June 10th

Hello everyone, this is Gregg checking in from both Trophy Row and from Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee with a report on the Hot Rod Power Tour that concludes on Saturday and my usual Friday night cruise report.

I had difficulty deciding on which line to use for this report. I was going to use WOW, but then the lyrics from a song seemed just as appropriate and with that I can digress, which is one of the things I love to do. So here goes. " Oh what a night, it was late December back in 63..." For a few reasons it is a good thing we are not back in December in 63. At that time I was only one and a half years old and wearing square pants that had pins on both sides. The "Great Ones", 1955-1957 Chevys and Thunderbirds were nothing more than good cheap used cars sitting on every used car lot around the country. Muscle cars had not yet been invented but were just around the corner (1964 Pontiac GTO), the Mustang was just a horse (remember Wilbur and Mr. Ed), fast cars were 409 Chevy Belairs, Biscaynes, Impalas, Ford Galaxies, and super stock Dodges and Plymouths. Elvis was on the radio, Ed Sullivan and Johnny Carson were on the TV. Old classic cars were Model T and A Fords, big fendered Packards, Cadillacs, and Chryslers. Hot Rods were the same Model T's and A's less fenders and running boards, 49 and 50 Fords and Mercurys with lake pipes, flames and chopped tops, flat head V-8's and yes the great Chevy small block was beginning to show its dominance as a hot rod power plant. Fast forward to June 2005 and here I am all grown up and if you ask my teenagers, I'm an old man. I find myself driving out east highway 192 in my purple Plymouth PT Cruiser with surf board on top and my companions Steve Butler and Gregg Jr. heading towards Osceola Heritage Park at about 11:30 in the morning. We wanted to arrive as the Hot Rod Power Tour was to arrive. We succeeded because there were only about ten or fifteen cars ahead of us out of about thirty-five hundred expected. One of the most intriguing was one that appeared to be a red 1965 Ford Mustang convertible. At a quick glance that is all it appeared to be, but upon closer inspection it was not all that it seemed. This pony had a short wheel base and was missing the back seat, in fact it was missing the space to put a back seat but we have seen that before. I then noticed that it had airbags in the dash and steering wheel. I also noticed that the windshield had an odd shape to it as did the lines on the doors where they meet the cowl and front fenders. I also saw that the doors didn't have the traditional push button handles as a ‘65 Stang should. It wasn't until the owner proudly opened the hood that the pedigree of this pony would make itself known. This car had a fuel injected four cylinder that was made by Mazda. This great looking car was a 1997 Mazda Miata that had all its outside sheet metal removed and had new after market 1965 Ford Mustang all steel panels reworked and then welded on. This is a very impressive car. The owner told me that this is the fourth prototype that he has built with many more to come. He has sold the first three and one of them even had a small block Ford in place of the Mazda powerplant. He said it fit very easily and with the amount of room I saw under the hood of this one I would tend to agree with him. To view additional info on this car see website www.m1stang.com.

