Clubs
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About This Club
General discussion, images, events and questions about what's going on in the Great Lakes States of IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI.
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Nice coverage as always! -
your flags look Great frosty fantastic pictures -
Those were some FABULOUS pictures. Especially, the old tractors. Rick -
On Friday, Lucy and i joined some fellow Widetrackers in the annual Village of Hadley Michigan 4th if July parafe. Hadley is a small farming community near me. A rare MM tractor! This MM tug was used in WWII in the Pacific to pull B29s and other planes around. First one I have ever seen. I went through two bags of candy for the kids that line the parade route. I had a good time! One slight casualty was Herman Ruples ‘62 red and white Lemans convertible was overheating when it was over. He lwt it cool down and he was able to get home. This was a first for Herman in this car.
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The Sloan is always the last weekend in June in Flint.
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Great shots, haven't been to the Sloan in many years, never hear about it until after the show.
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This past weekend was the 46th annual Flint Sloan show, located in Flint's cultural area. This show has shrunk in a lot of ways. For example, this use to be the area's largest swap meet. Now there is no swap meet at all. There use to be 500-600+ cars, I suspect it was closer to 300 this weekend and the weather was great. The Sloan Museum is open to all participants (show cars and spectators). Instead of walking around looking at the show field cars, I spent more time looking at the rare stuff in the museum itself. This old Buick LeSabre shown as traveling America. I found the old Army military sticker on the front bumper that says Redstone Arsenal, which is next to the Marshal Space Flight Center, in Huntsville Alabama. In nearby Grand Blanc, GM built the "tank plant" at the start of WWII. This is what was built there, the M-18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer. It could run up to 60 mph, most German tanks could only run about 25 mph. A small recreation of Flint's famous Vehicle City street arches. The move "Semi-Pro" was partially filmed in Flint about a fictious minor league semi-professional basketball team, the Flint Tropics, moving up to the NBA. Our local ABC station, WJRT, had it's own Bozo the clown. It was a big deal when I was a kid to be able to see a taping of Bozo the Clown after school. Flint made carriages before automobiles, much like other cities in Michigan and around the country. The last Buick ever made in Flint. You can see the line worker's signature on the under side of the hood. I worked at the complex at the that time too, before I was transferred to Pontiac. Here is the Pontiac you've probably never heard of....the 1977 Pontiac Phantom. It is a concept car and not a real working car. It was the last car designed by former GM chief designer Bill Mitchell before he retired. The Buick Bug race car - one of two built. This is only one left. One was driven by Louis Chevrolet. Here is a modern GM concept car The Buick Centurion concept car. Buick's answer to the Corvette - the Wildcat II concept car A tin woody Buick wagon All 300 of the 1953 Corvettes were hand made in Flint before production moved to St. Louis in 1954. This is #112 of 300. All were white with red interiors and Blue Flame inline sixes. A Buick Retta convertible - the only car I actually worked on. Another Chrysler Turbine car - this one is owned by the Detroit Historical Society A Duesenberg Model J
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Notta trip ol buddy, an adventure! I Should have been there. Dang it! We Justa got power back from yesterdays storms. Been out 18 hrs. Now the fridge won't work, A whole section of the house is affected by a ground fault plug that will not reset. Including the laundry room. Much needed with the twins. Coolest day in the last 2 weeks and I should be out under the Sunbird to try and get that up N running again. Stuck with this new mess. Always something.
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it was a great pleasure to meet with you and see the Indian. I hope we can do that again soon! I suspect next year’s Power Tour will start in Norwalk. I certainly hope so!
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Frosty, I appreciate your thoughtful compliments! Yet I am the one who feels privileged to have met you & Joe. You guys go & do these things & keep us all entertained! Me, that is the first time I've ventured out to that type of event. Yes, I used to travel all over the country for LZ doing all my development work, but that seems like a lifetime ago & it was way different. Yes, I raced for many years, but again a lifetime ago & part of the reason for the hearing loss! You & Joe were very engaging & made me feel welcome! I on the other hand was very much off my game. So much so I never even remembered to take a single picture! Not really having traveled at all since 2019 & never having driven the Indian that distance, I was a bit leary & of course straight out of the gate issues occured! First Cleveland's famous Deadmans curve rumble strips! Those of you not familiar, there is about an eighth of a mile of ten intermittent concrete grooved portions of pavement that get sequentially closer together as you approach this deadly curve that would shake your fillings out! Within a few seconds of exiting out of the curve my ABS light came on. Which has never occurred before & then never went off! So I thought this is great! Then a very simple straight route turned into a detour that wasn't supposed to be there & it got ugly from there! 2 lane road no passing in the middle of nowhere & nothing but fields. No gas stations, no towns, no little markets, nothing. Being raised in a township country area I can say I don't miss it. Then we come to a complete stand still in the middle of nowhere! Why? Took 25 minutes to find out it was a 5 car accident! I'm guessing either road rage or racing. All 5 looked like they could have been headed for Norwalk. 67 Camero, newer Mustang, 2 newer challenges & old custom truck that was upside down. State boys everywhere & two ambulances. Finally I get to 601 headed down to Summit race park, now close to an hour later than I thought I would be. Pull in try to call my wife to tell her I'm here, cell phone is worthless! She can't hear me. Try over & over still the same. Frosty calls me & we are, as it turns out probably only a couple football fields apart, but the same thing. But we finally connected! Whew! Wasn't supposed to rain till late! Rained/drizzled pretty much the whole time there! Yet again well worth it to meet two friends in the flesh! -
Too fast to be caught by a camera.
