http://www.graffitipub.com.au ASR 328 5
usa trip previeW
It’s been another extremely busy month for the Graffiti team with Larry,
Mary and myself having travelled the globe again to gather more great
hot rodding material to share in the pages of ASR and Hot Rodding
International.
Our journey began in Southern California where we attended shows in
Burbank, Lake Arrowhead, Lake Elsinor, Temecula, Santa Ana and Industry.
The Friday cruise nights at Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank are always worth a
look as they attract a variety of interesting vehicles with something to
please every taste. One thing that has become prevalent at the smaller
community type shows in California in recent years is the dwindling
numbers of hot rods that attend. There’s nearly always some good
pre-’48 gear on show but lately it seems the owners of high-end
muscle cars are the ones most enthusiastic about getting their
cars out for people to enjoy. The shows at Lake Arrowhead, Lake
Elsinor and Santa Ana reflected this but the Rumble at the Ranch in
Temecula, hosted by Us Versus Them was totally different. The cars
on show here
were nearly
all traditional
kustoms and with
a vastly younger
crowd. Set in
the historic and
picturesque Vale
Headquarters,
this show
was one of
my personal
favourites with plenty of traders,
live music and cool cars to see.
Another highlight of our time
in California was the Cadillac Fest
in the City of Industry. We weren’t
quite sure what to expect at this
event and were only planning to stop in for a quick look while travelling
from A to B. It turned out to be a full-on lowrider show featuring strictly
Cadillac models with wild paint schemes bouncing all over the place. The
show included an indoor area full of mind-bending custom bicycles and
scale models. It was almost by chance that we stumbled across this event
but for many in attendance, it was obviously a big deal. Some entrants
and clubs had travelled from as far as Arizona to take part in this one-day
show and to say it was incredible is an understatement!
From California we headed east for our annual pilgrimage to Louisville,
Kentucky for the 48th NSRA Street Rod Nationals. This event was again
huge with 10,000+ entries pouring into the Kentucky Exposition Centre
during the four days in early August and while it’s nearly impossible to
see it all, we came pretty close and captured some tremendous cars in the
process. Greatest highlight of the event was Aussie rodders, Roger and
Jennifer Vagg, who took their ’32 5W coupe to the Nats scoring a Pro’s
Pick Top 12 award along with the trophy for Longest Distance!
After the Nationals Larry and Mary headed for the UK for the
European and English Street Rod Nationals while I embarked on the return
leg of the trip from Georgia that I did last year. After a few days with
mates from Adams Hot Rods
in Calhoun, I headed off on
my own to explore the nearby
Old Car City, the world’s
largest known junkyard. The
same family has operated Old
Car City since 1931 and while
trading ceased some years ago,
the remains of this gigantic
wrecking yard are still an
amazing place to visit and I
highly recommend stopping
in if you are in the area.
Over six miles of trails
through heavily overgrown
southern jungle is home to
more than 4400 American-
made pre-’72 vehicles of
all shapes and sizes. It almost breaks your heart to know that most
of these cars will never see the road again and I found a remarkable
number of rare and desirable models hidden amongst the dense
growth. A photographers paradise! Before flying west I spent the best
part of a day in Chattanooga, Tennessee where I caught the guided
tour of the Coker Tire museum and visited Honest Charlie’s Speed
Shop. Another worthwhile activity if you happen to be passing through.
From Georgia I flew to Salt Lake City and then drove out to Bonneville
where I spent three days on the salt and spent the evenings in the
Nugget Casino car park soaking in as much cool stuff as I could. Read the
full report on this year’s Speed Week and NSRA Street Rod Nationals in
our next issue with extended coverage of both events and more of the
trip scheduled for publication in HRI #10. You can also see more highlights
from our trip on the ASR Facebook page.NEWSANDVIEWS
norm takes another record!
At our own DLRA Speedweek earlier in the year, local racer, Norm Hardinge met American dry lakes enthusiast, Chris
Mursick who was helping the US crew with the three Camaors that they shipped over. Upon arriving at Bonneville,
and completely by chance, Norm ran into Chris again and was
invited to pilot Chris’ VW Karman Gia. Norm jumped at the
opportunity and after Chris damaged one motor during a record
backup attempt in the Gas class, a new motor was installed and
Norm climbed into the driver’s seat to attempt a new record
in the Fuel class for the car. After comfortably beating the Fuel
record, Norm returned the next day to back it up and despite
the car running on only three cylinders, Norm set a new record
for the team with a 124 mph pass! Way to go Norm!