A new event next fall.....

[JPotter57]

How many of you guys would be willing to try to get together in the South next fall, in conjunction with another event?  I am thinking of something like the Emerald Coast Cruise in November, or maybe the Cruisin the Coast in October.  I know that one wouldnt be a good one for some, because some of you make the ride to Columbus in September.  Barring that, how about one of the big Ford shows, like in March at Lakeland Florida?  I am just trying to get something put together for the folks who dont go to Columbus, that live in the south and think its too far to drive, or that just would like to get together with a bunch of other `57 Ford people.  There are any number of things we could do, depending on where we do it, for instance, a show and shine is a given, drag racing, cruising, whatever.  I need some ideas, and what you guys would like to see.  Right now, we only have the one in Columbus that happens every Labor Day.  And now that Fun Ford Weekend is back in business, we should see an event at Fontana again.  We will still have to wait and see on that one.  I just would like to see some folks get involved with an event to show off as many `57s at one time as possible.  At Columbus our first year, we had 26.  It has tapered off a bit in the last few years, but there was a lot there this year, according to the pictures.  I believe `56s still outnumbered the `57s, but there were a lot.  We could do that at any show we went to if we all got together, at least regionally.  The southern shows wouldnt help you northern or midwestern guys out any, but there are a good number of southern members.  I would like to see a Texas show for sure..(Are you listening Pat, James F and Rich?)  I could coordinate it, and one or more of you guys could see that it runs smoothly.  I do know that a drag type show is pretty busy when you are racing yourself, and I may have run a couple members off a few years ago due to them getting stuck with the registration table.  Lesson learned there:  dont volunteer for something if you really dont want to do it.  Any way, in the end, its all fun, and thats what this is all about, is fun.  Myself, I just would like to have fun with a bigger number of our members.  Let me know what you think.

[JimNolan]

James,
   The Columbus show is a comradery of people with Y-blocks, not 57 Fords. One of the most acclaimed cars there was a Ford Pinto with a Y-block engine. That's what the event is about, Y-Blocks. I felt welcome with my 57 Ford and I'm sure the other three non-y-block 57 Fords did too. But, you're still a guest at someone else's house. John Gambill and Bob Martin made sure our 57 Ford non-Y-block cars were welcome. We had our (separate, but equal) class to run in.
   I would like an event put on for the 50's era Fords that include any Ford engine. I'd go to it if it were within 1000 miles. Jim
   

[JPotter57]

In the past, we have had a specific `57 Ford show, not with the Y block bunch.  We had our own parking space up there, and the years following the 26 car record, usually had 10-15 `57 Fords parking together, along with the 3 or 4 in the Y block area.  Since I moved down here to Mississippi, I havent been able to coordinate with the NMRA folks, so I left that with Tom Drummond, aka wildhog, who has since begun building a Y block powered car to compete with the Ys guys.  If someone would step up and take control of a `57 Fords International mini-meet at Columbus, I will work the deal with NMRA to make it happen.  There just needs to be a point of contact that lives in that region who will be willing to help people with their questions about the club, etc.  I can help out with the paperwork, sign up sheets, awards, etc, but being over 1000 miles away, I probably wont be able to come every year.  Its just logistically impossible.  If I lived in Tennessee still, I'd never miss it.  Someone step up, and we can get that event happening and be a `57 Ford specific event again.

[JimNolan]

James,
   There were four guys at Columbus that had cars that could be driven on the street that competed in the 57 Ford Class. You'll have to have more cars than that. I think the first thing someone would have to do is find out how many people would be willing to race thier 57 Ford Crusier. I'll bet if you find it running on the street, willing to travel and race, it'll have something in it instead of a Y-Block. Jim

[JPotter57]

