world as we know it and doomsayers  stock piling water and canned goods.  But we made it through the first 14 years of the "new" century and here's hoping that 2014 and beyond will be good to all of us.
     2013 was the first full year that my club was a post-1949 club after 43 years of pre-1949 only  and just like the millennium we made it through with very little damage.  Yeah, we lost a few members that didn't agree with the change but we gained many new members with later model cars (1949-71, cut-ff is '72).  Even one of our die-hard pre-'49 guys just bought a 1949 car.  The good thing is even though all the newest members range from their early 30's to mid 40's it lowered our average age in the club by a couple of years which is good and hopefully will keep the club going for another 45 years.
     But with the passing of another year the harsh reality is that means we have one less year to enjoy our rides.  Sure there are rodders out there still cruising in their 80's but let's face it many of us will not be able to manage long haul runs once we get "old".  I'm 62 and in my mind I'm still in my 20's but every time I kneel down to do something I'm quickly reminded that my body isn't as I look around for something to lean on as I try to get to my feet only to find my feet fell asleep.
     I am not trying to be a downer but I'm just trying to make folks realize not to take tomorrow for granted.  Get out in the garage and finish that project, get the car out and drive it whenever and wherever you can.  If you have never been to a national event go to one if for nothing else just to say you did it.
     Like a commercial for a certain vodka says, "just don't have any regrets".  Well, gotta get in the garage and do some work.  Now what did I do with those knee pads?
     

A Street Rod is a Hot Rod but a Hot Rod is not a Street Rod

Hi, it’s been a while since I’ve updated this blog.  A lot has happened since the last update, another cruisin’ season has passed for us in the Midwest and other colder climates, a drought, two huge storms have hit the East coast and the worst President since Jimmy Carter somehow got enough people to drink the Kool-Aid to get himself 4 more years in office but that’s a discussion for another time and place.  Oh and my car club which since 1969 has been a pre-1949 street rod club has voted to raise the cut-off year to 1972.  I’ve had mixed feelings about it, especially since I jumped on the Not Street Rods Anymore bandwagon when our friends from Memphis went to the 30 year sliding rule.  But I mellowed and realized that for the hobby of hot rodding to survive these changes have to be made even though I would have liked a lower cut-off year for my club like 1964 but majority rules and I’ll abide by it.  Unfortunately the change caused a few of my club members to quit.  Hopefully they will reconsider and come back.

So you may be asking how will this effect this blog site since it was developed to promote the pre-’49 street rods of the world.  Well the effect should be minimal since I will still be promoting the true street rod aspect of the hobby.  I like and admire newer cars but my goal will be to get the folks with the newer cars to take a look at the pre-’49 rods with hopes they will build or buy one.  How will I do this? I’m not exactly sure right now but some thoughts are to get these folks to go to events like the Frog Follies and events hosted by the ASRA and VSRA where their attention will not be distracted by later model cars.  If it works fine, if not oh well, I tried.  There comes a point in one’s life where you gotta just say “screw it, I can’t change what I can’t control” and move on. 

A street rod will always be a pre-1949 vehicle no matter what the pundits at the rod magazines say.  I guess technically any car regardless of year that has been modified to increase its speed is a hot rod.  So using that logic a street rod is also a hot rod and a post-1948 modified vehicle is a hot rod but can’t be a street rod. 

There was an acquaintance of mine at my house once and he drove his “traditional” hot rodded Model A that night.  One of my 5 year old (at the time) twin granddaughters saw the car and squealed “oh a street rod!” (Poppy taught her well!) This acquaintance jumped down her throat firmly telling her “IT’S A HOT ROD NOT A STREET ROD!”  Though I took offense at his attitude towards a 5 year old, acting like one himself, I can honestly say they were both right but he will never admit it.  But since changing his opinion is not in my control, screw it.

Life is too short to worry about things like cut-off years. Just cruise and enjoy the show.  Does it really matter if you’re parked next to a ’40 Ford or ’65 Chevy?  Nope, not really.

www.msraofil.org

Don't Drive it, then Why Own it?

