Bret's road trip blog

[Larry Callahan]

Bret from Air Ride and a few guys are on a pretty cool road trip. Bret is posting to a blog on Air Ride Technologies site. I will copy and paste his posts here when they arrive. If you want to watch it yourself on Air Ride Technologies site and see the pictures follow this link.

http://www.ridetech.com/more/category/road-trips/

[Larry Callahan]

August 13

Welcome to my first blog post! The inspiration for this is my first trip to Wendover Utah for the Bonneville Salt Flats race. The scheduling planets have aligned this year…we are going to Bonneville August 17-21, the Pleasanton Goodguys show August 22-24, and then to El Toro Ca for the SuperChevy Suspension Challenge on August 26th. The hook here is that we are driving our 66 Chevelle the entire trip. Since we are a street/race suspension company I thought it may be appropriate to demonstrate how our suspension will travel 2000 miles across the desert and then see how it stacks up against 9 other manufacturers at the suspension challenge. I will attempt to add to this thread at least every day during the trip with comments and pictures…maybe even video if I can figure it out.

The guys making the trip will be me [Bret Voelkel], Tony Bicknell [one of our first sales/tech guys] Bill Wilder [our Street Rod display guy], Ty Hauer, and Brad Coomer [our hotrod builders/mechanics]. We will be leaving on Aug. 15 and should arrive in Bonneville on Sunday afternoon. We’ll take in the bonneville experience on Monday thru Wednesday and head for Pleasanton on Thursday. After doing the Pleasanton Goodguys show on Friday -Sunday we’ll head to El Toro Sunday night and be ready to race the Chevelle on Tuesday.

For those who will be at Bonneville and/or Pleasanton…make sure to stop by and say hello. Feel free to make sure we haven’t run out of cold refreshments. We are also taking our motorhome so we don’t have to sleep on the side of the road and smell bad after day 2. I know…real hotrodders would drive the Chevelle “naked” with no support. I have done that [Power Tour ‘97]…that is why I don’t anymore.

The REAL “reason” we are driving the Chevelle is the Super Chevy Suspension Challenge. Super Chevy Magazine has invited Air Ride Technologies, Art Morrison, Detroit Speed, Fatmans, TCI, Alston Chassisworks, Roadster Shop, Jim Meyer, BMR and Heidt’s to participate in a day of slalom, braking and autocross testing for an upcoming magazine article. I can’t WAIT! I have chased [and been chased by] the Detroit Speed Camaro for the last couple of years at the Goodguys autocrosses…this is the first time that I will be able to go heads up with the other manufacturers. It will be an interesting day, to say the least!

Until tomorrow…

Bret

[Larry Callahan]

August 16

Well, we are finally on the way to Bonneville! Our target departure time was 12:00 noon. We actually left about 1:30, so we’re actually right on schedule. The original plan was to stop at every state line and take a picture. We dutifully stopped at the Illinois line [about 60 miles] to shoot a picture and do a general check. Everything looks great…except the Chevelle won’t start. OK, we’ve got the motorhome full of tools and parts…except for jumpercables…or a battery charger. We accosted a neighborly truck driver and gave him $50 for his new set of jumpers. We got the car started but found that it was putting out a generous 10 volts at the alternator. So, do we turn around and drive an hour back to the shop or press on to solve the problem on the road?

Our collective male stubborness insisted that we go forward, not backwards. We continued on toward St. Louis to one of our dealers, Old Dog Street Rods. No problem running on the battery until about 30 miles from St. Louis when it finally run out of juice. Score one for bringing the trailer! Yes, we could have resolved this problem eventually without the trailer, but we were on a time schedule and took the lazy way out.

Tommy and the great guys at Old Dog had a new alternator and battery waiting for us and graciously delayed their Friday night booze and booty tour until we arrived and installed the new parts.

An hour later we were on the way again with no further incident. Having the motorhome really makes it nice for eating and sleeping …no more truck stop food or chasing motel rooms. We stopped about 9:00 to eat and watch some satellite TV, then drove another couple of hours until nightcap and bedtime. THIS is living!!

I did get some pictures and by tonight I may be un-lazy enough to learn how to upload them. Until then…have fun!!

