4/20/05
CONNECTING
R.O.D.S. NEWSLETTER
MEMBER
CLUB
2005 #2 NSRA
- GOODGUYS - SSRA
The
Connecting R.O.D.S. newsletter, is sponsored by the Ramblin Oldies of
Denham Springs, Inc. to promote street rodding and the construction and
preservation of pre 1949 street rods.
Articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the R.O.D.S. members
or its officers. Classified ads are free
of charge: R.O.D.S., P.O. Box #61,
Denham Springs, La. 70727 or call (club secretary) Bobby Spann at
(225)275-9868/E-mail: bobbyspann@aol.com
Just
for Starters
The Ramblin’Oldies now has a record 32 active
members! Nolan Tollett rejoined
recently and is working on a pro street Model A coupe. I’m sure his wife Dianne is behind the
scenes somewhere! Wilson Shaffer has
all the pieces for a big Cadillac street rod but he and Martha usually
cruise in his slick 1946 Ford Convertible.
Ron Bringol is trying to wrench on his thirty-six Chevy sedan
with one arm in a sling, while his wife Pat tries to keep an eye on
him! Meanwhile Roger & Arlene
Lambert’s ‘41 Plymouth Sedan is coming together nicely... And if you go to any cruise night around here
you will spot Cliff Graham and his two daughters! Cliff and Carla’s big primered 4-door
Buick sedan looks downright haunted, and with 2 air conditioning units I bet it
could freeze the ‘sheet’ off a ghost!
-Welcome ya’ll-
“Cruising
in the Country”
Our “New” R.O.D.S. Run
-May 20-22- is right around the corner!
BBQ and hot rod movies Friday night at the motel, games and the show
& shine around the park in downtown St Francisville, poker walk to area
craft and antique shops... there will be as much to do for the women as the
men. We have the Angola Prison Band
playing Saturday and let me tell you these guys are good! (They have a lot of time to practice)
After lunch
you can turn in your Top 10 ballots and sit around the shady park enjoying the
band, OR take a scenic cruise over to Jackson Louisiana where another team of
RODS members will be waiting for you.
Museum tours, another live band (we have a lot of prisons in
Louisiana), food and drink vendors AND hundreds of muscle cars, antiques and
Corvettes to check out! Behind the
museum LeRoy Harvey even has a real steam train! Included in the train ride will be a stop at
Feliciana Cellars Winery for some wine tasting - do I have your attention
now?!
Saint
Francisville is about 30 minutes North of Baton Rouge. It’s real easy to find; stay on I-110 North
till it ends and hang a right on Hwy 61!
The Best Western “Inn on the Lake” will be on your left, less than a
mile past the http://www.stfrancisvilleovernight.commain red light that leads
into the downtown ‘strip.’ Or coming
from the West you can catch the Mississippi River Ferry in New Roads and you’ll
be right on the main drag. Come early
and tour some of the historic or even haunted plantation homes in the area;
we’ll have discount coupons waiting for you at the motel desk...
-
NEWS - NEWS - NEWS -
mailto:Bobbyspann@aol.commailto:Bobbyspann@aol.com Remember the beige ‘32 lowboy with Duval windshield and flames
that was on all the NSRA Nationals billboards and posters in 2000? That was just one of the many projects to
come out of “Chris Jarreau’s Garage.”
In January he painted Kenny Spinosa’s t-bucket body and right now
long time club member and head cook Sidney Acosta is letting Chris
resurrect his all steel ‘32 Ford 5-window coupe. This awesome 60's hot rod has been in storage
for almost 20 years.. not a dent or crack anywhere on it! Hmmm, do I smell another club top chop
party?
Speaking
of Sidney, the RODS club recently donated over $700.00 to a local high school
for medical equipment in memory of his grandson. And we are hoping to raise even more money at
our rod run for the Hospice Foundation of Baton Rouge. Look for Katherine Grigsby and her crew under
one of those big oaks.
JUST
CRUISIN' by
Bobby
What is
more fun than building and showing off your street rod? Sharing the experience with others. Think about it - few people actually get to
sit in, much less ride in a street rod (Not counting the Hooters girl in
my car last Sunday)! All of those spectators
walking around at cruise nights, drooling over the sleek low machines... One time Jerry Ramsey and I were standing
behind his cool ‘34 Ford highboy coupe and a young couple was giving it the
eye. “Yep, it’s mine.” I boasted, pulling on imaginary suspenders. “You wish” came the girl’s catty reply. Ouch!
One
Saturday morning at cruise breakfast the owner’s daughter and a friend came
running up. “Wow that is a cool car; I
love it; oh look at the insides..” The
girls were all smiles as they checked out my Model A. We talked about the hot rods in the parking
lot and somehow a ride later was offered.
You would have thought their fairy Godmother had told them they were
going to the ball! Before I left (and
with her mom’s permission) I took them for a short cruise, and I have to
believe they will remember that ride for a long time.
Last Fall
Danny Varnado and I braved a pouring rainstorm to show our streetrods to a Cub
Scout group in Denham Springs. Those
little boys were very impressed too - especially when we let them sit in our
cars for pictures. THAT is the sort of
thing that will get the young generation interested in Street Rods. I’m just glad I didn’t get many rides in antique
cars when I was younger! Ha! Thanks to Alvin Ballard and Dewey Reed for
getting me hooked with my first rides in REAL street rods... and Bill
Adams for teaching me what goes where, and why!