Here is a set of picture articles from Hagerty Insurance since they were a sponsor on Power Tour. Hagerty MediaPower Tour 2025 Recap: Five Cities, 650 Miles, Epic Rides...Thousands of cars made the trek from Indianapolis to Joliet, Ford Wayne, Monroe, and Norwalk for Power Tour 2025.Then I clicked this link for their racing shots. Hagerty MediaGallery: Dragstrip Action from the 2025 Hot Rod Power Tou...Three venues at the 2025 Hot Rod Power Tour gave participants the opportunity to test their skill at the quarter mile.Lookie at what I found on picture 30 of 42. Look familiar? Clearly this was Joe's second run since he was in the right lane on his first pass!
Mike Cotten and Dave Newbern tell of their adventures on Hot Rod Power Tour 2025. I rewound the drag race at Norwalk on this video. This had to be really late in the day. Knowing where Joe, Gary, and I were parked at Norwalk, we were all gone when the drag race was videoed.
That's what I've been waiting for....Gary's pic's. Such an incredible ride!!! Wish I could have been there.
This is soo cool Frosty and last Indian Our car adiction is all about meeting and sharing our passion with like minded petrolheads ... the cars are the bonus ! last indian! you did a fantastic job of the bra !
HRPT - Day 5 - Summit Motorsports Park, Norwalk Ohio Joe and Michelle decided to stay at a KOA near Toledo. I again went home and slept in my own bed. I met Michelle and Joe in Norwalk. The statue at Cabela's in Dundee Michigan. Cabela's is a massive outdoor camping, fishing, hunting store. The status is two grizzlies fighting over a moose kill. Welcome to Norwalk (which is also home to the Pontiac Nationals BTW!) I was walking towards the grandstand when I saw Joe make his pass. All I could get from where I was standing is his time and speed. He ran another 12.6 run much later in the day when the rain stopped. Newbern and Cotton's rides. Views of the vendor midway from the grandstands. Violet gets her reward for 1585 miles and 21.5 mpg. The Long Hauler plaque. As I mentioned earlier, Joe and I had the great privilege of meeting up with Last Indian, from Cleveland. It was sure great to meet Gary himself, in the flesh. He brought the Last Indian with him too. The car is gorgeous. I can only hope my pictures do his car some justice. The detail is amazing and it really needs to be seen in person. Note how he did both valve covers of the 3800 even though one is hardly seen. Diamond grill and matching hood scoops! Last Indian and Violet together. I was truly a pleasure to meet Last Indian. He is truly a gentleman and a scholar. Thank you for coming Gary!!!! This trip was definitely a major highlight of the year for me. I suspect Joe would agree. We made friends, shared our love with fellow car people. I already cannot wait for next year.
HRPT - Day 4 - Monroy County Fairgrounds, Monroe Michigan Indyman Joe and I decided to spend Wednesday night sleeping in our own beds. We both cannonballed home from Fort Wayne that afternoon. It is only a 3 hour drive for either of us, except when they shut down I-69 to airlift someone off the expressway! Meeting up with Joe near his house (he is closer to Monroe than I am). Apparently his neighbor owns this Pontiac hearse. Driving US 23 and M50! Very cool Buick wagon. Know what a mean Vern?!?! This Camaro belongs to one of my contract employees named Rob. I convinced him to take the day off and join us. I think I got him hooked on Power Tour. He told this week that be coming to Power Tour he discovered a cooling problem he didn't know he had. Seems his dual electric fans are not keeping his car cool enough in stop and go traffic. He needs closer to 2800 cfm and his current fans don' produce that much. He's order two new fans that produce 3100 total. He is hoping that fixes things. The Michigan version of the Roadkill T-37. This is a '72 Lemans Sport convertible. Lucy's ugly twin (sadly). Again folks were encouraged to sign you name, I found the hood tach! How much fun can driving a street legal NASCAR on Power Tour be? Hmmm..... NHRA champion Clay Milliken and TV host Cristy Lee were today's celebs. Cristy owns her grandfather's '66 Pontiac Grand Prix too guys! She loves that car.