We spent the next four hours at the park drooling over the vehicles that were still arriving as we left. We were lucky that afternoon because the owners of these fine cars and trucks could not tell the difference between our drool on the fender or the rain drops that kept falling most of the day and evening. The Power Tour is a unique event. We were able to view an unbelievable amount of iron. I saw cars that I have read about in the pages of Mopar Collectors Guide and Hot Rod Magazine as well as others I have failed to mention. I saw daily drivers from a 72 Chevelle that was a bit tattered to a new 2005 Chrysler 300. I saw trailer queens that I think made the tour on the back of a trailer to trailer queens that actually got their feet er tires wet. We saw works in progress and even some that should be works in progress. I saw a Model A hot rod that I would guess was built back in the fifties and has been driven since and she definitely wasn't babied. It had faded paint, it had rust on the body, on the flat head Ford motor, and on the chrome. It had a tattered interior and it proudly wore stickers that proclaimed it to be a "Long Hauler" for each of the Hot Rod Power Tours beginning in 1995. The Long Hauler is some one who starts the power tour at the first city and continues on to each city on the cruise concluding with the final stop. At the end of each tour Hot Rod Magazine awards all those who did the entire cruise with the Long Hauler award. For a vehicle to win the award is an achievement. For one vehicle to have done every power tour and get the long hauler award is just plain outstanding and quite commendable especially considering this vehicle doesn't have much for creature comforts. We even got to see vehicles that don't exist. You ask how could I see a vehicle that doesn't exist? Well all I have to say is that I did and further more I , well Gregg Jr. took pictures of it. The camera and I were having issues that day. The car that doesn't exist is a 1971 Plymouth Roadrunner Superbird. Now you may think, wait a minute. The Plymouth Superbird does so exist. it was the car that Plymouth used to get Richard Petty back away from the Ford camp when Chrysler refused to give him a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona to run in NASCAR. Well you are partly right. In 1969 Chrysler Built the 69 Dodge Charger 500 to compete on the super speed ways and put a whopping on Ford and GM. Ford retaliated by building the 69 Ford Torino Talladega and the Mercury Montego Cyclone spoiler. This led Chrysler to go back to the wind tunnel and create the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona complete with pointy nose and big wing on the back. Richard Petty told Chrysler that he wanted a wing car (the Daytona) to race instead of his 68 and 69 Plymouth Roadrunners. When Plymouth said no, Ford was only to glad to give the NASCAR Grand National Champ a slippery 69 Ford Torino Talladega to race in. This wasn't tolerated well at Plymouth and they went to work on the 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner to make it slippery to compete with the Ford Torino Talladega, Mercury Montego Cyclone Spoiler, and its sister car the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. What emerged was the 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner Superbird complete with its own pointy nose and rear wing. As the 1970 racing season came to a close the boys at GM complained to NASCAR that the boys over there at Ford and Chrysler were cheating and that those aero cars with there slippery noses and sloping rear decks just had an unfair advantage. Gm didn't win many races that year. NASCAR agreed and enacted rules to make the aero cars of Ford and Chrysler un competitive for the next season. For 1971 both Chrysler and Ford had completely new cars for their intermediate line which looked nothing like their predecessors. Chrysler did begin work on a Roadrunner Superbird for 1971, but as legend is told none were built because of the new rules governing NASCAR. There were no more NASCAR aerocars until 1986 when GM went to the wind tunnel to develop the 1986-1988 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Aero Coupe and the 1986 Pontiac Gran Prix Aero Coupe to compete with the swoopy Ford Thunderbird. The 1971 Plymouth Roadrunner Superbird that was on the grounds of Heritage Park does look like the press photos that was to become the new Superbird. Those photos were not released until many years later.

At Heritage Park there were many vendors that had also come along during the tour to help out any of the tourers who may have needed help as well to solicit new business from future collector car owners who have caught "The Disease". I will have an article in the near future that will tell of this ailment and of its cure. Vic Edelbrook was there with his family and his trailer and displays of his products. He was also signing hats and posters and giving them to anyone foolish enough to stand in line in the rain to receive both. Steve, Gregg Jr., and I each received both a hat and a poster. JC Whitney also had a trailer set up as did Wolfman’s Rod Shop in conjunction with the Kissimmee Chamber of Commerce who was also a sponsor of the event. There was a display by both Flow Master Muffler and Dynaflo as well as General Motors motor sport division and Year One was well represented. There were many more, but my memory isn't as long as the list of vendors.

