To use the word hot to describe any event in Pleasanton is very unusual, however that is exactly what it was at the 23rd annual West Coast Nationals in Pleasanton CA. Now that’s not to say it wasn’t a great show because it was and a little extra heat didn’t keep the participants from hangin out and having fun.

One of the highlights this year was the Brizio display. Goodguys invited Roy Brizio to have a little roped off section of cars he built, so he sent out invites to anyone who would like to bring their cars out. No one was more surprised than Roy himself that 125 people brought their Brizio built cars to the show. He is an amazing builder and having that many of his cars there made that fact infinitely more evident.

A little heat will not detour us from being there again next year. It’s always a great time hangin out in the warm California sun. See ya there.

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We had a great time and hope you all did the same. the winners are listed below.

Vendor Class:
Kyle Tucker  32.149  ‘70 Camaro
Brad Coomer 34.021  ‘66 Chevelle
Stacy Tucker  34.032  ‘69 Camaro
Greg Schneider  34.21 Velocity Camaro
Ty Hauer  34.25   ‘66 Chevelle

Street Machine:
Brian White  33.269  ‘58 Chevrolet Lister

Mike Saddler  33.291  ‘72 Dutton Bt
Scot Mock  33.332  ‘69 Camaro

Street Rod:
Eric Wise  35.783  ‘33 Ford
Dick Gibson  39.982  ‘36 Auburn
Edd Upp  43.291  ‘32 Ford 

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If I don’t seem as eloquent as a few days ago it is probably because we have been on the road for 11 days. While we are still having a great time, the sky isn’t quite as blue, the trees not quite so green, the air not quite so crisp. Wait a minute…we’re in Los Angeles…no wonder!

In case you have come on board late, the reason we are here, and the real reason we have driven the Chevelle 3000 miles instead of hauling it, is that Super Chevy Magazine is holding their first annual [I hope] suspension challenge at the old El Toro Marine base near here. We will be competing with 9 other suspension manufacturers in skidpad, slalom, and autocross events. I am told this will be set up along the lines of a Motor Trend type test and will be quite a large deal in the January issue of Super Chevy. I am praying that things go well for us tomorrow.

Super Chevy is having a pizza party tonight so everyone can get together for some drinks and conversation before the event [more alcohol racing?]. The pizza party tuned out great. This is really quite a small community…I knew most everyone there. Art and Craig Morrison, Kyle and Stacey Tucker, Chris Alston, Neal, Phil and Jeremy Gerber from the Roadster Shop, Brent Van Der Vort from Fatmans, Sal Solarzano from TCI, and all the Super Chevy guys were doing their share to make sure the adult refreshments didn’t go to waste. It was a relatively early night though since everyone had to be on the track at 6:30 in the morning.

More on the suspension challenge tomorrow…

As we approached Reno the landscape grew a bit more agreeable. I had been in this area before when we were testing suspension stuff for our military project. This is an area where it is not unusual to see wild mustangs crossing the road. Thank God for Sirius radio!

The weather and the roads had been just wonderful for the whole trip…until we hit the California state line going over Donner Pass. The snow chains that are required on the big trucks in the winter have worn a groove in the concrete pavement about 4″ deep. I’ve traveled all over the country and this is the worst stretch of road I have ever seen, by far. Even worse than Detroit! The scenery however was spectacular. There is a reason people flock to the Lake Tahoe area.

The rest of the drive into Pleasanton was uneventful. We arrived at the motel about 11:00 Thursday night, smoking tired and ready to sleep.

The Goodguys show in Pleasanton is always a good deal…lots of nice cars that you just don’t see anywhere else in the country. The swap meet is good as well…I bought 3 cars there last year. This year I brought money along for that purpose…that is usually enough to prevent the appearance of any really good deals. I did try to make a deal on a red 69 Camaro with a big block and a 4 speed, and a 70 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler with a 429CJ and a 4 speed. In the end I just didn’t have the time to mess with either one of them for getting them home. We had much more important things going on in the next week. I did see that Kyle Tucker bought a real nice 71 Z28…I’m sure we’ll see it pop up somewhere soon.

Pleasanton is where you will see a bunch of perfect paint on perfect steel bodied street rods. Convertibles and roadsters are in abundance. Barn fresh cars are also common sights. Very intriguing for a midwestern boy!

The Chevelle was a hit at the show. It dropped little salt patties all around wherever it was parked. We encountered all sorts of advice about how to properly clean the salt off when we got home. The general consensus was that it couldn’t be done without complete disassembly of the car [which is likely what will happen this winter].

We took off about 2:00 on Sunday afternoon to head to LA. I wanted to get there early in case we needed to solve any problems. Although there were no problems it was 105 degrees in the valley. Driving down the 5 was like driving through Nevada…only with shitty roads and traffic. WE made Bakersfield about 6:00 and hit the fuel stop and the In-N-Out Burger. BTW…for those back east who have never had a  burger from In-N-Out…fly to California immediately for your taste of heaven. Its really that good!

We started up the Grapevine in the dark, and in heavy traffic. Everyone wanted to get back to LA for work in the morning. I wanted to push on to the motel in Irvine tonight so we didn’t have to screw with the Monday morning LA traffic. We hit the hotel about 9:00 Sunday night. Craig Morrison was already there so we relaxed with a couple of cocktails in the bus to close out the evening. With no problems and a whole day until the suspension challenge we were looking forward to kicking back a bit on Monday. Until then!

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Bob johnson’s Cadillac ran a 239 0n a 242 record so he wants to try again for a 246 or better. There are no problems with the car so he gets back in line for another run closer to evening when the heat goes away.

Poteets Blowfish ran a 284 and can easily better his old record, but is looking for 300. They found some spark scatter and a leak in the intercooler tank that must be repaired. They are done until tomorrow.

Chad Reynolds ran a 230 pass with the Camaro and will try to back it up later today. No problems for them so its back in line for the back up run.

We decided to try the grilled bologna sandwiches again tonight at the bus. This starting to become a ritual!

We have to be in Pleasanton for the Goodguys show on Friday morning so we are planning on leaving early on Thursday morning. It’s a 12 hour drive across the desert and over the mountains. I hope some of the salt that has collected on the Chevelle falls off on the way!