     I’m almost 61 years old and have had a fascination with cars since I was old enough to talk.  I can remember being able to identify a make of car from the hub cap logo before I could read.  Growing up I always wanted a job that involved driving.  Well the job I wound up with for 30+ years did involve driving, driving a black and white police car.  How cool it was too, I could drive fast and go through red lights legally!  Sure most of the time it was mundane and routine, driving at or below the speed limit patrolling side streets, but those times, and there was usually one or two a day, when I had to respond somewhere quickly, well it could be was quite a rush.  Always fun when my heart rate went from 60 to 140 in 2.9 seconds!

     Well my love of driving didn’t end when my shift did.  Nope that’s why I had a street rod.  Hitting the roads when I had weekends off going to long distance shows was my favorite thing to do and still is.  After all half the fun is getting there right?  Nothing like people giving you the thumbs up as they pass you and a group of your fellow rodders on the interstate or taking pictures or talking to you at a gas or rest stop.  Doesn’t get much better than that.

     I belong to a street rod club with approximately 70 members that live in the Chicago area.  All of those members have street rods with about 60 of them drivable.  Of those maybe 30 of us drive them on a regular basis to out-of-state events, the others are seen maybe once a year when they are driven to our annual show or maybe a local cruise night.  Where are they the rest of the year?  I try to organize cruises to local shows and cruise nights more than 5 miles away but the core of regular guys are the only ones that show up.  We have several members that have been in the club 30+ years that have never been to an out-of-state show like an NSRA or Goodguys event.  Again, maybe it’s just me but how could you own a street rod, claim to be a street rodder and not once attend an NSRA show, especially when the NSRA was still pre-’49 only?  I don’t get it. If you’re not going to drive it, then why own it?

      My fellow club members range in ages from their 30’s to late 70’s with the majority in the 55-70 year old range.  It’s not just my club but the street rodding hobby in general is aging and the number of years we have to enjoy our cars is growing smaller.  I try to instill interest in driving the street rods long distances by writing in our newsletter how much fun it is, the great venues and scenery we see, to organizing a one day 200 mile Route 66 cruise but it’s always the same core group of people that show up.  I don’t get it.  If you’re not going to drive it, then why own it?

     I’ve asked some of these guys why they don’t want to go to major events and the last 2-3 years their answer has been the cost of fuel.  But that’s BS because they didn’t go when gas was under a two bucks a gallon.  Another answer is “I go to cruise nights near my house”.  Great, driving a whole 5 miles, woo hoo!  That’ll get the Geritol flowing.  I go to cruise nights too, but honestly, they can be boring and sometimes lame.  Cars are meant to be driven and more than 5 miles at a time.

     Folks, I alluded to it earlier, the hobby is aging and there’s a big beautiful country to see, what better way to see it that through the windshield of a street rod.  See it while you can still enjoy it.  Dedicated street rodders in my opinion are cousins of dedicated bikers, both understand the fun of driving on the open road whether it’s the interstates or back roads just going somewhere just for the thrill and fun of driving there.  The bikers have “national events” in Sturgis and Daytona to name a couple and I’m sure there’s other destinations and street rodders have national events in Louisville (NSRA) and Columbus (Goodguys) and another 40 or so regional events to choose from put on by those two organizations.  Rodders that have never experienced a national event are missing a huge part of the hobby.  Like they said in the old Alka Seltzer commercial, “try it, you’ll like it”.

      Well I guess I’ve rambled on long enough.  Please leave your comments for any of my blogs whether you agree or not.  Thanks for reading.

The Death of a Car Club

     Picture if you can a group of young men in from their late teens through their early 30’s, all share a love of hot rods, customs and drag racing.  Some work part time jobs after school, some have new families and some are a living legend ala “John Milner”.  They are always together so they decide to form a car club to share their interest, maybe get a club garage and build a club car, maybe a radical custom, maybe a gasser. They are always helping each other build their cars, loaning tools or giving a fellow member an unwanted but useful part.  Everyone has a specialty, some are mechanics, some are body and paint guys, one guy builds hot motors and another is an “expert” at wiring cars.  Whatever kind of help a member needs with his ride the person with that specialty will be there to help and will not ask for anything in return other than help when he needs it.

