It's show time in Tennessee

[Bill Howell]

Thats right, people have started arriving and it is time for Pro-Touring's first annual Pigeon Forge event. Thanks to Autometer, Popular Hot Rodding and Jeg's we have plenty of goodies to give away. Hats, shirts,jacket and even gift certificates. Frank is here already and Larry and most of the rest of the crew will be coming in tommorrow. I have attached a couple of pictures of my big Protouring logo that I mounted on my shop. When you guys coming find the building with this sign, you have arrived at funville. I wish everyone could make it, but maybe next year. I want to thank Autometer, Jeg's and especially Steve and Johnny for supporting this event.

Let the fun begin.....
Oh, and if anyone needs it, my number is 865.850.8228

[Nine Ball]

You guys have a great time and take PHOTOS! Next time, don't plan it so close to the Power Tour ;)

[David Sloan]

We will be there Friday in the later afternoon, Leave the shop around 4:00 pm headed north. Should make it there by about 8:00pm will give you a call Bill, when we arrive.
Thanks for putting this together.

[69rs]

I'll be headed north in the morning!:woot:

[trapin]

Yeah....next year do it during the GM Shutdown (first 2 weeks in July).

Why? I don't know.....for selfish reasons I guess. :slap:

And yes....be sure to take a lot of pictures.

Bill.....if you need someone to host them, don't hesitate. Send me a disc with the pictures on it and I'll post them up immediately.

Have a great time everyone! :bananna2: :firefire: :git: :headbang: :drive: :Alchy:

[Steve1968LS2]

Cool deal.. I WILL be at the next event :)

Enjoy the schwag I sent and have a great time.. be sure to send me the pics and info asap so I can get it into the news section..

Have a great (and safe) time!!

[Bill Howell]

Thanks again Steve. I got the Jeg's care package today too so everyone will be sporting new hats this weekend.
See everyone soon and Tony, we may be emailing you pictures , pm me the correct link you want them at. :headbang: :headbang:

[rocketman]

have great time maybe next year,i will make down there

[ProdigyCustoms]

We are here. Soon as I pulled in town I heard, then seen a little Fox Mustang making some thunder and sounding good. Mademe want to unload right there. I can't wait to get out riding around tonight. This is a cool cruise spot. Lisa was out cruising her WS6 convertible throught the Smokies this AM, she kept calling me to tell me how great the roads were..
We went and picked up Bill's Malibu today (real nice BTW) and he showed me the track and the cruises morning and night. Fantastic is all I can say. Can't wait.
I'm going to write a summary Larry can use on the board, and take plenty of pics.

C Ya'll

That's Tennesee for, See you later!

[Brandon Miller]

Being a frequent visitor of the Pigeon Forge area, I warn all of you of the PF city police. They thrive on shows there. They don't care who you are. They will ticket you for anything they deem necessary and fine you a crap load because they know you will not come back to fight it in court.

[Bill Howell]

Being a frequent visitor of the Pigeon Forge area, I warn all of you of the PF city police. They thrive on shows there. They don't care who you are. They will ticket you for anything they deem necessary and fine you a crap load because they know you will not come back to fight it in court.

Are we speaking from experiance here :dunno:
Surely one of our finest hasn't given you an award.
The only time I have been stopped was for loud mufflers(3 times) and 5 times on the golf cart.
Brandon is right though, be easy in the city limits. Speed is the biggest issue. If you do get stopped and ticketed, just take it, be nice, and call me. I know a few folks, may be able to help.

[Brandon Miller]

Yep I speak from experience. I was going to the Spring Rod Run and I was pulled over as soon as I crossed the city limits and cited for 3 violations on spot. Their main one was that I have a roll pan on my truck. It doesn't matter that my truck and roll pan conform to the TN state law (I've even had 2 state troopers look at it to see if it was legal and they said yes), they said they don't allow roll pans on trucks in PF. Now how am I supposed to know that when I live 3 hours away?

[zbugger]

They're lying to you. That has to be BS.

[TonyHuntimer]

Have fun guys!

