Update from the Convention

[Tom Kochtanek]

Well I could ramble forever on the cars and more importantly the PEOPLE who were in attendance at the Convention on Friday but you guys want to see some pics, so here are a few of the dozen or so I shot Friday afternoon. The weather this Saturday morning looks to be wet, and the drag strip event is due to start at 10:00 AM. Hope the rain goes away and we all face a long day at the drags. TomO tells me the owners will stay open as long as possible so everyone can get lots of runs in :)

Now for some pics. Lots of Z-11s on display inside (pics are kinda dark). Lots of 1962 cars outside, many of them perfectly restored Bubbletops. Too many to mention specifically, so here's some pics. One is of the coolest 1960s car hauler combo I have ever seen in person (I bet CPG's if pretty tight though). No sign of Aubrey as of last nights Banquet, hope he's OK.

Will pass along some additional reflections in this thread, along with more pics.

Enjoy!

TomK

[Tom Kochtanek]

Here are some inside shots of just the Z-11s on parade. Unbelievable display. Possibly the most ever seen together, according to Doug Marion. Doug took some 700 pics just on Friday, so look for some good coverage in an upcoming Chevy Rumble :)

BTW, weather report says it looks to clear up in KC later this morning, so we hope the drags continue :)

Cheers!
TomK

[Tom Kochtanek]

More of the same old, boring, aluminum clad Z-11s. Ho hum....

Just kidding. Wish you all could be there :)

TomK

[Tom Kochtanek]

I fancy the '62 BA Bubbletop, so I took detailed pics of a few of these perfectly restored beauties. Here are some general pics. One is of TMRacing's Lamar Walden powered car.

Lamar gave a one hour tech session Friday at 2:00. Excellent interchange

TomK

[Tom Kochtanek]

Since I am still "colorizing" my '62SS I thought I'd take some closeups of some of those perfectly restored cars :)

One is a mirror shot, showing the underside.

Cheers,
TomK

[real61ss]

Great shots Tom....thanks so much

[JimKwiatkowski]

Tom,Thanks for the update and photos.Who won the stroker motor?I hope Aubrey makes it in time for the drags I'll bet his rear end gears has something to do with him not being there yet.

[bobs409]

Thanks for thinking of us poor slobs back here Tom. :D

I better get the server tuned up for when all you guys come back with stories and photos. ;)

[Tom Kochtanek]

Not sure who won the 409 stroker, but I hope it was TomO who really, really wants to upgrade his 1963 Impala :)

Phil Reed and Company (his wife, Brad, and others) has been phenomenal in putting this all together and in pulling it off. How many times do you get to shake Hayen's hand, meet Doug Marion, other luminaries and legends, at a single venue?

I had a serious case of jetlag, returning from London at 4:30 AM Friday morning, gettting 3 hours of sleep, then driving 150 miles to the KC Convention Center, so I had to depart around 8:45 last night to return to Columbia, MO. Reason I had to zip home was I picked up a load of X frame parts from TMRacing (thanks!) and needed to unload those. Thought I might take the '63 SWC out there this morning to the drags, but rain here in Columbia is worse than at KC :( Sorry Bob, gonna have to take the minivan :)

Phil distributed these HUGE 409 placards to all who registered and rumor had it that all were to sign the backside (aluminum, of course!) for a "group memorabilia". I know DQ and others were arranging a group photo as well, but I just had to crash early. Maybe we can airbrush ourselves in?

Well, time to head for the drags. Just a few more pics before I go :) :) :)

See Hayden, get autograph. How's that for improving a cheap pair of Taiwanese valve covers?

Also, just to verify that I was in London, England, here's a shot of myself and the Prime Minister, Tony Blair :)

Cheers,
TomK

[droptop62]

Tom,
Thanks for the photos and update.
One incredible event!!!!
Wish I was there.

