JennaBears Foundation Charity Car Show 4/4/09

Nicole and Chris Eades from the Jennabears Foundation sent the nicest email asking if it would be OK to promote their Jennabear Car Show at MyRideisMe.com. YES!!

I heard of their show last year but didn’t get a chance to attend. I asked a few questions and here’s what I found out:

Who was Jenna and why a car show?

Jenna was my beautiful daughter whose life was taken by a reckless driver. She was only 6 month and 21 days old. She had beautiful blue eyes and personality that everyone parent dreams of. She was and always will be my bestfriend.

Jenna was always around mustangs. I had a ‘89 fox body that I restored and really enjoyed. We also had a ‘95 mustang gt for more than 8 years at the time that slowly went from stock to our family street-legal drag car. Jenna rode in it the last week of her life. Jenna was born on 9/11 and our new goal with this car is to run a 9/11. The car was dedicated to her memory and is our official foundation race car.

So needless to say, we were in the car scene for quite sometime. So when the idea of fundraising came up, we knew the perfect event to organize…a car show.

What happened last year? How many cars were there and how much money did you raise?

Our 1st annual was a huge success…bigger than I ever anticipated. It was so exciting to see the support. We had over 200 cars, all different types. And we raised more than $17,000!

This $17k funded projects such as the Extreme Room Makeover at the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald house temporarily gives a home away from home to families who have very sick children in the hospital. The money also helped us deliver more than 1000 Jennabear’s, toys, and books to children in hospitals. We also took care of every child in the Pediatrics Intensive Car Unit on Halloween with tons of Halloween goodies, adopted 3 families for Thanksgiving, and 4 families for Christmas. They received everything from the Christmas Tree to the Presents to the Christmas Dinner. We have alot of other projects we are still working on and the support from our car show makes it so possible. We are very grateful!

What are some of the highlights of this year’s show?

Gosh, it is simply amazing on what has turned out for this show.

• The Top Dog Band… an awesome band of military guys stationed at Luke.
• There’s an opportunity to win a Motor Head Grill, Nintendo Wii, Rock Band for Wii, Richard Petty Passes, and alot more cool raffle stuff.
• Appearances by the Suns Gorilla and the Coyotes Howler.
• Presentation of Colors from Peoria High School’s color gaurd.
• More trophy classes.
• More selection of foods for lunch!
• Vendors
• and of course… an even better Kids Fun Area!

I’m looking for more info from Nicole and Chris later this week and as the April 4th car show gets closer. There’s nothing better than doing something you really enjoy and helping people, especially kids, who need it at the same time!

Go to the Jennabears Foundation website for more info and this is the page for Event Info.

Diecast Drags net $365 for Progeria Charity

Thanks to many friends of mine and the support of generous parents, it was the kids that won at the “Home Runs, Hot Dogs and Hot Rods” show in downtown Mesa, Arizona on 2/28/09.

One set of winning, smiling kids were the ones that enjoyed 4 hours of non-stop action running down the 50 foot track during practice among the car show hot rods. By the time racing action started, they had nailed the timing of the Christmas tree’s amber-amber green start. My boys know the drill, so more than once you heard, “You got smoked!” Next time, bring your kids to the show! Now you’ve got something to enjoy with them that’ll get you out of your lawn chairs!

The second set of kids that won we’ll probably never meet. A rare few will ever know the courage needed to be so different on the outside but remain a smiling, energetic kid inside. I hope other folks were inspired to give to the Progeria Research Foundation like I was when I read Amy Foose’s story. As the younger sister of famed designer and builder Chip Foose, her life ended at 16 before many doctors knew what Progeria is. I’m proud to have raised $365 in donations from the kind car show goers that Saturday. Thank you.  You can still donate yourself by going to Terry Foose’s fund raising site: First Giving for Progeria Research

So what happened in the race?

Kids were separated into elimination brackets of: 5 and under, 6-8, 9-12 and over 12. The 6-8 group fielded a full 16 car field followed closely by 15 and 14 racers in the 9-12 and 5 and under. Race action was fierce!

The kids discovered in practice that it wasn’t the heaviest car (like common wisdom might say) that proved fastest, it was (as I’d been saying) the car that goes straight! My tracks a little wider than standard Hot Wheels track, so super-fast cars that got the “High speed wobbles” scrubbed speed on the track sides and were eventually passed. Lead changes, believe it or not, were NOT uncommon, especially with the Christmas Tree start. More than one “holeshot” winner celebrated and alot of “snoozers” restarted their breathing by making it up on the big end.