Glad you guys get an event like this.

Maybe next year you can have the event closer to California.

Enjoy,
Tony Huntimer
RaceHome.com

[Steve1968LS2]

ok.. one question..

Is there a track in PF?? Or is this just a cruise and meet?

<-- lost and adrift

[ProdigyCustoms]

Steve, 411 dragway is about a 30 minute drive from PF. We are doing a cruise to the track Sarurday morning where Bill has rented the facility until 2:00 just for Tour in the Hills participants. It's only 1/8th mile but it will still be fun. I reckon it's hard to find enough ground that is flat for a 1/4 mile here. Not many roads go straight without a turn or hill.

Ya'll catch that "reckon" up there, it's rubbin off.

[68protouring454]

sounds awesome guys, have some fun, frank what did you bring up for cars??, hope it is a good time
jake

[Steve Chryssos]

I wish I wuz there!! Have fun guys. Post lotsa pics

[trapin]

I like the Pigeon Forge location. It's nice because it gives us people in the midwest/east coast region a Pro-Touring event to attend. For a lot of us, the Pro-Touring SEMA Dinner is just too difficult to make due to the distance and being during the week and not on a weekend. So this is a nice alternative for us.

But you could always have 2 meets a year. One in Pigeon Forge and then another in California. Actually Nevada or Arizona might be a better choice for a west coast event.

[Bill Howell]

Here is a couple pictures of the early crew getting together on the way to breakfast this morning.

[ssdeuce]

I will see you guys Saturday at 411. I can't wait!

[OLDFLM]

Who owns the black T/A vert???

V/R,
Ty

[Bill Howell]

The 69 camaro and 02 T/A are Frank's
The malibu and 71 vette I claim.
Biscayne is Raymond's (502 Biscayne on board)
The 66(?) vette is Mike's (vintage racer on board)
My old 69 has arrived and a 68 too.
:headbang:

[Steve1968LS2]

Ok.. now put the cars closer together.. maybe in a pyramid shape.. and get somebody in the front to wear a PHR t-shirt.. someone else hold the pt.com logo and snap a pic :)

Looks like fun guys.. get me a good shot and I will make ya famous!!

[Bill Howell]

Not much time between the drag strip activities and supper cruise, but I thought I would put a few pictures up.

[gen3bu]

hey bill,

can you email me some pics and specs on your malibu.
[email protected]

thanks
kevin

[Bill Howell]

Email sent Kevin, any other questions, just let me know.
Here are a few more pictures, including a really cool group of cars during the cruise and my malibu. And yes,we can be had. If you send us shirts, we will advertise for you-LOL

[69rs]

The one one the far right must be four wheel drive! Who would take that thing to a P/T event?!? :screwy:

[Bill Howell]

The one one the far right must be four wheel drive! Who would take that thing to a P/T event?!? :screwy:

LOL Jim, it is a real shame we did not have any 69 camaros here :lmao:
Here are two more that really hauled the mail at the track. Both may appear showcars, but the owners did not mind rubber on the quarters, trust me.

[69rs]

No one likes 69's anyway! Some great cars were there, though!

[Bill Howell]

This is a daily driver believe it or not. Airbags, Coddington wheels, huge tires.....
I look for this one to be in Cruzin Style magazine.
And yes, it made a pass down the track too....

[Wildron]

i can't believe i missed this.i forgot it was this weekend till i seen a bad drop top blue camaro come cruzing thru pigeon forge last night.we had at the exxon.several 4th gens lined.maybe next time.

hey bill we'll have to meet up 1 weekend.there are several of us from highperformancetoys.com from the knoxville area that hang out in the forge a few times a month.we usually meet up at the exxon by the dollywood turn on the parkway

[Bill Howell]

Dang it. I saw you sitting there when I came through too. There was a white camaro convert with you right? My shop is just 1/2 block from where you were. Turn left at the shell and top the hill, rt on singing pines and shop is at deadend. If you happen to notice a 02 t/a convert, black with red stripes, that was Frank and Lisa and Larry. I hate you missed it, we had a blast.