At about Three O'clock we left the fair grounds and I dropped Steve off at home because Linda was a bit under the weather and Gregg Jr. and I headed for Old Town for the Seventh Anniversary Cruise. We arrived in time for Gregg Jr. to don his Old Town Cruiser Staff attire and go to work and for me to await the arrival of my wife Emma and also for the opening of the gate at five. I didn't mind the wait because I got to socialize with a few other early birds and to drool over my newly acquired goodies from the vendors at the power tour. I was again about the tenth to fifteenth in line. I told Bill that there was a sign from Old Town that said there were no maroon Thunderbirds allowed at the front of the line. He said he didn't read that one. Oh well, you can't fault a guy from trying to get to the head

of the line. If it had worked I would have had to tell Richard too because his Blue Monte Carlo was ahead of me too. Five O'clock came soon enough and soon we were all lining up to have our cruisers photographed and then onto the brick streets and then to our respective parking spots. The Old Town Portrait Gallery was again set up to do the photos and again as in years past they did an outstanding job. It wasn't long after that that the Company started singing out the tunes and the Old Town Dancers did there thing in the street in front of the stage and between the raindrops. This night I didn't hear much music or see much dancing because I was looking at all the vehicles coming in and collecting data for this story. WOW there was so much to see. The Anniversary Cruise always brings out some iron that isn't seen often. Unfortunately the rain kept a lot of cruisers away but we did have 102 cruisers that did register for tonight's anniversary cruise. In addition to the regular Friday Night Cruisers, Old Town had given an open invitation to any of the Hot Rod Power Tour participants to join us regardless of year. If they were too old they were allowed to cruise but not register. They were allowed Saturday as well with pre 73 registered but newer on display and in the cruise. It was nice to see the old and the new on display together and in the cruise. Perhaps Old Town could consider having one cruise weekend each month were all show quality cars are allowed to register and cruise together both Friday and Saturday night. I will comment on some of the vehicles I saw in attendance tonight. The Scion Evolution Club from Orlando came out in strength. Their members brought out 14 Toyota Scion Xb's and 2 Toyota Scion Xa"s that all had different levels and types of customization and no two looked the same. This things dressed up don't look like a mini Chevy Astro Van as I think the stock ones do. I was also looking around for Elwood and Jake. I know the "Blues Brothers" were some where in attendance in Kissimmee because I saw there black and white Dodge Monaco at the fairgrounds and again parked on the bricks at Old Town. There were actually two different cars, a 75 at the fairgrounds and a 76 at Old Town. Some of the other notables at the cruise was a 1973 Dodge Challenger RT. It was wrapped in Limelight with a black vinyl top and matching black vinyl buckets with black console and floor shifted automatic that is attached to a 340 4 bbl.. I also spied a 77 Olds Cutlass Supreme two door coupe with its 70's era red velour seats with gold strips. Parked next to the Olds was a 2005 Ford Mustang GT Roush Edition fastback in a nice shade of red. Jack Roush does a nice job with the new pony to give it that muscular retro look. In addition to looking good, I was told that this stallion really knows how to run. I also saw a nice 86 Olds Cutlass 442 that appeared it just rolled out of the showroom. These are getting increasing rare. It is one of the few notable musclecars from the 80's. In addition to those were the usual Camaros, Firebirds, Mustangs, and Corvettes. The was also a pair of PT Cruisers and Prowlers. Other cars of interest rolled in from the power tour. In attendance was a very nice 71 Chevy El Camino SS that was gray with black strips. Also a red 66 Chevy Nova SS with black interior and a small block under the hood. In my opinion the 66 and 67 are some of the best Novas Chevy made and that includes that cool looking little wagon. I saw a few of those as well on Friday. Also on trophy Row was a very nice late model Chevy Impala SS 4 door. I also got to drool over another very unusual car at least for what you might expect to have a Hot Rod Power Tour emblem on it. This was a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado four door hardtop that was bone stock and still looked new. For 1957, it was loaded and that included the suicide doors and the stainless steel roof. It had a black painted body with gray cloth seats. Also I saw a nice 1970 Ford Maverick that was painted white with a pair of blue strips going up the hood over the roof and down the deck lid to its rear panel. next to the Maverick was a "Junker" 1962 Chevy C-10 pickup with Fleetside wooden bed. This truck was bathed in faded light blue with a faded white roof and faded lettering on the side that stated it belonged to the "Outlaw Garage". In the bed was an old timing chain, Model A wire wheel, and an old Dodge Hemi engine from back in the fifties. All of these parts were tied down to the truck and made for a very convincing junk truck display. The truck was painted to appear old and tattered, but believe me it wasn't a Junker.