[Tic's60]

Did Aubrey get there with his car yet? Been waiting to hear what he runs :)

[Tom Kochtanek]

Bummer! Just got back from KCIR dragstrip. After driving back out there I found out they cancelled the drag strip action :(

I'm guessing you'll hear from others what the real deal was. It was sunny when I showed up around 11:30, but apparently the previous night's rains had an effect on the track?

TomO might have a more detailed explanation.

I really felt bad for those who drove all the way out here from both coasts, that they didn't get a chance to perform, do grudge racing, and in general have fun. I brought my mechanic guy out for the ride and he didn't get to see any 409s, just those tooling down the freeway on trailers, headed the other way.

It wasn't a total loss for me, though. On the way home we stopped in a small town near the Missouri river on a tip and found a 409 truck motor lying there on the ground in the woods. Cuts on the motor mounts indicated that it had happened recently. We are looking for the owner so we can go back and pick it up :) It was worth all the mud we trekked through and the "stickers" that fastened themselves onto my jeans...

No cheers for KCIR though.

TomK

[Tom Kochtanek]

Here is a quick shot of the signed placards that were part of the registration fee for those who attended the conference. Thanks to Phil Reed for thinking of this great souvenir. Where else can you get all the members of this Forum to sign your name, along side the likes of Hayden Proffitt, Lamar Walden, Doug Marion, Jack Gibbs, and so forth. Even got Lars and his Finnish buddy to sign it :)

Got a few signatures on a pair of valve covers as well :) :) :)

Most excellent!

TomK

[oil4kids]

Ill post a ton of pictures from the convention on my website when i get home and videos of the drags

Let me tell you that Blue Screamer, and Denny Fords 62 Belair and dq's car really do scream- they are truly fast cars



MArk

[jester]

:help Any chance of getting a copy of that video ?

Does anyone know if Audrey made it there?

[droptop62]

I do believe Phil Reed is going to have some video for sale of the whole convention weekend, I would like to think that video woud have the drag racing as well.
will have to wait and hear from Phil on this.

[CDNpontiac409guy]

Thank YOU for posting, Tom :beerbang

and
THANK YOU guys for asking about me :hug

No, I didn't make it. Quite a story, and DEFINITELY a bad one ( BEYOND belief ).
I just spoke with Fred Totten ( SS425HP )... he had phoned at about 8:00 AM my time here in Alberta, Sunday, Sep 19. I gave him the run down.
My SINCEREST apologies to EVERYONE... and Aaron ( 348NUT ), NOW would be a good time for truth and fairness to be in control :help

Please feel free to Email me at aubrey@bruneauperformance.ca
A phone call would be good too :hug

Aubrey Bruneau

[jester]

Hmmmmmmmmm. I got this feeling that there is plenty to this story that will not be told.
Well Aubrey, I hope that you and your equipment made it through the weekend with your health. Everything else is just paper .

[JimKwiatkowski]

Who won the stroker motor :dunno

[348NUT]

I was one of the few fortunate enough to witness some drag racing on Saturday. I loved it! :clap The entire weekend was like a dream come true! Man, Everybody was SO nice!
Hayden and Doug talked to me like they've known me all my life. :cool: It was so great to meet so many guy's from the forum and spend so much time just talking about cars :brow My poor wife can't get me to shut up. She doesn't seem to be as excited about it as me. :dunno :p NUT Oh and my RAT ROD 55 made the 1000 mile trip with only having to clean a clogged carb screen! And it got 18 miles to the gallon! I loved it! :D NUT Special Thanks to dq and DonD409!

