03/28/2007

CONNECTING R.O.D.S. NEWSLETTER

MEMBER CLUB

2007 #1 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

-WHAT’S HAPPENING-

What’s NOT happening is more like it. Several RODS members are working hard to get their cars on the road this year: Lee, Steve and I have our’s down right now for repairs while Ron Bringol (36 Chevy Sedan) and Roger Lambert (41 Ply Sedan) are about to get their’s on the road for the very first time!

Bruce is building an old school primered ‘32 Ford pickup, and King is about to drop a 383 stroker motor in his ‘34 “Woody Woodpecker” coupe. Doug Miller is still trying to get all the bugs out of his pro built ‘37 coupe; and I use the term “pro built” loosely. “Leo Built” is more like it! Oh, and CG sold his streetrod and bought a ‘56 Ford pickup... no comment.

Other members are busy cruising in their street rods; in February we drove down to French Settlement with the wives for a Valentine’s outing at the Hilltop Restaurant. Good food and a beautiful day! Two new couples to the streetrod hobby joined us for the club outing, Jim and Anne Burnett driving their trick ‘32 Ford highboy and Harry and Sara Page in their fresh ‘35 Ford coupe. We would be happy to have both couples join the RODS club!

-29^th ANNUAL R.O.D.S. RUN RECAP-

What a great weekend! Cold but no rain! Yay! Over 80 street rods filled the Holiday Inn South’s parking lot and everyone had a good time. Homer’s sound system filled the air, as did the smell of 10 briskets we cooked and handed out Friday night... Saturday there were lots of games, a good food vendor, 50/50 chances and a poker walk, AND door prize give-aways ALL DAY LONG!

We want to thank our many sponsors including but not limited to Gerry Lane Enterprises, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AutoZone, and Baton Rouge Harley Davidson. We raised over $500.00 for the Hospice Foundation of Baton Rouge too! Saturday night we cranked up the heaters under the big tent and enjoyed hot chocolate and popcorn while “Phil Dirt & the Dozers” played LIVE rock and roll courtesy of ING Corp.

There were so many awesome cars at the run, and a lot of them went home with some well deserved awards. Saturday afternoon we gave out 25 sponsor trophies, then on Sunday after Larry Teal’s church service we announced the Top 10 favorite rods. They were:

Mark Couty 1935 Chevy Sedan, Glenn Callahan ‘39 Ford Convert., Tim Splawn ‘37 Ford Coupe (also best paint), Jim Burnett ‘32 Ford Coupe (best engineered), Jerry Buchicchio 39 Ford Convert.(best engine), Robbie Long ‘34 Ford Pickup, Don Zuelke ‘48 Thames panel(best interior), Ken Smart ‘30 Ford coupe, Buddy Hillard ‘37 Chevy Coupe, and Lyle Kuhlmann 1934 Ford coupe. Congratulations!

- SAFETY MATTERS -

Have you ever LOOKED at the jack and/or spare tire in your family car? It might be good to figure out how that stuff works on a warm sunny Saturday afternoon in your driveway. Don’t wait till you’re on the side of a dark road! And you might want to include your wife/son/daughter in on the demonstration so they can do it, or show someone who might stop to help.

How low is your streetrod? By making two ramps out of blocks of wood (a 2x4 or 2x6 will work), you can roll the car up to get enough clearance underneath that front axle. And one of those lightweight aluminum jacks would look cool in your trunk too!

JUST CRUISIN' by Bobby

Why does everyone leave cruise nights so early?! At the March Tanger Mall cruise the parking lot was empty by 8:30! Why I can remember when we didn’t arrive until dark, and were still hanging out at 10 or 11:00! But those were “just show up” cruise nights, whereas now they are more like ‘Afternoon Car Shows.’ I think several factors are in play here, and they are all connected:

Lighting/spectators/ego - This is a domino effect. When it gets dark and there is not good lighting, spectators stop looking at cars. So those guys who are only out to ‘show off’ get bored and leave.

Lone Wolves - Ever notice the last guys standing belong to car clubs? The BRCC, CCCC and RODS members are usually still hanging after the lightweights leave. The reason? The lone wolves come out to show off what they got, but don’t have the com-roddery (get it?) that members of a club enjoy. Car Clubs are made up of guys and gals that like to hang out together. Throw in a parking lot and some hot cars, and it’s even better!

