June 17th

Hello everyone, this is Gregg checking in again from Trophy Row. I know that this is a family type of publication and the use of four letter words are strictly prohibited, but after this week I can't help myself. So here goes. RAIN, RAIN, RAIN. I'm sorry but I had to get it off my chest. I feel better now.

We didn't arrive to Old Town until about six thirty because of the inclement weather, and there were not a lot of cars that showed up before us, but at about that time the sky began to clear and the cars started rolling in and did so until about eight thirty. The final total of cruisers for the evening was 101. This week there seemed to be a few extra Chevy Camaros, Pontiac Firebirds and Ford Mustangs than usual. They were good to see. My PT wasn't the "lone cruiser" this week as there were a total of three this week in attendance. There was a red 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser that was visiting from Illinois and was dubbed LIL RED. It had a custom chrome grille, chrome bumper covers, and chrome mirror covers in addition to some magnetic patriotic graphics. Billy Woodward also attended with his 2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible. This is Billy's second PT Cruiser that has cruised the brick streets. This second car is a vanilla car with leather interior. Billy has customized this one with functional chrome side pipes that really sound sweet. His car also has rear fender skirts and a hood that opens at the rear and flips forward to reveal a turbo engine that has a lot of chrome added. In addition to this his car also has pin striping that has been painted on. Billy says he also traded his riding companion. He used to ride with a blond that was a real dummy. He says that she looked good, didn't talk back and never said no. Billy's former companion was a manikin. Billy recently got married and his new wife said she didn't want to be known as the other woman, so the dummy had to go.

This week as usual we had four checker flag winners and we did award four flags this week. The first winner was Martin Collazo with a 1983 Toyota Corolla two door coupe. Martin's car was wearing a graphite metal flake paint job that really shined in the night light of trophy row. This car also had a custom hood scoop, a body kit, rear wing, and head lights that had a mind of their own. they kept winking at me. I'm not sure if the car has a crush on me, but she just isn't my type. I hope she won't be crushed. Martin also had a custom interior that was dressed in a gray and maroon tweed type covering. This Corolla really looked good.

The second flag went to Jeovanny Amaro with a two tone silver and black 1979 Chevrolet Malibu two door coupe. This car had some custom aftermarket gauges on the dash and front bucket seats. The final two flags went to a pair of pony's.

The third went to Chris Penezlopez with a yellow 35th anniversary 1999 Ford Mustang. Chris' car had custom bumpers on both ends, aftermarket taillights and chrome wheels.

The last flag went to Steve Connley with a white 2001 Ford Mustang GT with a Steeda Body kit. Both of these pony cars looked very nice.

One thing about attending a car show is that often times the cars out in spectator parking can be just as interesting as anything that is on display and Old Town is no different. Three cars that I saw in the parking lot behind the OLD TOWN GENERAL STORE while we were getting ready to cruise was a black 1969 Toyota Corolla riding on some aftermarket wheels and tires and it had one of those big mufflers hanging under the rear bumper. Other than the muffler it looked like it was a new car. Another car I saw wasn't as pretty as the old Corolla. This thing had rust holes and a few different colors of paint but none the less it was a really unusual thing to behold. This thing was a real thing. Ok to be a bit more specific it was an early 1970's Volkswagen THING. When was the last time you saw one of these? And what about that name the THING. I guess it went real well with the BUG. The final car I saw was a mid 80's Rolls Royce convertible that was red with a white top. It also was a pretty car that appeared to be stock. One of the unique things about Old Town is that after the flag and door prize presentation when many of the cruisers head home some other show quality cars often show up. Tonight and last week were no exception.

Tonight Clint and Lynn Olson brought out there "fictitious" 1949 Ford Pick up. Clint and Lynn have been telling us all that they had a hot rod Ford pick up truck that was being built and that it had more than its share of personal problems. We were not sure if it was a story or a real truck. Well it is real and it does look good with its Chevy small block under the hood and the shiny yellow paint. This truck has chrome wheels and black wall tires. It has a chopped top and a custom interior and dash board that is really sharp.

Last week after the cruise there were two cars that showed up from the Hot Rod Power Tour that are worthy of mention. You know that I have a thing for wagons and both of these cars are wagons. the first one is a 1991 Buick Roadmaster that came from Reaboro, Ontario, Canada. This car belongs to Chris Graham and he drove the entire Power Tour. This car was named the "Roadblaster". This car sported 22" wheels and tires in the rear and 20" in the front. The wheels were aluminum and looked good. The car also sat a bit low thanks to its air ride suspension. The body was covered in a beautiful two tone paint job that consisted of a shade of candy apple red paint over a nice shade of pewter. It also had yellow, orange and candy apple red flames on the nose. The car also was fitted to an Impala SS nose. It had a rolled rear pan, shaved door handles and under the hood was a 383 stroker motor that had an air plenum that was built and painted to match the body. This car is absolutely beautiful and it shows the many hours of craftsmanship required to build it. Next to this Roadmaster was a car that I missed until someone pointed it out to me. The car just appeared to be a 1964 Pontiac Le mans or Tempest wagon. It had faded bluish aqua paint that appeared to be original. I thought at best the car was probably a nice survivor car. When I gave the car a closer look I then noticed the factory looking hood scope. It was then I realized it was a GTO hood. I then saw the GTO badges on the fenders and tailgate. This car had all the GTO markings both inside the car and out. When I realized what it was then it was very impressive. I'm sure it was a clone but very well done and there was never a GTO wagon built by GM that I am aware of. It just goes to show WAGONS ARE COOL. I just need someone to tell my wife that fact. She doesn't seem to believe me on this one. This concludes my report for another week. So cruise safely and see you all next week.

Thanks again Gregg W. Nelson Sr.