[Tic's60]

Did you get any closeups of the Mustard car? They all look cool but I love the fins :)

[348NUT]

This is an awsome car! He really had a hard time trying to hook up on this track. I think they de-tuned it to be able to run. I believe he made three runs and the third was 128mph and this is an 1/8 mile track! :clap With out sound, these pictures just can't do it justice. My ears are still ringing :D NUT

[348NUT]

The drags won't be on the main event video because it wasn't part of the convention. When the other track canceled out, some of the guy's started calling around looking for other strips and found only one possibility in Bethany, MO about 85 miles north of KC named Thunder Valley. Only the four cars and a dozen or so of us made it there. Most of us headed home straight from there. They were very welcoming and I was surprised at how many old 60s-70s muscle cars etc. were there. Even the VW bug that could Lift the front wheels was cool!if not a bit cute :rolleyes: NUT

[SS425HP]

Nut, I think I heard that someone had a video camera up there. Is that correct? The thing I heard was that someone did, and if a copy could be had, it might be added on to the end of the convention video.
I didn't make it up to the track. Had to drop Dean at the airport, and didn't get the good directions to the track. By that time, most who knew where it was had left. Wish I had been able to go up there.
BTW, was great meeting you. I'm seeing names on here that I didn't meet that were at the convention, or I don't know I met. I'm getting bad on remembering names. Such is life, I guess. Oh well?

Fred------------------I think!

[348NUT]

if you knew where to stop you coulda heard the track from I-35! :p Seriously, I'm sorry you didn't have directions. :cry I would have enjoyed visiting with you. It was close to midnight when I left and the races were still going!
Yes there were a couple cameras there. I didn't have one so I wouldn't want to volunteer that for someone else. It could certainly be a possibility though.
I don't think this every few years thing is gonna work for me. I wanna go back next weekend! :D NUT

[SSpev]

What!! :eek: Now i'm glad I didn't come out for the race. I know I would have been stompen mad if I'd drove 800 miles to a canceled race. I'm sure others drove further. If it was weather thats one thing, can't control that. Soooo what caused the cancelation????

[64ss409]

The cancellation was caused by rain, most of Fri. night and most of Sat. morning. But by 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon, the track was dry! And nobody there! All I needed was another car and a flagman :brow :D

I did not know about the track to the north, or I would have stopped on the way home.
Ron

[JimKwiatkowski]

Who won the stroker motor?

[SS425HP]

Well, it goes like this. 6" of rain Friday night, overnight. The rain stopped Saturday morning, and the sun came out about 10 or 11 AM. Everything started drying out fast. BUT, if you have ever been around this stuff, this is when it gets hairy. I saw this same scenario at Indy Good Guys this summer. The track dries, and looks good enough to race. But, the sun draws moisture up through the surface just enough to get dangerous. I saw 3 crashes at Indy on Saturday, all on the top end, and no wind caused them. Unseen moisture had to be the cause. One driver died. The track was correct to cancell. The track to the north did not get any rain or at least not as much. The 3 cars at Indy were gassers, and pretty fast. They all had chutes, but it happened so fast they never got them out as I saw. I know there was some grumbling that they cancelled too soon, but safety has to be the rule. I think they did the right thing. Sure, we wanted to go race. But, there is always another time. Ray will just have to wait to see those 6 black Impala SS tail lights. Had to put that in. Not that he was grumbling.
I just wish everyone lived within a hours drive. Could we all have fun. So many impressive cars. So many impressive people. Awesome cars.
Phil, it HAS TO HAPPEN AGAIN NEXT YEAR. Say yes, so we can start planning NOW.
Candy, PLEASE??????????????????

Fred

[jim_ss409]

We had a great time on Saturday. All the racers made some good passes. Bluescreamer and Denny Ford signed up for the bracket racing and went deep into the eliminations. The Mustard 2 car ran 5's (1/8th mile track) and DQ's car was really working well. This was at a beautiful little 1/8th mile track called Thunder Valley Raceways. This place was just like the tracks were in the 60's, only the cars were faster. There were a ton of old cars there that were running great times and they were all happy to see the 09 run. The people there were really impressed by the times these guys were running. Allen (Bluescreamer) and Denny (62 Biscayne) ran side by side a couple of times. These two cars are a close match I think they each won one. I'm still on the road but I'll post some pictues as soon as I get home.

[Phil Reed]

Got an email from eBay today...........seems they are upset................there haven't been any listings or bids on 348 and 409 parts for the last week!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :cry :?