     When I say these guys are together all the time I mean they hang out at the local diner or drive-in every night and go on runs or to the drags on weekends.  This routine goes on for 20-25 years, 25-30 cars getting together to cruise to somewhere, a show in the next town or a large event hundreds of miles away, but they are together.  Over the years people leave the club because of life situations or losing interest in hot rods but more people join, new people that have just discovered hot rods or are finally able to afford one.  But slowly, going unnoticed, changes are happening.  New members that join are older, not the teens and twenty-somethings that started the club long ago. Their cars are cars that they bought from someone else which is cool because cars have to be sold to someone but they never experienced the camaraderie of scrounging used parts and helping other members build their cars.  All-nighters getting the car running hours or minutes before setting out on a run hundreds of miles away with no sleep.

     More years pass and the club is now 30 or 40 years old with a handful of founding members still active.  Many clubs started at around the same time have broken up but yours has survived.  The average age of the club has risen maybe to the mid-50’s or slightly older.  The older guys that have been in the club for many years lament the fact that unless the club gets some young blood in the club it and the hobby will be gone in several years.  Older members are passing away or no longer can drive long distances.  Sure new members are still joining but they’re in their 50’s or 60’s.  What does the club do to get their children and grandchildren, legacies if you will, to join the club and give it new life?  Members complain that nobody cruises in groups like they used to and when runs are being organized hardly anyone shows up.  Members that experienced a line of 25 or more hot rods cruising single file down the interstate, an awesome site, try to tell those that never experienced it what it’s like, yet they don’t show up.  There is still a core group of members that cruise to events near and far.  Nothing like it, getting there and back is half the fun.  A rolling car show, children and adults alike cooped up in carbon copy mini-vans and SUVs giving you the thumbs up as they pass or taking pictures of each hot rod as they pass it.  The driver and passengers of the hot rods acknowledging with a wave and a smile that won’t leave until you get home knowing they are driving a unique one of a kind vehicle.  But is getting those that haven’t been on a long distance run to do so enough to get new life into the club?  It’s a start but everyone is still getting older and eventually, well you know.

     How do you get younger people into the club?  Your club has a specific cut-off date of model years but the kids are into “traditional” hot rods and customs that they believe is carrying on the way hot rodders were in the ‘50’s or into  ‘60’s muscle cars.  Talk to someone in that age group about joining your club filled with people old enough to be their grandparents and they’ll say why would we want to be around a group of grumpy old men that do nothing but sit in lawn chairs all day?  They have a point whether club members want to admit it or not.  Without new blood, the car club started 40 or 50 years ago will eventually die.  But what to do?

     Club members bring up changing the cut-off date to include newer cars but some of the grumpy old men fight it and defeat that notion.  Now what?  Nobody has any ideas, so the status quo goes on.  Each day, the club like its aging members is one day closer to its demise. 

     Some members are trying to resurrect the idea of an increased cut-off date.  Sons and daughters of members want to join but want to keep their ‘50’s and ‘60’s cars and eventually get older cars.   Does the club start a later model division to let them get a foot in the door?  Does it just raise the year cut-off?  Or does it move slowly with ever tick of the clock (or change in the digital display) closer and closer to its death throes?  The members need to decide.  The club members have the fate of the club in their hands.  Somewhere the gnarled hands of a stone carver are chipping away at a tombstone, the words forming; Your Car Club 1969-20--.  When will it end?  Can the end be stopped?  That’s up to the members.

     But for now, the members can help instill interest in their older cars by driving them, not just a couple of miles to a cruise night, but driving them.  Driving them hundreds of miles to events.  Get the cars on the back roads and on the interstates but drive them hard and far so people can see them in all their glory, doing what a hot rod was meant to do.  Driving them, that’s what gets people interested and can also get the blood flowing again of a long time member who hasn’t been on the road in a while. 

