More Mendocino

It's hard to get pictures in the order you want, so you'll just have to use your imagination!

There's me and Maddy in the plane...some of the 'girls' on the couch, and a shot of downtown Sacramento on our return flight.

Mendocino

It had been decided that the 'girls' needed a change from the dragstrip, so a trip to Dave & Nancy's cabin in Mendocino was planned. It's a four hour drive from the strip, so Dave kindly offered to fly us there in his plane. Getting used to small planes now...it's a lot more scary than the big jets!

A large jet flew over us and we hit it's trail with dramatic results. We literally dropped from the sky, before levelling out again. Dave reckons the air traffic controller stuffed up and we should have been a lot lower!

Landed at Little River Airport just out of Mendocino and collected our rental car. This airport was the last stop for the B52 bombers before leaving for Japan during the war. A quiet little place...hard to imagine war planes buzzing around it.

Nitro Night of Fire

Didn't get to see much of the racing as I was working the ticket booth. The crowd was a bit thinner than usual, possibly because the temperatures were up in the 100's, and possibly because the price of petrol here has jumped dramatically and people are starting to feel the pinch. Anyway...those that came were treated to some good racing and the jet cars caused their usual excitement.

The Nitro Fever team worked like a well oiled machine, even tho' Colin was hating the heat. Being the bottom end man...it was even hotter for him. Most of the top fuel cars had problems with traction, and we 'high C'd about mid track and the engine reved to over 11,000rpm. It's not supposed to do that! The following photos tell the story!

Was at the end of the track when these were taken, so there's not too much detail. You can just make out the jets firing at the start line, then an action shot as they thundered past me.

Pub night

There was the usual congregation of interesting rods and rockers at pub night, with about 20 enthusiastic rodders (including 5 Kiwis) on this night.
A few of the troops gathered around the leaner...complete with compulsery peanuts.

Sacramento to Bakersfield

With only three weeks left before I fly home, I decided it was time to get out and visit some Kiwis and "Kiwi-ised' yanks in Bakersfield. The Greyhound bus seemed like a good idea, so I booked a one way ticket for Tuesday 13th June.Arrived at the station to find it was pretty seedy, with a wide assortment of dubious charactors lurking around. A policeman was doing his rounds on his pushbike...inside the terminal... checking out all the vagrants. Within 3 minutes of sitting down to wait for the bus, a big black 'gentleman' invited me to a gang-bang!!! In my most friendly and worldly voice, I responded by saying, "Not at the moment thank-you, but I appreciate the offer" This threw him totally off guard and I was able to move to a more crowded area.

My next encounter was with an over-friendly young negro guy who had just been released from Folsom prison that morning and was on his way to Los Angeles. Don't know what he was on, but he sure could talk! It seemed his mother had died at birth , his father was serving a life sentence in Folsom, and he had been brought up by his granny. "She showered me with lovin', an' I sure suffered a brooooken heart when she passed away last year. I was so lonely, I went to jail to get a bit of lovin'...if you know what I mean." I nodded wisely, hoping he wouldn't elaborate.
It was a fascinating trip, and being an enthusiastic observer of life, one I enjoyed immensly.
Was greeted by Joyce (Dez's wife) at the bus stop and we spent a lovely few days catching up, and relaxing. Thursday, being pub night, I joined Dez for a session at Squeak's pad. Will post some pics in the next blog, as this computer won't let me do more than a few.

Decided to catch the Amtrak train back to Sacramento on Friday as it added another dimension to my trip. Had always wanted to do the train thing in America, so was thrilled with the choice. Lots of interesting scenery and a great dining car! Arlo Guthrie flirted with my mind for several miles..."Riding on the City of New Orleans"
"Passengers that have no names, freight cars full of old black men...the rhythm of the rail is all you hear"...etc etc. Saw lots of old cars in back yards and tried to get bearings for any future tin hunts. If you're interested in 40's sedans...there's a bundle of them in N. Ballico, just North of Merced.

"Don't jump from a moving train"??? You'd think some things would be fairly obvious!

Crew Party

"Nitro Fever" has several crew members and Dave decided it was time to have a social get-together away from work. It was held in the pool area of his home and he cooked up a mass of baby back ribs and fresh salmon, served with all types of salads etc. We ariived back from the Councours just in time for the feasting! Gary Grisel is the crew chief and his father Vern is a hot rodder and drag racer from the 50's and 60's.

Vern is one of those genuine, softly spoken men with a lot of interesting and funny stories to tell. He had us in hysterics relating some of the exploits he and his mates got up to in their younger days in their never ending quest for more speed and greater power.

The conversation soon turned to the rocket cars that ran here in the early days and just how dangerous they were. There were originally nine cars racing, and only two of the racers survived! Most of the problems occured when the EXACT amount of fuel was NOT put in the car. These cars would only stop when they run out of fuel! They were eventually banned in this country. As far as I know they are not banned in New Zealand...sooooooo what do you think guys? We can bring back all the technology from the past if someone's game???

Vern summarized the conversation by stating, "I only like to play with things that have the potential to hurt me" (Seems I know a few people who share that philosophy!)

Main sponser Elton Allred and one of his many 'toys', with crew chief Gary on the left
Vern, Colin, Elsa (Vern's wife) and Lisa...my walking companion.
Vern's green coupe and Dave's red coupe (the one Colin rebuilt last year.

Only In America!

Spotted this set-up at the Concours. Not sure what the idea is...but decided some people have far too much time on their hands!

Concours d'Elegance - 2

Finally staggered back to find Colin surrounded in people. Further investigation revealed that the organisers had awarded the car the Shriners Hospital Concours de'Elegance Hot Rod "Outstanding" Award!