AND THEY THINK IT'S MY FAULT!!!!!!! :rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl





tee hee!!!!!!!!!!!

(just a joke!!!!)

[dq409]

Hey GUYS !! Just a quick note from my daughters computer.
Yes I`m still on the road !
Just under a 40 hour drive one way !!

I won`t get into the details now,,, but those of you that weren`t there missed out on a historial event !! Three cheers to Phil Reed !!!!! :clap :clap :clap

AND THE DRAGS !!!! WOW !!!!!!

Here`s a link to the track and they mention us and the Convention !!
Thunder Valley (http://www.headsup-racing.com/)


Eight hours to go and I will be home !!!!

A big HELLO TO ALL MY NEW BEST FRIENDS !!!!! ,,,dq

PS,,, The convention was perfect ,,,,, except Aubrey didn`t make it :cry


And "O" YES !!! There is plenty of video of the drags !!!!





.


.

[SS425HP]

Phil, I hate to break the news to you, but they are RIGHT :rofl

Fred

[Loafer409]

Who won the stroker motor?

I'm begining to suspect that stroker motor never existed...

[Phil Reed]

I'll post some info and a couple of pictures tomorrow!! I did not get ANY digital pictures of my own...just too busy. Thought someone might have posted a picture by now. But I took some pictures this morning when I brought it back to the shop.

As I told everyone who asked my "why" they should bring their mile marker sign to the banquet...............TRUST ME!!!!!!!!!! :D :D

[Tony Shaffer]

Since I installed all 573 Horses into the stroker motor I can absolutely verify that it exists. It would have had more but I had to save some for the next motor that I build and I'm only allotted so many Horse powers per month. I didn't want someone to come up real short if you know what I mean. Everything worked out great with the exibition runs on the dyno. The entire week up to the drag strip fiasco was great. I don't remember the guys name that won the engine, but Phil will have it. I do know that his middle name is lucky! He is now the proud owner of one bad 409 street motor for the price of $50.00!
Tony
Day Automotive

[2obnxs]

I didn't get his name, but I know that he had a very, very, nice 58 Impala. It was white but I'm not sure of the interior.


And a pic for all who asked.

[2obnxs]

Oh, and this is what I saw about 3 hours outside of KC. I stopped to put on my rain gear and there they were.

[2obnxs]

Pics of a few and their cars.

Not a very good one of dq, but that's to be expected. :eek: :rofl

Aaron (348NUT) and his 55 with Bob (ww) next to him.

Michael (TMRacing) and Mrs. TMRacing.

Brian (MRHP) waving and his friend Tom I'mwithhim, a Nopar guy.

Also a shot of the Z-11's all lined up for you guys.

[348NUT]

You're helping me fill in some holes in my photo collection. But man that picture of me is terrible! :eek: It looks like I have dq's extra set of teeth in! :D

[2obnxs]

You mean you didn't? :D

[348NUT]

:D Here's a pic of Adam & his awsome Harley (still think he shoulda brought the 59) :p and DonD409 (another great guy! I got to see his tuning and pit crew skills at the drags)

[bluescreamer]

Made it home last evening safe and sound, had clear and dry weather.
round trip milage 2540 miles by way of DesMoines IA.
I'm sorry that more of the guys didn't come up to Thunder Valley, Jim, Denny,
Fred and myself put on a show for the locals that they will not forget. The track made the fans aware that the 409 club was in KC. (6.98 in the 1/8th mile)
I had a great time meeting and talking with all those that were in attendance.
If this convention does happen again, I will be there.
Allen
Blue Screamer.

[oil4kids]

Allen

You and Denny put on a great show and thank you for your effort to drive up to the Bethany track. I have a few video clips of you- your car is beautiful and fast just keep checking my site Im uploading films and photos of the convention


http://www.oil4kids.com/348409conv

[dq409]

Yes there was a dyno engine !! ALL 560 ft lb of torque at 3800 rpm !!!! :eek:

Tony has one of the best shops I`ve ever set foot in and really knows his stuff !!