© Tony Halachoulis 2011

Trailer Tales and Then Some

     Last time I talked about some compilations of my experiences regarding trailered cars.  This time I’d like to expound on some real life eyewitness happenings that includes trailered cars and others.

     Way back in the late ‘70’s I had the urge to buy a convertible as a daily driver.  I found a one-owner ’65 Olds Starfire, red with a white top and red leather interior.  It was a solid car and ran great so I bought it.  I drove it every day for a couple of years and I guess it was in 1981 or ’82 I decided to fix it up and use it for just cruising and car shows.  By this time the original top had split at the ends of the seam that went over the back window and there were a couple small rust holes in the floor and some dents that I had lived with from the original owner.  Plus the exhaust for the ’65 Starfire exited through the rear rocker panel through a heavy cast molding which caused the Starfire specific rear bumper ends to rust out. 

     I had pulled the carpet out and a friend welded in some patches and when I got the car back I painted the floor black with POR 15 while awaiting the new carpeting.  I then found out that the Olds Club of America was having its annual national show in nearby Itasca, IL so I thought I would take the huge Starfire to the Olds show.

     It was a nice July day so I put the top down and cruised the 10 miles to the show.  Now mind you, the car had a rusty rear bumper and a crease in the passenger door and no carpet but it was a work in progress which was perfectly acceptable in the world of street rods that I was used to.  After I registered and was directed to park by the other ’65 Starfires I was cruising through the grounds and noticed that the car was attracting a lot of looks.  Now a ’65 Starfire is rare but come on.

     I found my designated spot and left the car to look around for a bit.  I came back to the car maybe 30 minutes later to find 5 “old” guys in their 50’s or 60’s.  (I can say that now because today I am that age.)  I thought it was cool that the old car was attracting attention.  One of the gents asked me if the Olds was mine and I said proudly that it was.  Another geezer then asked why is it here, it’s not finished?  Being taken a little aback I responded that it’s here because this is the Olds Nationals and it’s an Olds.  Each one took a turn picking apart the car.  The one that topped the cake was, “why is the top down?”  At that point the smart ass in me finally kicked in and I looked up into the cloudless July sky and said, “It’s sunny and it’s a convertible so I put the top down.”  “But it’s going to get wrinkled” came the reply.  I acted surprised and said “oh my God, I didn’t think of that” and proceeded to raise the top with the approving smiles from the group of old farts.  Those smiles changed to scowls as the group noticed the holes in the torn top partially covered with duct tape and as I latched the top in place I asked them, “is that better?” .  The group walked away with one muttering how they shouldn’t let unfinished cars into the event.  I spent the rest of the afternoon obviously pissing off a few more Olds purists.  Man that was a great day.  But from that day forward I look at any judged shows as being attended by nothing but a bunch of snobs with no sense of humor that want nothing but trophies.

     Fast forward to about 2000 and I was attending a small local show with my in primer ’46 Chevy. This show had judged classes but I went because they had a swap meet and some friends were going.  At least at this one nobody cared what your car looked like.  At the awards ceremony at the end of the day they got to the class of restored muscle car or some such nonsense.  One guy who had a restored ’70 Chevelle SS in the class started pacing.  If I recall they had four trophies for the category with the top one being “Best in Class”.  Starting with 4^th place the guy paced faster and faster each time his name was not called, getting his car closer to the coveted top prize.  When they got ready to announce the winner I thought this guy was going to faint.  They announced the winner and this guy let out a holler and started to walk to get his trophy when he suddenly realized they had called someone else’s name.  It was priceless, he almost cried and caused a scene complaining the winning car was a piece of crap and didn’t have the correct jack handle and the wrong valve stem caps all of which fell on deaf ears.  He stormed out vowing never to return.  Probably not a great loss if he didn't.