We were pretty amazed, as we knew the car had not been eligible for judging because we had not pre-entered. Those were the rules! We were then presened with more beer vouchers by a friendly organiser, so headed off lickety split to the booze tent to celebrate our success. It was then back to the strip for the Crew Pool Party Dave was organising for the Nitro team.

Concours d'Elegance - 1

We returned to Mather Field and wandered around checking out the cars. The class and style was evident in a wide range of vehicles...from Rolls Royce to Ferrari, from a Presidential Limousine to Model T's.
A good display of Hot Rods were in attendance...this being the second year the event organisers had opened up their minds and allowed Hot Rods to attend. A rare priveledge!!!

I soon ran into trouble in the form of an old fashion policeman, who allowed himself to be photographed with a Kiwi! He then presented me with some beer vouchers...now that's MY kind of law man!



Everyone was there...even the Grande Pooh Bar!!!

Mother Lode Model T Club

Some of the cars for sale at the swap meet. It was a very lay back affair, with some goodies looking as if they'd been hauled around the country for generations. Jimmy...you'd be interested to know there were a total of three different speedsters there for sale. They were going at around the $9,000 - $10,000 mark.



After a couple of hours, our poor little Rav 4 wagon was full to overflowing, so we headed back to the car show to see how things were going there.

Sunday 11th June

A busy day. First we dropped the roadster off at the Shriners Hospitals Concours d'Elegance show at Mathers field. A very upmarket and prestigious outing, where we hoped to get exposure to the more affluent members of the public!
There was also a Model T Club Swap Meet in Auburn...about an hours drive away, so we decided we could fit both events in.

Set up the car, and headed off to the Mother Lode event. Soon discovered small swap meets yield the best bargains, and Colin had a good old spend up. I was intrigued with the average age of the people there, and was moved to capture a few well worn faces on film.























Well maybe there are exceptions to every rule!

"Over The Hill Gang"

The Sacramento "Over The Hill Gang" was hosting a large car show at a beautiful public park in Elk Grove, so we decided to roll on down and enter the old girl in it. It was the 6th Annual Pre-Fathers Day Show, and also a fund raiser for the local 'Riding for the Disabled' association, attracting over 300 top cars from around Northern California and beyond.

Now don't get us wrong...we are NOT show rodders, but the opportunity to expose the car to potential buyers everywhere we can is not to be overlooked! (Hey...at least we drive our car to these events!)

For once I did not have my camera on me and will regret it until my last breath! Fortunately there was someone else who said they got the particular shot I was after, but I have yet to see it.

Anyway...once again an enormous amount of interest in the roadster and we were thrilled to be chosen as one of the Top Ten cars there! All prize winners must drive up to the podium to receive their award and we got a sound round of applause from our fellow rodders. They then announced that we had brought the car from New Zealand for the show, and the place echoed with more applause. We basked in the glory for the rest of the day!
Will post the other photo if I get it!

Cruisin' U.S.A.

Friday June 9th saw us all legal and off for a cruise to Brasher's Sacramento Auto Auctions. Capital City Cruisers hold a car show there and we decided to hit the freeway and see what it was all about.

Have to admit the freeway driving is a bit stressful in a car that has yet to have it's insurance finalized, but we figured, "what the heck!" The auction site is on Blacktop Rd...rather appropriate I thought, as there's tarseal for miles, and hundreds of old, new, classic and interesting cars both for sale and auction. Didn't see anything in the sort of price range we were interested in, but there were a few rare finds there, and well worth the visit.

The General Manager Rex Roden made himself known and we complimented him on a well run event...complete with complimentary meal, live band and interesting trade stalls. He couldn't do enough for a couple of wayward kiwis and obviously loved his job. All the staff were happy and friendly, with two of the sales reps, Christina and Dee, showing us a good time. Christina even bought a book off me, so we are now lifelong friends!


There was a glorious full moon out by the time we headed back home, and the air had cooled down a little. Pulled up at one set of lights and heard a Harley rumble in beside us. What a sight to behold...two beaming faces and tattoos everywhere. I guess they're called "Dykes on Bikes", but these two 'girls' were so rapt in the car and interested in what we were doing, you couldn't possibly hold their sexual preferences against them. We continued our conversation for a few more sets of lights, before they roared away, wishing us well and leaving us a bit breathless with their enthusiasm.

Variety of Pleasanton Cars

Here's a very small sample of some of the diverse range of vehicles on display at the Goodguys car show. Tattoo Bill's chrome car attracted a lot of attention and the Jelly Belly teams junior dragsters caught my eye. (That photo's for you Sam!)
Guess the rest of them don't need any explanation.





It's been a pretty quiet week...On Monday we worked at our various chores, then off to a double birthday party on Tuesday. We then headed into the Citrus Heights Hills to buy a '65 Mustang. A friend of the owner was there, and he sported one of the worst cases of infection I've seen. He's a stunt motorbike rider and had a crash during their local competitions. (Never realised stunt riders had competitions, so learnt a lot about that!)

Wednesday was "street Legal" races, and we helped the local California Highway Patrol guys, who were doing an undercover sting at the strip looking for stolen cars and parts. Lots of fun! Thursday saw a bit of Mall shopping and the placing of our very own legal California number plate on the roadster.

Yesterday was a cruise on the freeway in the old girl...out to a classic car auction in Rio Linda. Was a bit daunting being surrounded in big trucks etc in an open car, but a thrilling experience non the less. It's great cruising in our own hot rod in the country of it's origin. Not too many people drive their rods to events here. Trailering is pretty normal, and we are determined not to follow that trend...some folk at the auction were amazed we had driven there! Told them the car had been built to DRIVE...not just to look at! One even thought we'd driven it all the way from New Zealand??!! I don't think the level of school geography is very high here!