I understand that, Jim.  I was just saying that the year we had the most 57s there, most of the event centered around the show.  Only 4 or 5 ran their cars.  It was the same way the other year when we had 15 or so cars there, and that year is the year I broke mine.  It takes a special brand of crazy to dump the kind of money we do into a 50+ year old car, then beat on it at the track.  The way I see it, its a car, not a god, I dont worship it.  I build it to abuse, if I break it, I'll build it back stronger.  If I break it again, I'll fix it again.  I'm not afraid of mechanical things.  The only reason I trailer my car to far off events like that is because I am not afraid to beat on it.  Same as Pat Fleischman.  He trailers his `57 to Columbus because he is not afraid to beat on it.  He's also not afraid to drive it, but when he wants to race, he is gonna drive it like a racecar.
What I am suggesting for a meet at an established event, is like we did at Columbus.  We all got together, hung out together all day, and if we wanted to race, we did.  We had our own `57 Ford Shootout, where we raced non-Y powered `57s, and our winner faced off with the Y's guys last standing `57 for Top Gun `57 Ford.  It was for about a $45 trophy and a check for $150 or so.  But it was a lot of fun.  It doesnt have to be a big production like the Y Shootout.  That is a lot of fun,those guys are great to hang with.  But they have been doing that shootout for a lot of years and have people donating purse money throughout the year so they can have a decent payout.  Plus, their guys are not afraid to put their car on the track, even if it is a 19 second turd, or a cruiser, or whatever.They are there to have fun.  If I could meet up with 5 other 57 Ford people and their cars at an event, I would consider that a success, because, honestly, where else are you going to see 6 `57 Fords parked together?  We saw about 5 or 6 57 Fords out of 5400 registered cars at CTC, and probably 2500 other cars that werent registered.  Since John, George and I started this thing 13 years ago, interest in the `57 Ford has soared.  I know we are not solely responsible for that, as the car is a beautiful design, but look at it this way, at one point, we had over 500 members, that received a newsletter in the mail every 2 or 3 months.  That turned into a lot of work for me and my wife, and we were just not able to keep up with it, so we went to this free internet based club.  Thats a lot of newsletters.  We did that for over 4 years, man, that is a lot of exposure.  I wish we could do that again, but without a network of help, there is just no way.  So, we will continue to use this forum, spreading the word, that we are here.  We want to get together and show the rest of the car world how good these cars can look.

[wildhog]

James, It is the same at Columbus as it as always been,We run a 57 only show, and I am on the N.M.R.A. flyers as the contact for 57 Fords, along with John. The problem is the poor showing of 57 Fords (non y-block). We had the first midwest y-block and 57 Ford shoot out in Byron Il. this summer and had more 57's than at Columbus. The next year will be the 10th anniv. for the 57 Ford Shoot out and show at Columbus, I hope we can work togeather and get a lot of cars out next year. As far as a southern meet it would be nice to do it the week of crusing the coast, I am coming down next year in a 57 and my buddy is bringing a nice 57 Merc. Tom

[JimNolan]

James,
  I'm sorry if I sound negitive.  I wish there were a lot of guys willing to race thier 57's. The neat thing about bracket racing is that you can decide for yourself how much strain you want to put on your car. I found out by accident that if I don't clean my tires and shift at 4000 rpm I will go through the quarter mile in say 15.5 sec. But, if I clean my tires and shift at 4500 rpm I can go through the quarter mile in 15.2 sec. I've got the same chance of winning if I take it easy on the car as I do if I put more strain on it. I don't think you have to tear up your car just to race it. Bracket racing gives everyone a chance.
  And another thing. If I had real slicks and hooked up at the starting line it would just be a matter of time before I broke. I enjoy hearing the tires spin comming off line. Don't get me wrong, I didn't enjoy spinning all the way through first gear like I did with street tires but I still want them spinning a little.
 Put a feeler out there on this website and see how many guys would commit to an event if you established one. I'll help if I can. If you think it ought to be Columbus, so be it. I'd rather see it in Tennessee myself. ( If you broke in Tennessee you'd have 15 people stumbling over each other trying to help you get back home).
 For guys that don't want to beat thier cars: Do you know the look on a guys face that dialed a 10.15 against your 16.14 and lost? It's a rewarding feeling. Believe me, you don't have to beat your car to enjoy yourself. Jim PS. And another thing. I'd say most of the guys that drive thier cars and take their familys to cruise-ins don't have a 10 second car to begin with. You don't need one.

[57AGIN]

James:

I've been in touch with a publisher of some of the magazines involved with the NMCA & NMRA drag racing series.  He tells me they are trying to put together a couple of West Coast events for 2012.  The venue is still up in the air, with Fontana (California Speedway) one of those being mentioned.  I'll be real happy to see what interest I can generate out here, but as mentioned in your posts it is difficult to get more than a couple of 57's to attend any one event.  One of our major problems in the West is that there are so many car shows to choose from.  We can literally go to one or more shows every day of the week, if we were so inclined.  I can think of maybe 4 or 5 57 owners who would actually put their 57's on the strip.  But, you never know.  As Jim says, the bracket racing method is definitely more conducive to longevity in racing than is "heads up" racing.  We'll have to wait and see whether another club event series can be done out here.

PS:  I don't think that the Fun Ford Weekend people will be doing the West Coast, as I was told that this new series was developed by a group of race track owners.  But, a National Mustang Racers Association or the NMCA (not sure of what their name is) event is in the works.