For the younger racers, Allison, the over 12 champ had her “Ratbomb” Hot Wheel rocking and took what was probably a holeshot win in the finals over 6-8 year old champ Nathaniel. Allison bested Thomas from the 9-12 year old bracket and Nathaniel used a holeshot to sneak past the “young gun” of the group, the cute but not quick Barbara. 3rd and 4th were to split the case of Hot Wheels that Hot Rod Art Book supplied, but as it turns out, Barbara and Thomas are brother and sister! They smiled incredulously when I handed over the case of 72 brand new Hot Wheels.

For the big kids, my mom and wife got in on the action but were quickly SMOKED by the men. Mark tried to use his daughter Allison’s winning car from the kids races. Boo Mark. Nope. We fielded 25 racers for the adult bracket and I thank them for their generous donations. The field included some ringers from the Arizona Outlaws Hot Wheels club (who by the way helped all day long!) but couldn’t make it out of the first round. In some fast paced, “snooze you lose” action the final featured Ray (and his smiling son) racing Ricardo. Ray’s Nomad-like wagon proved to be to much for the competition and closed out the best of 3 with 2 wins in a row. Ricardo, “You got smoked!”

More thanks are needed: Thanks to Lance Baker from www.Hotrodplanet.com for putting on a good show. Other than not saving me an XXL t-shirt, a job well done! Thanks to my buddies: Big John for countless hours building the electronics behind the starting gate. Turns out he got sucked into my plan and we both underestimated the time needed to see it through. At 3AM on the Thursday before the show, my man put on the finishing touches. That’s a dedicated and true friend. Then thanks to E-rock for the support and transportation. Turns out a minivan (hey! it’s my wife’s car!) isn’t big enough to haul everything. He also kept my fire lit and hooked me up with a timely Filaberto’s burrito when needed.

Finally, thanks to the generous donations from www.Ridemakerz.com and Dwayne Vance over at www.Hotrodartbook.com. The kids were drooling over the “build-a-bear” take off that’s “build-a-car” over at Ridemakerz. First place for the kids took home a $100 gift certificate to Ridemakerz and 2nd place took home the ready to be assembled and trick Dodge Viper with motor and remote control. I think 2nd place thought he won!

For the adults I had 4 copies of Dwayne’s new book: Hot Rod Art Book, “Masters of Chicken Scratch”. I don’t know how many times I answered the question, “Are these for sale?” No, they’re for the racers! Get your own copy of the book and instructional DVD at www.Hotrodartbook.com. To sweeten the winning deal, the adults got a “treasure hunt” Hot Wheel donated by Kirk at KMJ Diecast in Mesa.

In Closing

That was fun! Alot of work, but fun. I’d really love to hear from the participants and on-lookers who took in the action. I’d also like to make the track available for charity events and future car shows. I’m also hoping to some day have an “Unlimited” diecast drag race where anything goes. Who’s up for that?

Stay tuned for a story about the car show and the fourth Saturday cruise that followed. So many burnouts!!

Enjoy the rest of the pictures and the winner’s shots:

1964 Morris Minor Custom – UK Style

Minnie the Moocher
1964 Morris Minor 2 door sedan (See the Custom Morris Minor)

Written by: “Tootall” Paul from Cornwall, United Kingdom

‘Minnie’ is my Wife’s ‘64 Morris. She had wanted a kustom for a while and has a particular taste for ‘round’ cars. When one of our clubmates (We are members of UK Kustoms) suggested a Minor we looked harder at them and realized that one would make a great sled. When we were told that if we could find one before the 2002 NASC Nationals then the club would chop it for us, the search was on.

We bought her from a young chap who made us promise that we would look after her. We assured him that we would take great care of her and we have – though maybe not quite in the way he would have expected. We had owned her for 2 weeks before we drove her the 300 miles to the Nationals. She was driven there on Friday, stripped of her glass and interior on Saturday, chopped on Sunday and, with a plastic windscreen installed, driven the 300 miles home again on Monday.

I should mention here that when I say the car was chopped in the showfield, I do literally mean in a field. ‘Chopper’ John and ‘Sawzall’ Phil did the chop in one day, with generator power only. This included welding in the smaller rear window from an earlier split window car and hardtopping the roof.

Once home, I taught myself to weld by finishing off some small jobs. The swage around the bottom of the roof needed lengthening to make it look more finished. I also fabricated runners for the rear side glass, which now slides in. While the torch was out, I nosed and decked the car and removed some badges and trim. Now I would hate for you to get the idea that I do all the wrenching and my Wife does all the driving. That’s just not so. While I did the work mentioned above, she did the filler work on the roof and elsewhere and touched in the paint. The whole car is a team effort and has been a learning exercise for us both!

Once the chop was looking finished, it was time to bring Minnie a little closer to the floor. Doing one side each, we lowered the front end by simply turning the torsion bars. Of course I got my side wrong and lowered it too much! It looked great but was un-driveable. The rear end was brought down by fitting some home made lowering blocks to bring the whole thing down by around 4 inches.