.....back in Hamlet Indiana. Not everyday you find a Batmobile near the men's restroom in nowheresville Indiana. I like it! The 40 Ford was cool. They had paint pens and asked people to sign their name and where they are from. The band is warming up.... A '73 Lemans with a '74 front clip. The dash is made from clear acrylic. I accused him of stealing a Chebie dash! LOL! Other Pontiacs that got the Streak Freak show early..... You could also put a push pin from where you are from on the map! The Village of Hamlet Indiana on the way back to US 30. It is my definition of Mayberry USA!
Day 3 - Street Freaks Car Show - Hamlet Indiana The Street Freaks car club partnered with Power Tour. All participants were invited and encourage to attend the Street Freak's car show at the local county fairgrounds. Since I hit the road very early most often, I got there when they were still setting things up. The food vendors were starting the pulled pork or brisket smokers, etc. Signs leading us off US 30 and into Hamlet Indiana and the car show. When I got there, I had finished my coffee and I went to find a restroom. I found it near the food vendors. When I came out and on the other side of the rest room was this......certainly not what I was expecting to find in nowhere Indiana. More to come.....
Day 3 - US 30 (The Lincoln Highway) and Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne Indiana. Day 3 meant traveling all the way down US 30, better known, as the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Highway. The Lincoln Highway was not as enjoyable as US 52 or Route 66 was. It was a lot of small communities near Chicago which meant a ton of traffic lights, lots of semi trucks avoiding the toll roads, and plenty of stop-n-go driving. Chris Jacobs, former host of Overhaulin and current Barrett-Jackson and Mecum auction reporter was today's celebrity signing autographs. As a Gold Club Long Haulers, Joe, Michelle and I were treated to a free lunch today. Hot dogs, sloppy joes, baked beans, salads, beverages, and cookes. Let's not forget the cookie! We found the HRPT motor home! This '71 GTO convertible is almost an identical twin to Lucy. It's numbers matching. It's Lucerne Blue with a 400 engine.
HRPT - Day 2 - Standard Oil Gas Station in Odell, Illinois and Historic Route 66. Heading out of Pontiac and heading north towars Odell, 10 miles away. Interstate 55 to my left and railroad tracks to my right! This is a restored 1930s era Standard Oil gas station. I came here over 20 years ago with my dad in Lucy. We were heading to a car show in Springfield Illinois called "Rockin' Rods on Route 66"! I have pictures of Lucy in front of this station as well. Inside the station. Back on ROute 66 heading north again, towards Joilet. Occasionally I will see a small partial roadway between me and I-55 like this one. These are part of the original 1927 Route 66 platted roadway! Very cool.
HRPT - Day 2 - Pontiac Illinois and the Pontiac Oakland Museum The Power Tour route had us coming up part of Route 66 well north of Pontiac Illinois. I, of course, made the detour to head further south and head to Pontiac Illinois, home of the PTM's sister museum, the Pontiac Oakland Museum. Lots of murals around downtown..... The most famous mural though is by far this one.....in Centennial Square This converted school bus is called the Road Yacht! Violet looks good on Route 66! Pontiac is the county seat for Livingston County, Illinois. The county courthouse reminds me of the clock tower from Back to the Future! All we need is a Delorean with a flux capacitor, Doc Brown, Marty McFly, a jigawatts of power!!! Now let's see what's on display at the Pontiac Oakland Museum..... The window display was having a hub cap contest. Can you name the year and model each come from? Me neither. This surprised me. If's the Pontiac Hall of Fame display. It shows all the current inducted members in the Hall of Fame, for which I am a voting member of the HOF. People I met or knew.... John was the Pontiac Historian until his passing in 2008. His sons, Jeff and John Jr and his wife Marge, are still members of the Michigan Widetrackers and Motor City POCI chapters. Another former Widetracker! Eric was a good friend and died way too young. He started the 10,000 Lakes (MN) chapter of GTOAA and was the national president of the GTOAA at one time before moving back to Michigan. Eric wrote the Illustrated Guide to the GTO and GT-37. It is still the reference for judging by both the GTOAA and POCI. Damn I miss Eric. Hard to believe it has been almost 10 years! A Pontiac Firefly - it was sold only in Canada. It is the first one I have ever seen before. Let's go camping....in our Phoenix How about some cool engine stuff? Experimental aluminuim engine block - given to Mickey Thompson. The Oakland/Pontiac V8. This engine was available in a handful of Oaklands and Pontiacs back in the very early 30s. The legendary OHC 6 The Trophy 4 - half of a 389! A 421 Super Duty Tri-Power The much maligned and unloved 301 Turbo. A Pontiac Buggy! Made even before Oakland Motor Car Company was incorporated!
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