     In 2005 I went to the Goodguys Nationals in Columbus.  There was a guy that had a really nice yellow ’67 Camaro with many modifications, nice interior and a roll bar, it was a nice car and he brought it in an enclosed trailer and was trying to win one of the Pro’s Picks at the event.  He was staying at the same hotel as me and taking up several parking spaces with his truck and trailer.

     One afternoon after returning from the fairgrounds myself and some fellow club members were enjoying a cold beverage sitting in the parking lot when Mr. Camaro and his friend pulled up behind the trailer and the friend jumped out of the Camaro and into the tow vehicle pulling it up to make room to lower the ramp and to block not only parking spaces but now the aisle as well.   He then dropped the ramp and Mr. C. lined the Camaro up with the ramp.  His friend was standing in the trailer and I ascertained that his full time job must have been that of a signalman on an aircraft carrier or they guy at the airport that guides planes to the gate.  His arms were up down left right getting the Camaro properly lined up and into its cocoon.  After it was loaded and the ramp was raised, the trailer was backed up to its original place and the two went into the hotel.  About two beers later the dynamic duo came back out and repeated the process to get the Camaro out of the trailer for a nights’ cruising.  This was repeated each time they came and left with the car.

     Well, Mr. C’s Camaro did not win the coveted Pro’s Pick or any other award.  I heard him complain to a Goodguys official to no avail that how could they pick the ’69 Camaro over his because the ’69 had a speckle painted truck with a rust stain in a seam and did not have a fully upholstered trunk like his and had some paint chips because it was driven.  On Sunday when the award winning cars were parked together Mr. C. made sure he parked just on the other side of the rope separating the award cars from the rest of us poor souls adjacent to the ’69 and made sure people saw the imagined flaws in the ’69.

     I guess my whole point is that life is too short and is it really worth the aggravation to make sure you have the correct date code hose clamps?  I don’t think so.  A restored car is not an original car it just looks like one.  It’s only original once so technically even if you put in a correct date code engine it’s still a modified car.  Reproducing chalk and grease pencil marks, nope not original, it’s modified so a person might as well make a hot rod out of it.  Remember, any can restore a car, it takes a real man to cut one up.  Anyway that’s how I see it while I’m stopped at 49^th street.

Chains Just Ain’t For Pullin’ Engines

     The following is a work of fiction (for the most part) and any resemblance between actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.  Chains can be used for hundreds of uses such as pulling stuck vehicles out of mud or snow or as tire chains or suspending chandeliers or lashing down that latest project or race car to the trailer or as decoration around the human neck, usually in gold and in the car hobby usually worn in multiple layers, two or more, by a male in the 45-65 year old range driving a dually quad-cab pick up pulling (with safety chains properly attached) a hermetically sealed trailer.  Maybe the trailer has a full size likeness of what is hidden inside said trailer or it might be pure white, red or black to add to the mystery of what marvels might be lurking inside, waiting  to be unleashed on the unsuspecting public.  Now there can be several scenarios on how, let’s call him Mr. Chains, will get his car to the event grounds. 

     In scenario #1 maybe Chains will drive his tow vehicle and trailer to a  designated trailer parking spot and unload the contents and drive it to registration, then to the event site, back to his hotel each night and the next time it sees the inside of its mobile sarcophagus is for the trip home.  I can live with this guy and in reality this guy doesn’t deserve the name of Mr. Chains.

     In scenario #2 is the Mr. Chains with an entourage, 4-5 friends piled in the quad-cab pull into registration taking up 6-8 parking spaces and the sunlight reflecting off all the genuine gold neckwear of the truck’s occupants is blinding not to mention they look like a pit crew for a top NASCAR team because they are all wearing matching shirts and pants with the name of the entombed vehicle embroidered on the shirt.  After checking in they all pile back into the dually and head off to the event site.  We’ll get back to these guys a little later.