Bob
57 AGIN

[JPotter57]

I think Billy Meyer bought the FFW...supposed to be 6 to 8 events this year, next year they are talking about 14-18 events, not sure about it.
I agree, bracket racing is more prone to get people to participate than heads up.  Heads up is more fun but is uber costly.  I tried it, by the time I got done, my ride was outdated due to being started on 3 years earlier, and the field had progressed to the point where I would have had to spend many more thousands of dollars to compete.  This was in the very early days of 5.0 Mustang racing, when the hot dog Pro 5.0 cars were not even tubbed, and barely ran in the 10s.  I liked the thrill of it, even if my car was barely in the 12s.  Not interested in that any more.
I just want to play, dont even care if the car is that fast.  I just like hanging out with the guys at the track.  My car will probably never be that great  looking, it will definitely be a nice 10 footer, but I'm not interested in $10K paintjobs, $15K engines, $5K suspensions, and $3K worth of wheels.  My paint will be done by me.  My engine will be done by me.  My suspension has been done by me.  My interior will be done, yep, by me.  I do this more out of necessity than anything, because at this stage of my life, I can't just spend money like that anymore.  When I was into the 5.0 scene, I was single, no real bills to speak of.  Now, I have kids, mortgage, etc.  I still want to play, just not on any kind of advanced level.
Like I said before, I will do whatever I can to get something together, but not if I am going to be the only one there.  I can go by myself with no preparation and get that result.  What I would like to see happen, really, is to just get a group of `57 owners together at a big event, and park together, maybe cruise a little together, and if the desire arises, go to the track.  There are big events everywhere, and it would be killer to take 8 or 10 `57s to something like that and just hang out, looking cool.  Do you know how many people will pass over a 57 Chevrolet to look at a `57 Ford?  A lot.  The Fairlane Sunlinr that showed at CTC this year always had a mob around it, while the several hundred or so tri-5 chevs had to compete for attention with each other.  Seen one, seen all of `em.  Just an idea.  If anybody wants to participate in something like that, cool...if not, my dad will be down here in his Fairlane next year or year after, so there will be at least two of them here.

[JimNolan]

Guys,
   Tom and the Y-Block Group deserve a lot of credit for working the two shows they orginize and promote. I will have my car at both events next year for sure. I missed Byron, Il last year because of the axle problem I had. I hope others with 57 Fords will attend these events. It would be nice to have more than four cars in the 57Ford.com class. If I can help Tom with his events or James in orginizing another event please let me know.
   The thing I need to work on is "Situational Awarness". There's nothing worse than breaking out when the car you're running isn't half way down the track. Hopefully next year I can end up in a final round. Jim
   

[JPotter57]

I totally give Tom all the credit for the past several years.  My circumstances just did not allow me to be able to go.  In fact, after I sold my last `57, I almost quit everything.  I was actually looking for someone to take it over, but no one was really interested, either not enough time, or whatever.  I started to just let it die.  I'm glad I didnt.  After a year or so, I was able to buy another Custom to work on, I still have it.  This has been going on since `06.  Hopefully, it will fire on its on again in a month or so.After I was able to get another, I decided to try and ramp it up again to what it was before.  It didnt work.  I did another newsletter or two, one was pretty big, over 30 pages.  But, I only had one person help out with an article, and that was Jim.  Rich made up an article for another newsletter that I never got finished.  I just couldnt find enough time in a day.  Eventually, I may get back to doing a 5 or 6 page newsletter, like in the beginning.  I seriously doubt it will be a printed newsletter.  I will probably publish it in an Adobe .pdf file, so it can be reads online, or printed if you want.  I am not saying I will do this now, as I have 2 teens, and one tween, plus a swarm of littles to try my best to raise with my sweet wife.  When i get time, I may try to work something up.  As many of you that know me are aware, I cant do that kind of work halfway, I have to do it right or not at all.  I try to keep this site updated as well as I can, but the main site is kinda tired.  Its been 3 years or so since I've given it a facelift.  It is past due one now, I just dont have the time to sit down and design another.  Those changes are coming, so members just hang in there. 

Back to the event:  If anyone has any suggestions, put them here, or PM me.  I am listening.

[JPotter57]

Holy crap, that sounded an awful lot like I was whining....sorry about that fellas, just went off track a minute there...Move along, nothing more to see here...

[glen b henderson]

James just too keep this topic current, like we talked about the other evening, I plan on having my custom ready for crusing the coast next year. It want be a show car and it want be a restored car, but I plan on having alot of fun just driving it.  A show/cruisein/dragrace/ for use sothern boys sounds like alot of fun. I'll be there!

[JPotter57]

I'll be there for sure.  Like I said, my junk may not be perfect but it makes me smile.  If it looks good going down the road I'll be happy with it.   We can take the Customs over to the track and flog them over there....that will rock....