The car originally came with a 1098cc 4-cylinder motor. Unfortunately that one didn’t last too long. It blew up on the way back from a show on the South coast, though my Wife still managed to get a speeding ticket even with the blown motor! The old engine was swapped for a 1275cc unit bought cheap from a friend. This one lasted around 250 miles before it too went up in smoke on the way back from a show. We now have another 1275 motor installed. This one was built for us by a Clubmate (good old Chopper John again) so we know it’s gonna last.

We still have a lot of plans for this car: The rear fenders will be extended down and the rear bumper moved down to make her look lower. Fender skirts are in the pipeline too and we want to do something with the front end to disguise the Morris origins. Oh yes and new rear lights too. First of all though is a ‘C’ notch in the rear chassis rails as it sits on the bumpstops and has no suspension apart from the 1 ½ inch thick rubber stops. This makes it a pretty bouncy ride and can be a little uncomfortable on a long run.

All in all we have managed to pretty much achieve what we set out to do. Minnie is well on the way to being a British take on a traditional kustom. She is useable, generally pretty reliable and most importantly with the stupid price of gas in the UK, economical. She has been built on a budget and with an enormous amount of help and encouragement from our clubmates. Most importantly, every time my Wife gets into her, she has a smile on her face. For me, that’s all the encouragement I need.

Thanks Paul!

Please take a look at Paul’s Garage and the Morris Minor in it. He didn’t mention the extensive, (not for the faint of heart) rust repair needed. The car had some issues. But Minnie and Paul got it done to make what I think is a fantastic little custom. Paul’s also got a Falcon Wagon, so he’s definitely all right in my book!

60’s Drag Car Found…

Back before I was born, my pops raced this car in northern California, especially Fremont Baylands Raceway and Vaca Valley. It was called, “The Happy Home Wrecker” (my parents are divorced):

I have some great memories of this car because after my dad raced it, he sold it to his friend and racing partner Brad Bradly. I used to see it at Brad’s shop, Bradly’s Automotive in Pt. Richmond, CA. Any time he was going to move that car, we wanted to see it cause it was the loudest car we’d ever heard. Many years later, after the car had changed hands a few times, the new owner, Don Boucher, tracked down Brad in Nevada. Now that I knew who had this old friend, I contacted Don and told him who I was. Don plans to return this car to it’s former drag racing glory. I will be updating this blog based on the progress Don makes. I hope to see this car running again. Don, keep us posted! To see more picture of, “The Wrecker” go to Don’s Garage at MyRideisMe.com

The next story isn’t so happy. Does anyone know where this car is?

I’d really like to find it. It also was raced in northern California. It went by the name “Lime Ricky” and was powered by a fuel injected 289 Ford. You might remember that the car had center steering. You drove with one hand and shifted the 4 speed between your legs! Don’t miss 2nd!

Thanks to a new friend Gian, I’ll make a special section of MyRideisMe.com to help people find the history or track down their car’s original owner or racing history. Stay tuned for that. If anyone has info about this car, please contact me. Thanks for reading!

Father and Son Hot Rod Team

Ray and Rory Forbes, this father and son team, came all the way from Reno, Nevada to enjoy the 2007 LA Roadster show. Believe it or not, these guys didn’t get to join the official show because they don’t have shinny paint. I wouldn’t have it any other way! Check out this awesome pair of traditional rods!

Dad’s got style!

This is Ray’s 1934 Ford. Construction began in the 40’s with a top chop suitable for Bonneville, but the project stalled when the men building the car were drafted. After that, the car got passed around until 2 years ago when Ray bought it from a guy who had stored the car for 30+ years, untouched due to health reasons. It was a full build done entirely in the Forbes’ garage on weekends by Father and son. The 34 has an early 60’s 401 Buick Nailhead donated by a friend who was an early 50’s Bonneville racer that ran a 34 Coupe way back when (hence his # on the door, plus the original timing tag!) Inside, it has super rare P-51 stainless seats, custom pedals, an engine turned dash filled with vintage S&W gauges, Schroeder steering and out back a quickchange rear end. To cap it all off almost every nut was safety-wired right down to the taillight mount!

Just add salt.

High School Dream car?!

Can you imagine driving this car in high school? Rory did and it’s the first car he built! This Model A coupe has a generous 6″chop and is covered in louvers. When I asked how many, Rory just said, “A ton!” I especially like the late 30’s CASE tractor grill and period looking engine with finned scoops and matching valve covers. Inside, there’s original Weber Aircraft bomber seats still wearing the original paint with vintage aircraft lap belts. Like dad, black steel wheels with caps roll on bias-ply tires.

This is the kind of story you’ll find at MyRideisMe.com. I hope you’ll check it out!