Tonight there were a total of seven checker flag winners. One for each year of The Old Town Friday Night Cruise. The winners were Betty Lou Green with a 1976 Dodge Royal Monaco Black and White Blues Brothers Mobile. I still didn't get a glimpse of them, it just occurred to me they must have been with the band. DAH. The second winner was Edward Pagen with a customized 2002 Ford Focus. His car was silver with black graphics, a rear wing, low profile tires and wheels and blue neons. The third winner is my good friends Ken and Wanda Tiggleman with their very nice 1978 Chevrolet Corvette Indy Pace Car replica. As usual Ken got the flag, and the oil and Wanda ran up to get the envelope. I did hear later that Wanda did let Ken have the coupon for the glass of beer from the Tropical Breeze. Paul Harrold also won with his nice 1987 Black Buick Grand National. Mike Mastio won with his red 1990 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe. His car has a smoked glass roof and red leather interior. Bracey Bowman won with a 1978 Buick Regal Sport Coupe with a 3.8L turbo. It is another rare car. The last winner would have been Tony Kent with a 2004 Mazda, but he wasn't around at cruise time. There was a rumor that I heard floating around, OK it wasn't a rumor, it was an accusation that I had won two checker flags tonight. To set the record straight, I did win the two checker flags that are Velcroed to my surf board that is on the roof of PT, just not tonight. It was a joke and all in good fun. Right Richard. Usually this would be the end of my report and it has been an unusually long one but this being the anniversary cruise report, the fun didn't stop with the checker flag drawing. There were a lot of extra door prizes given away that were really cool that were donated by the merchants of OLD TOWN as well as CENTRAL AUTO PARTS and the grand prize was a lap top computer donated by E. H. Rocky Dunkman and COMPUTER CONSULTANTS & MERCHANTS, INC. of Kissimmee. The last prize to be given out during the evening was the laptop. As the regular prizes were drawn Mike T. and the cruiser staff put all the numbers back into the prize drawing bucket for the big prizes. As all the prizes were drawn except the computer I was thinking to myself it was a really good day and night with all that I got to see and experience with the power tour and even though I didn't win anything it was ok. Just then Mike T. called the final number. It was 606. I was thinking that my number when I arrived was 606, but it can't be, there must be a mistake. I looked around waiting to see someone else run up to the stage to claim the computer, but no one was running, at least not yet, so I looked down in my hand and there clinched between my notes of the days events and my pen was a number tag with the number 6 0 6 and before I knew my legs were running up to the stage to claim the very computer that I have written this report on. I am very happy to have it and want to thank all the cruisers that braved the inclement weather and shared there cars with me and answered my questions so I could generate this report. I want to thank the merchants of OLD TOWN who are very generous to us each and every week. I also want to thank the employees of OLD TOWN who each week pick up after us and provide us with a safe place to hang out and have fun. I wish to thank the OLD TOWN CRUISE STAFF who organize our cruise and make it run safely and in an orderly fashion. I also wish to thank VALVOLINE, and CENTRAL AUTO PARTS for their continued generosity. I also want to thank E.H. ROCKY DUNKMAN and COMPUTER CONSULTANTS & MERCHANTS INC. for your continued generosity. Rocky Dunkman is one of our fellow cruisers who often brings out a few of his cars for us to see. Rocky has a few Dodge Vipers (one old generation and one new), a Plymouth Prowler, a Buick Regal Grand National, a Pontiac Trans Am and I'm sure I missed one, but each of these cars is a high dollar car and most nights that he comes out he brings more than one to share with us and he doesn't rope them off so no one get close but has them for all to enjoy. If you get a chance, so thanks. Until next week cruise safely and have fun.

Thanks again Gregg W. Nelson Sr.