Some day I`ll have one of his engines in my car !!

I just got home after 40 hours on the road and my brain is toast ( so whats new?)

Now I`m going through all 149 pictures I`ve taken,,,, good night,,,dq

[walkerheaders]

thanx for all the great stories an pics. glad everyone had a good time. I knew i was gonna miss a historical event. i'm sure i'll still have my 09 car next year and hope to attend.
i was scheduled to take 2 of the robot cars to ft. leonard wood missouri that same weekend. so i could'nt make plans to attend any of the convention but the drags on saturday.
work always seems to get in the way of my fun here lately.
anyway, thanx........and keep the pics coming.

[Loafer409]

Since I installed all 573 Horses into the stroker motor I can absolutely verify that it exists. It would have had more but I had to save some for the next motor that I build and I'm only allotted so many Horse powers per month. I didn't want someone to come up real short if you know what I mean. Everything worked out great with the exibition runs on the dyno. The entire week up to the drag strip fiasco was great. I don't remember the guys name that won the engine, but Phil will have it. I do know that his middle name is lucky! He is now the proud owner of one bad 409 street motor for the price of $50.00!
Tony
Day Automotive
===
I actully did belive that it exist before I believed it didn't :D .

How bout filling us in the particuliars of the build up, sounds like a great combination of components... :cool:

[TomO]

I had a great time at the convention. I caught up with Tom K and we spent most of the day visiting / walking around getting paint details and inspiration for Tom’s 62’s. I drooled over the 63’s Impalas and the fabulous Z-11 cars and wished that SOMEDAY my 63’ would be W powered.

Met Travis Horton’s family and I hope to attend the Oct 2nd race at their home track (MOKAN).

I found the seminar that Lamar put on was VERY informative and in the past couple of days I have came up with some questions that I wish that I had asked.

Hayden is a class act – talked to everyone like they were old pals-answered questions frankly-gave is autograph freely to whomever-great guy. Does anyone have a photo of the engine compartment of his car? If so please email it to me.

Donnie’s engine display is awesome and I always find something new to ponder when I see it.

I met Impalaguru and wouldn’t you know it he is working in an adjacent industrial park right here in Lee’s Summit!!!! WAHOO!!!!

Ended up looking for Tripower most of the day and swore that the sharp white and light blue 58’ was his…but it did not have the MO tag???? At the end of the day Tom and I found Roy and his wife and that 58’ WAS his - we had a nice visit.

The Banquet was great and I had the pleasure of sharing a table with Tom K, Bjburnout and his wife Lynda, Loren Bowers (grearhead409), Jimmy Stephens, Jim (awesome convertible) and his buddy aka Martin Sheen. I met so many great people that I have not listed.

What an awesome event!!!!!!

TomO

[CDNpontiac409guy]

I KNEW I would be missing something more than big. You guys sharing the experience here on the board... it actually makes me feel BETTER !

Thanks for posting about it. I will be reading every thread and saving every photo !

[bobs409]

It's making me feel worse. :(

How about holding next years event on the Eastern side of the states? :D You guys that live in MO had it too easy this year. ;) :p

[JimKwiatkowski]

Aubrey,welcome back on line I thought maybe were mad at us :)

Bob,I also would like to see the convention on the east side but KC is at a location in centeral U.S were all members can attend :)

[bobs409]

Well it's too far for me. :(

[tripowerguy]

Well I am useing a computor at a computor store and hopefully he can fix mine. I can tell all who didn't go to the convention that they missed a whale of a show. I can say that the stroker motor was won becuse big tears came to my eyes when his number was called and not mine. Also I didn't stick around the track long enough because I didn't know about going north to Tunder Valley. If anyone is going to MO-Kan for the nostalgia drags Oct. 2 I'm going there. Gotta go I'll be watching but not saying anything until I get this thing fixed. Roy

[CDNpontiac409guy]

Aubrey,welcome back on line I thought maybe were mad at us :)

HEEE HEEE !!!!