[Wildron]

the vert was mine.no never seen the ta.there are serveral of us that meet there a few times a month.i know where you're shop is. were gonna have to hook up.most of us are into the late model f bodies.but we have several older muscle cars also.we just finished a semi pro-touring 70 elcamino for my father.pics are in my sig.ever see us out stop us.

[Bill Howell]

If anyone in your group is looking for a very low mileage t/a call me, my neighbor has one for sell.I have the particulars listed in the market place section here entitled 1999 Trans Am. Still do not have a price, but true new car.

[Wildron]

you should post it on WWW.HIGHPERFORMANCETOYS.COM. are several members that are into the late model f bodys there.and most are local to the knoxville area

[69rs]

Hey Bill, I have a suggestion. Next year in addition to an autocross course, maybe you could find someone with a portable dyno. I've been to a couple of events with dynos and they always seem to be a big hit. That will give me something to do while they're getting the hourglass ready for my next pass on the strip!:sleeping: I did stomp a BB vette though, didn't I?!?

[68protouring454]

we need a folder with all the pics to look thru, maybe larry can host them, who ran the quickest time??
jake

[Bill Howell]

We are working on that right now Jake. Should be avalible shortly. Larry did not get home until LATE last night so it will take a day or two. Plus, we are going to give PHR first shot at them for the article.
Frank at Prodigy had the quickest et at 6.38 I think and that was with Larry copiloting. Raymond and the Biscayne ran a 6.50 something also.
Complete details coming later when Larry gets around to all the facts and figures he recorded.

[Larry Callahan]

Hello all, Susan and I made it home half alive. What a blast! I will by mid day today set up a place for everyone to upload photos and I will make web pages with them.

[69rs]

Great to hear y'all made it home okay! I'm tired today so I know y'all have to be wasted! I'm just glad it wasn't hot. It gets miserable when it's hot around here!:poke:

[68protouring454]

cool, i will look forward to seeing the pics
jake

[Bill Howell]

Hopefully Larry got some video of the run too. Heck, it only took 7 seconds of video-LOL

[Steve1968LS2]

<-- waiting for my pics and story...

Did you give out all the schwag? Who won the jacket? did I send dyno-sim software?

[Bill Howell]

<-- waiting for my pics and story...

Did you give out all the schwag? Who won the jacket? did I send dyno-sim software?

:secret: humm,I won the jacket. LOL
Franks son Michael's girlfriend, Ashley, won it.
Yes the dyno was sent and giving away too.
All the tee shirts were giving away and we have pictures coming asap. I just got off the phone with Frank, who is still on the way home. He is working on the story and you will have it soon. Larry will send you a short write up too.
Thanks again for all your support Steve and also thanks again to Jeg's and Autometer. As the pictures show, hats are always winners and the gift certificates from Autometer were over the top. While I am thanking everyone, a special thanks to Allen for doing a wonderful job on the dash plaques. I finally had to hide them to be able a save a couple for myself.
BTW if anyone else wants an event shirt, let me know. I have some avalible in most sizes.

[BA.]

What a great time we had at the inaugural Pro-Touring.com event! The Floyd Garrett Museum was over the top too. I **LOVED** that place!! It even had an old garage, old car smell that permeated the air. It was awesome.

The track was having a hard time holding down the power of some of the cars for sure! The red 62 Impala, the black Chevy II/Nova, the Camaro on nitrous!!
The engine in the 62 was just pure music to the ears too. The nitrous camaro rolled in on street tires and after a few slippery passes changed over to some sticky tires for some really impressive runs.

The newer Impala wagon was just crazy!! Big Block power to boot!

Personally, I loved seeing 69Speed's blue Camaro up close. 18" rims, 4-link rear-end, LS1 and the biggest radiator I've ever seen on a street car! :) My car wants to be like that when it grows up. My recent purchase of the DSE Stage III front suspension will help with that!

Too bad I couldn't stick around for the cruise. I had to hit the museum and then get to Nashville for some business before the end of the day!