[Larry Callahan]

August 17

The end of day one found us holed up in a rest area about 50 miles east of Kansas City.

a little nourishment, a little “beverage”, a little Carlin on the DVD, and we were history for the night. The motorhome sleeps 4…if you pair up. I pulled rank and took the real bed. Bill played the “old man” card and took the couch. Coomer and Tony snuggled on the floor. I TOLD them to bring an air mattress…

Again our original ambitious plan of getting an early start was intercepted by our even more extreme laziness. After showers and a bite of breakfast we were moving at the crack of 9:30. 630 miles to Denver. I can’t beleive that August in Kansas could be this nice…82 degrees and not a cloud in the sky! Some have called this stretch of road boring. I didn’t think it was boring, but it was uneventful. It was perfect until just a smattering of rain as we got to Denver around 8:00. We had aspirations of finding some picturesque campground at the foot of the Rockies, but hunger and laziness [again] dictated a stay at a friendly Wal Mart parking lot. As with the night before, the routine was food, drink[s], DVD, bed at around 11.

I am going to try to add some pictures. As with any road trip, you kinda have to be there…

[Larry Callahan]

August 18

I’m sure you have determined by now that I simply suck at this blog thing. I am much morinterested in living these new moments than telling you all about them…sorry.

On Sunday we were blessed with driving from Denver to Salt Lake City. I have been traveling all over the country since 1987, and I70 from Denver to Grand Junction has to be the most beautiful drive I have ever been on. I was on this stretch of road on the Hot Rod Poer Tour in 1997 with my first air suspension car, my 1970 pro street Mustang. Indescribable! Going from an elevation of 5280 in Denver to well over 10,000 feet in Vail meant that we actually drove through snow on Sunday morning. It didn’t last long…in another hour it was 75 degrees and sunny. The posted 50mph curves gave the Chevelle a brisk workout and gave the motorhome a friggin heart attack. I70 run parallel to the Colorado river for most of the way and is a huge distraction from the normal traffic tedium. If you ever get the chance…

The road between Grand Junction and Salt Lake City is slightly less mentionable by comparison, but inspiring none the less. We picked up Ty Hauer at the airport in Salt Lake and headed for the final hour and a half into Wendover.

I had imagined Wendover to be a serious 2 horse town that simply suffered the annual Bonneville invasion profitably. I was amazed to find quite the gathering of casinos and hotels. The 2 horse town that I had pictured was transformed into a several hundred horsepower convention!

After Bud Lites and high fives all around we hit the hay to prepare for our 6:30 am departure to the salt.

Until then…

[Larry Callahan]

August 23

I have been doing races and car shows since the Car Craft Nationals in Indy in 1979. [anyone remember the dogs on 38th and Shadeland?] I traveled the NHRA fuel circuit in 87-89, did the Offshore Powerboat races in Key West in 91, been to the Woodward Dream Cruise a couple of times with Ford, and had 2 vehicles on the Ford showstand at SEMA. I have to say that setting foot on the Salt at Bonneville was one of the most surreal automotive experiences that I’ve had in awhile. There is no way to properly describe what several hundred thousand acres of dead flat hard salt looks like…so I’ll move on to the stuff I can describe.

We were the guests of Alan Johnson’s camp who was running Bob Johnson’s new XLR Cadillac, and Troy Trepanier’s camp, who was running George Poteets Blowfish Cuda. Since both pits were within a 100 feet of each other it was easy to bounce back and forth. We also spent some time hanging with Chad Reynolds, David Freiburger, and Keith Turk who were running their 2nd gen camaro.

The race course is about 5 miles off of I 80. There is 3 miles of paved road and then you get to drive on the hard packed salt the rest of the way. The starting line is another mile beyond the end of the road, the pits are another 3-5 miles beyond the starting line. I say 3-5 miles not because I’m not sure how far, but because the pits actually are spread out that far down the course! There are over 500 cars running here this week. There are some general guidelines about where to pit, but you are on your for the most part. EVERYBODY has a canopy and lays down tarps under their car to protect them from the salt. [In case you are wondering, yes, this is the same stuff as on your kitchen table…the Morton factory is 10 miles away.]