Age of the participants - ohhhh, ugly word but that’s life. After the car clubs leave, often the young guys in the slammed pickups are just getting started! And that brings up yard leave. The guys that don’t bring their wives or girlfriends usually have a curfew. If you can find a gal that will come out and hang with you well after dark, she’s a keeper!

Weather - Yep, when it’s cold and dark, even the most hearty street rodder will pack it in. And that’s too bad, cause take it from me, most of the fun really starts after the crowds leave.

Moral of the story? We are all grateful for people like the Golden Oldies Motor Club in Hammond and especially Homer and Olga Thornton who work tirelessly to give us clean, safe places to cruise on Saturday nights!

-SO, LETS CRUISE!-

April 7: Cajun Classic Chevy Cruise to Clinton La. for the Main Street Market, 7:30am-12:30pm. Meet at Hwy. 64 and Plank Rd. 7:30 or 9:00am. For more info call Eric 614-3252.

April 14: Camellia Classics Open Car Show, Belingrath Gardens, Mobile Alabama. 251-675-7391 Food, live bands... NO pets!

April 20-22: Pensacola Rod-Tiques 35^th Rod Run, Bay Beach Inn at Gulf Breeze FL. For info 850-429-0738 Pre-49

April 20-22: Dixie Rodders Re-Union Run, McComb MS. Call Street Rodder of the year Lonnie Cox at 601-783-5202 Pre-49

April 21: Coastal Cruizers Car Show, John Slidell Park in Slidell La. Info 504-494-1188

April 21: West Side SRA 8^th Custom Car & Bike Show, Zephyrs Stadium, Metairie, La. Info 504-394-5570 (rain date 9/29/07

April 27-29: Two State Rodders Run Landmark Hotel, Hammond La. Pre-72+ spec invites - and Randy Wilson in a dress! 601-684-2609

April 28: Etouffee Festival Open Show, Arnaudville La. 337-754-7086

April 28: BR Corvette Club St. Jude Benefit Open Car Show, Plaquemine La. at the historic locks. 225-687-2618

May 12: Cajun Classic Chevy Club Top 15 Car Show, Gerry Lane Chevy/Fla. Blvd. Baton Rouge La. 9:00-2:00 & Percy Sledge live!

*People: proofread your flyers! You would be amazed at how many get with no city or state on them!

Every Saturday Morning: R.O.D.S. “Cruise Breakfast” @Rick’s Burgers - Florida Blvd. At Flannery Rd, Baton Rouge. 7:00am till about 9:00am. Good, inexpensive food and free coffee!

Golden Oldies Cruise Night: Second Saturdays Hobby Lobby parking lot on Hwy 190 in Hammond

Super Cruise Night: Third Saturdays Tanger Outlet Center in Gonzales. Sponsored by Gerry Lane Enterprises, 50/50, cold drinks, sound system, door prizes. $1.00 entry keeps out cheapskates!

“Girl’s Garage” Cruise Night: Fourth Saturdays in Gonzales.

-TECH TIPS-

Putting a small block in your street rod? A ‘63-‘74 Corvette six quart oil pan should fit and help keep you running cool. Part number 3956620, it has baffling and a swinging gate...

Looking for better gas mileage? If you don’t have the stones for a manual, the hot ticket these days is a 4-speed automatic with lock up overdrive converter. Weight is also a factor. If you’re carrying a full tool set, cast iron floor jack and tow chain in your trunk, forget double digit mpg’s!

I am very sorry to report that we lost two great individuals recently. In January King Hardeman’s wife JoAnn passed away. She was a retired school teacher, and one of the most pleasant people you would ever want to meet. The family is setting up a scholarship fund in her name at St Aloysius in Baton Rouge, a very fitting tribute for someone who was a fantastic role model.

Then in February long time RODS club member Sidney Acosta died. A dozen street rods led the funeral procession, with Sidney’s ‘32 Ford in front of the hearse. It was really impressive - we stopped traffic all the way to the cemetery! Sidney was buried in the 2007 rods run shirt (with his car on it) and with a pack of cigarettes in his pocket. He’s probably up there right now cooking St Peter some jambalaya!

The next R.O.D.S. club meeting will be Tuesday April 3rd at Kenny Allen’s Body Shop in Sorrento. We will have the NSRA Safety team there inspecting our cars so you might want to get there a few minutes early. Visitors are welcome; we usually gather about 6:15 for supper, with the meeting starting around 7:00. For more info call Lee Laurent (225)673-8562.