LETS
CRUISE:
April 22-24 - Dixie Street Rods 23rd
Rod Run, Days Inn - McComb, MISS.
<49! 601-783-5202
April 29-May 1 - 3rd Annual Blue Suede Cruise,
Tupelo MS. See the “2 Lane Blacktop
‘55 Chevy!” 800-533-0611 www.bluesc.com
May 6-8 - NSRA SE Nationals, Knoxville TN. <49!
May 6-8 - Cruisin Natchez Open Show, Vidalia MS
601-442-5841
May 13-15 - Mardi Gras Street Rods 8th
Annual Parade of Rods, Houma La.
985-537-7656
May 20-22 - 27th Annual R.O.D.S. Run
“Cruising in the Country” St Francisville,
La. 225-275-9868 Pre-49!
May 21 - R.O.D.S. (Post >’48) “Cruising in the
Country” Special Interest Car Show - Jackson, Louisiana 9-5:00
225-275-9868
July 16th - Cystic Fibrosis Car
Show/Swamp Pop Music Festival- Ascension Parish Civic Center. $25. Entry
Erin 225-769-9994
http://Www.streetrods.orghttp://www.stfrancisvilleovernight.comhttp://Www.stfrancisvilleovernight.com
Every
Saturday Morning: R.O.D.S. “Cruise
Breakfast”, Rick’s Drive Inn - Florida Blvd. At Flannery Rd, Baton Rouge 7:00am
Second
Saturdays: Golden Oldies Cruise
Night - Hwy
190 in the Hobby Lobby parking lot, Hammond La. 7-11:00. BBQ & Burgers, 50/50 and wall to wall
spectators...
Third
Saturdays: Gerry Lane Enterprises Cruise Night at Tanger Outlet Center
in Gonzales La. Next to Chili’s. Sound
system, cold drinks, 50/50 & door prizes, $1.00 entry fee.
TECH
DEPARTMENT
If you
drive your street rod at night there is always the chance you might end up on
the side of a dark road. Did you know
it’s a Louisiana law that any vehicle parked on a street must be facing
the direction of traffic? Why? Because of the reflectors in your tail light
lens. At night a car parked facing you
very hard to see. But older taillights
are pretty small. Juliano’s offers some
cool magnetic reflectors in red and white that would be good for emergencies or
stick em on when you park! Be seen!
Now back
to the reason you’re on the side of the road in the first place... here are
some tips from the pros on how to get that rod back to your garage:
Kenny Spinosa = if you are running a conventional fan belt and it
breaks on you, tap the wife or girlfriend for her panty hose. Wrap around the pulleys and tie tightly (the
hose, not the girl!)
Benny Spann = Got a hole in that gas tank? Rub a bar of soap over it and the chemical
reaction will seal it up great.
Mike Peebles = If you happen to loose the little carbon button
inside your distributor (it has happened), you might find a replacement inside
the horn button on older steering wheels.
My tips? Everybody knows if your car starts overheating, turn
on your heater and open the windows. But
what if your alternator goes out after AutoZone has closed? You can drive until your battery goes dead, but
if you take a second battery and hook it to yours with jumpers cables, you can
go another 40 or 50 miles! Just use your
headlights sparingly and keep a window open...
Put
it in “D”
Our club had 8 cars in Hammond this month, and it
was a blast. Just ask Homer’s wife Olga
about her new “friend” Bubba! And Tanger
Outlet Center in Gonzales was packed the next weekend as well. Despite the Slidell and Pensacola runs going
on we had 6 club hot rods show up! Man,
our club is so big now we can split up and win TWO club participation awards at
the same time!
The
following Sunday myself and 3 other members cruised to Hooters in B.R. for the
Classic Chevy Club show and some mighty fine scenery. Uh, in ADDITION to Lee’s wife Janice that
is! The CCC has recently opened their
ranks to later model Chevies, and doubled their numbers overnight. There were plenty of Corvettes at the show
plus Eric Von Monarch’s new ‘31 Ford coupe!
King
Hardeman cruised over to New Iberia for a 3rd place cruise night
award & said they even had a live band! http://www.geocities.com/~bikerodnkustom/spandex.html
.060
OVER
If you have
a 4-bar setup on your car STOP and read this!
The urethane bushings in those things go South after a couple of years
and must be replaced. And while you’re
at it make SURE you have a safety washer on the bolt. You can get replacement ends from several
manufacturers including Energy Suspensions.
In my recent experience however the Prothane brand bushings will not fit
between the 4-bar batwings.
The R.O.D.S.
web site is really growing thanks to Mike and Cathy Lewis. Check it out for the latest news, pictures of
club events and stuff at www.streetrods.org
mailto:Bobbyspann@aol.comThe next R.O.D.S. club meeting will be Tuesday May 3rd at Doug Miller’s “Toy Box” off Siegen Lane. We usually start gathering about 6:30 for supper, and the meeting starts at 7:00. Call Homer Thornton (225)686-0260 for details.
R.O.D.S.
P.O.
BOX 61
DENHAM SPRINGS, LA. 70726