There are NO facilities…you could just as well be racing on the moon, except that civilization is 20 minutes away. Generators, portajohns, coolers, EZ UPS, and tarps are everyones required equipment.

Alan and Bob had teched the car in on Sunday so they were ready to make a run right away on Monday morning. The required drivers meeting was at 9:00 and the first car made their run around 11:00. Alan got in line on the special course right after the drivers meeting to make his rookie qualifying pass of 175mph or under. [They make you demonstrate your and the cars ability to handle 3 levels of speed leading up to 225mph before turning you loose] Their were 3 courses this year, 2 0f them 5 miles long and 1 that was 8 miles long. The staging process is simple and uniform…get in line and wait…for 3-4 hours. Just like drag racing.

Bob made his 1st pass at 170mph…right on target. Since nothing was hurt he got right back in line for another run the next morning.

Geoge Poteet was running 3 cars this week, a 32 roadster, the Streamliner, and the Cuda that Troy and his guys built. Last year the Cuda went 255mph…with a 4 banger! This year they have upgraded to a new R5 NASCAR engine with a 113mm turbo. The turbo is as big as a damn basketball! They are hoping for 300mph.

Well, my ADD is kicking in again and I’m thirsty. I’m thinking this blog may get ugly if I try to type after getting un-thirsty. Until tomorrow…

[Larry Callahan]

August 25

Wednesday seems to be the day that everyone wants to turn it up. The licensing runs are pretty much done, the tune up runs are done, and the game is on. No one wants to wait for Thursday because to set a record you have to back up your speed with another run that is within 1% of the first. These record runs are usually best done early in the morning, and there are only so many mornings available. By 10:00 the heat is affecting the horsepower and the fast cars are napping.

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!

[protour73]

Larry thanks for posting that..............it's almost like I was there.....eating a grilled bologna sammich, with them!!!

[Larry Callahan]

Got Mayo? LOL

[BA.]

yeah, that's a nice read.


Thanks Bret and Larry!

[Larry Callahan]

August 30

The only thing we need to do on Monday was change out the tires for the challenge and to go over the Chevelle for last minute details. Brad and Ty chased down a tire store to do the tire honors. I kicked back in the bus to answer some emails and to write some stuff for this blog. Bill was on laundry detail.

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…

[jb@ridetech]

there are pictures now!

[Larry Callahan]

Sept 2

It’s summer in Kansas City, and guess what it was hot, but that didn’t stop the crowd from enjoying the holiday weekend at the car show. It was packed! people everywhere, thousands of cars filled the track. Friday and Saturday we held the Street Challenge Autocross. This year we had great battles for the winning times, these people had determination wrote all over their faces! If you have not made it to one yet, make sure you check the next one out. Lets face it, it’s a parking lot with cones in it, nothing to be scared of, just a bunch of hotrodders having a great time. what do you have to loose? No speeding tickets, no unsafe start tickets, and you can Win Prizes! Does it get any better than that. So next time we stop by your town get you butts over to the autocross and have a Blast, oh and i almost forgot the best part IT’S FREE. Anyone who has there car in the event is able to make as many laps as they want. There is only a few more chances to catch a Street Challenge autocross this year! Joliet IL. Sept.19-Sept.21, Pocono PA. Sept.26-Sept.28, Dallas TX.Oct.3-Oct.5, Charlotte NC. Oct.24-Oct.26 We had a great time and hope you all did the same. the winners are listed below.
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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
D Gibson 39.982 ‘36 Auburn
Edd Upp 43.291 ‘32 Ford

[jb@ridetech]

I couldn’t pass up the chance to watch some serious records being set at Bonneville so we delayed our departure until the Thursday morning backup runs were made. Between bad luck, no luck accidents, the air density going away, and then the wind coming up, we decided to hit the road about 10:00am. Wendover rises like an oasis as you approach form the east and disappears just as fast as you head west. I80 across the top of Nevada has to be some of the loneliest road known to man. The 30mph cross winds didn’t agree with the bus either…you could be tossed 3 feet sideways in an instant. Luckily the wind was mostly at an angle from our rear and helped push us somewhat.
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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 ****ty 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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