HARDLY !

A long TERRIBLE story.

I won't be on as much as usual though... I need to get back to work !

[tripowerguy]

Sorry about your troubles Aubrey, I hope that all goes well now. I have finally got this computer problem solved. The convention was a great experience and I was able to put faces on site members. I saw Terry Prince and we were supposed to get together at the drags to talk about the old days at Pomona and Don Nichleson. Terry if you're out there lets talk about your 1960 project and maybe we can meet at the March meet in Bakersfield in 2005. I really wanted to see some of those cars run at the drags, Blue Screamer, Bill Harvac, The Shaffer car, and all the rest that were there. I'm afraid that next year they won't all show like this year. I would have loved to watched them and not even ran my car. This was as good as it gets. :cheers :beerbang

[dq409]

I can honestly say this was the best event that I`ve ever been to or will go to !!!!

I can`t believe what a great bunch of people showed up !
There were so many of the nicest down to earth people there that even after almost a week I still think of them and this event all day long!

If this is a dream I don`t want to wake up !!

The members I meet made me feel special and I feel I made some life long friends.

DonD, Arron (348nut), Adam (2obnoxous), Allen George (BlueScreamer), Denny Ford and his wife, Fred, Fatride (now this is a fun guy!),the Canadians,oil4kids
MrHP and his U.P. Dodge buddy, Oh man,,, I don`t want to leave anyone off the list but it will go on for ever !! Forgive me for not listing you,,,but your all on my mind,,,

And that special guy ww19581965 !! Hope your dreams come true buddy !!

Also a very special thanks to Michael and Nancy Mason (TMracing) for their great friendship and hospitality !!!

Thanks everyone for the warm and fuzzy feeling you gave me and believe me it will last a very long time!!

This site is like a modern day pen pal. Then after all this time you meet these friends for the first time and it`s like you have known them forever !!

AND the stories !!! All the history that was living and breathing and walking around !!

Somebody pinch me !! :D

Last but not least,,,,,,,, Thanks Phil for all your hard work !!! What an absolutely perfect event !!! ,,,,,, :D dq :D

[SS425HP]

DQ, or rather Jim ( I know you a lot better, and Like Jim, more personal ) I would have to say a BIG DITTO to all you said. Putting a face and a personality to a Sign on name means a lot. DQ could have been anybody, YOU are Jim, my friend. I just wish we all lived closer. Fatride has become Ray. So many others are now names and a face, not sign on names.
Jim, you sure said it perfectly.

Fred

[dq409]

And I must add that caravaning with Paul (garbageman) and his wife Sandy was fun!
Got lots of thumbs up and smiles from others on the road.
Paul put the lettereing on his car to let others know where we were headed so I added the lettering to my car also.

"You came from Oregon and your going where?" WOW !

One other member that left an impression was MrGoodwrench !
What he does for the kids at his school is super !!

Also it was a treat to have Rich Rojeski show up at the convention.
Rich is the builder of the aluminum 409 parts that Lamar uses on his engines.

Rich is a pattern maker by trade and does the pattern work and has the parts cast.
Then he has the parts machined at this time by Lamar.

There will be new machinist coming onboard that will up the production, availability and hopefuly lower the production costs.

Rich has recently partnered with Vince to up the production on these parts and also expand what will be offered in the 690 headed engine parts.
Look to early next year for a new dual quad manifold for our engines that will definitely improve breathing and dramatically increase horse power.

This will be followed by production of aluminum 690 heads !!!

Rich and Vince made some great contacts at the convention to make this all happen.
I will update you as the information comes.

Rich and I had a great time swaping stories as we cruzed to Thunder Valley !
It was like we were back to our teen years again !!!

I hope you got to see the pictures of Allen George standing next to his `58 Chevy as a kid. He looked just like "Toad" from American Graffiti !
And Rich (coincidence?) says he looked like Richie Cunningham !!!! heeee heee

,,,,dq

In Photo: Rich on left with camera, Vince in shorts and hat