     In scenario #3 we have our Mr. Chains with an entourage arriving at their hotel and dropping off the trailer and its contents and driving said dually/quad to registration and get their event credentials and head back to their hotel maybe stopping for breakfast or brunch on the way.  Once back at the hotel they unload the prize and after putting a towel on the driver’s seat and floor area (can’t have any dirt on the floor mat or sweat on the leather) the prized car is driven to the event site by Mr. Chains with the tow vehicle following.  Did I mention one of the crew put cones in front of the trailer to save spots for the tow vehicle and behind it so there is room for the ramp to load the car each night?  Once the car arrives at the event the car is parked on a corner in front of already parked cars and Chains and his roadies start a routine of placing descriptive signs around the car and maybe some mirrors underneath and the trophies from the past winter’s indoor car shows around the car.  The crew then begins polishing and cleaning the car from top to bottom and that takes the rest of the day and this routine is repeated each day.  After the day’s activities end, Chains drives the car back to the hotel and  places it back into storage until sometime the next day. 

     I said I’d get back to our Mr. Chains and friends in scenario #2 so here we go.  The chainers described so far are a compilation of chainers I’ve seen over the years.  What follows actually happened to me and involved people that closely resembled those in scenario #2.  I belong to a club that is a host club of a national event.  This particular event is held in the infield of a 1.5 mile tri-oval race track.  Cars already registered are driven down an access road to the tunnel to enter the infield.  Only vehicles registered for the event are to be driven down this road.  As I’m taking ticket stubs from the drivers and having a blast interacting with them, here comes our friends from scenario #2.  They pull up to me and Mr. Chains hands me the window sticker for the as yet revealed car and tickets for all in the tow vehicle without saying a word and a “hurry up they’re waiting for this car to arrive” attitude. I told Chains that he couldn’t take the trailer into the show area and that he would have to turn around and I directed him to the trailer parking area.  Chains replied that he just wanted to drop the car off and he’d pull the trailer right out at which time I repeated that he could not take the trailer in and that he would have to park the trailer in a designated area and drive his car into the infield.  He began to argue that he couldn’t drive it because he didn’t want to get his tires dirty or stones caught in the tread.  I think I said something like and with a chuckle of disbelief,  “you’ve gotta be kidding me”. 

     Because this little interaction was holding up the line and being a warm day and fearing some cars might start overheating, an official who we’ll call “Sharky” from the hosting organization came to see what the hold up was.  After hearing the problem he told the Chains to turn around and unload the car and drive it in or don’t participate.  Chains replied that he couldn’t drive the car because the car had no fluids in it!  That’s right, no gas, oil, ATF, coolant, nothing!  Whoopee, a real honest to goodness world of hot wheels show car!  Needless to say this particular car didn’t make it into the event.

      In my humble opinion if a car is to be trailered to an event then the only acceptable scenario is #1.  The trailer should be parked in a designated area and the hot rod driven all weekend as the main source of transportation.  I have no use for those that take up 8-10 parking spaces in hotels or have to drive the trailer to the event each day and load and unload in the parking lot.  It’s a car, cars are made to be driven on roads for long distances.  If a person is only interested obtaining trophies and false accolades then there are plenty of winter time shows you can tow the car to. 

     Every once in awhile everyone needs to hear “good job” or get a pat on the back.  That’s human nature.  Fortunately most people in the hot rodding hobby are involved in it for the fun of building and driving hot rods, not to see how many dust collecting trophies they can accumulate.  Driving to an event is half the fun and the other half is being with your old friends and making new ones and taking in the sights.  If they win an award that’s cool and can be fun but it’s not their main reason for going.  Maybe the unknowing public oohs and ahs at Mr. Chains’ mirrors and trophies and the hot rodders in attendance may respect the workmanship and detail of Chains’ car but nothing brings rodders closer than cruising down the interstate or back roads in a group.  And for my money the best award a hot rodder can win is a thumbs up from people passing you on the road or having someone take a picture of your ride while on a pit stop because you know you have made someone’s day a little happier.  And that my friends, in my opinion, is worth more than winning the Ridler award.