I sent a bunch of pics to Trapin for hosting. The quality of the pics is decent, but apparently my camcorder still-shot has a hard time with color reproduction. LOL! :)

I'll try to whip up some video tonight.....

PS. Hats off to Jegs, Autometer, Popular Hot Rodding, Bill Howell, etc and all those who chipped in to make it happen!!!


BA
'PT Lex' :)

[Larry Callahan]

Glad you had a great time. Any chance you can send the pictures and or video to me as well? I am building a web page for the event.

I can't wait until next year!!

[CraigMorrison]

Looks like it was a great event! So just out of curiosity, how many cars showed up for the event?

[Bill Howell]

Looks like it was a great event! So just out of curiosity, how many cars showed up for the event?

We had a total of 27 vehicles. A couple were here Friday only and several here just on Saturday. Not all took part in the cruise. We had two break at the track. One serious and one minor. I think out of all the cars there, we had six 69 camaros-who would have guessed-lol and one or two 67/68s. A local friend brought a killer 71 silver camaro. Then we had 1981silverz28's camaro too. So camaros were will represented. I would say most were chevrolets but we had the lexus and a prowler too.
Oh, I almost forgot, the golf cart did a swift 19.09 in the 1/8! It also came in handy for beer, uh, soda runs nightly at the shop.

[Steve Chryssos]

Well, I'm kicking myself for missing the inaugural event. But I'm glad you'z guys had a big time.

[protouring70]

Bill it sounds like the show turned out great. I was on vac. in Florida and I hate that I missed it. I hope to see you in Sept.
Looks like a bunch of nice looking cars too! And congrats with all the sponsors and support you had.
:cheers:

[Jagarang]

I feel kind of bad about not warning you before hand!

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BE ENTICED, COERCED, PERSUADED, OR TRICKED INTO ANY SORT OF DRIVING SITUATION WITH FRANK BEHIND THE WHEEL!!!! IF HE GETS YOU IN A CAR BE SURE HE HAS TO DRUG YOU TO DO IT, or at the least as smart blow to the noggin!!!

If I had been timelier in my precautionary advisement I might have saved you a few years added to the end of your life, as well as NUMEROUS freshly sprouted gray hairs and fingernails, which likely resemble bloody STUMPS after the experience!

[69rs]

I talked to Larry after his "ride". I don't think he will ever be the same! You notice he hasn't been posting since he got back. He probably hasn't stopped hyperventilating!:seizure:

[Bill Howell]

You know, you might be on something Jim. Later that evening he was spotted riding in a convertible,backwards, with his hands over his head and no seatbelts. We better call Susan and have him watched for a day or two. :lmao: :lmao:
The real disturbing thing is there was a certain point he was filming things that should not have been exposed, and did not even realize it :hmm:
Yep, first trip east and we ruin him. :lmao:

[69rs]

things that should not have been exposed
Gotta disagree with that part of the statement!:seizure: :eek:
Maybe you weren't looking!

[ProdigyCustoms]

Well, we are back after our trip, and damn tired. I have to thank Bill. What many may not know is not only did he bust butt organizing everything, but he spent a ton of money out of his own pocket to pull this off. Not only did he pony up for the plaques, track rental, shirts, etc, he even covered the Museum tour! And not only did bill have his killer 72 Vette ready for Larry, he let anyone that wanted to take passes in the Vette and the Malibu at the dragstrip. Our Andrew made 20 passes until he got low reaction time for the men, and then to surprise us all, Michael's girlfriend Ashley mad a couple passes in the Vette, and she does not drive on the street!
Larry, I really appreciated your effort to get ALL THE WAY to Tennessee. 24 hours of flying in 4 days is a lot of airtime, and shows your dedication to the hobby.
I cannot believe the track let Larry ride on those passes! Never have I seen any track that allowed passengers in cars faster then 14 flat, let alone a 9 second car! But Larry, next time I offer you the keys, take them and try it yourself, it is twice as much fun on my side!
You guys have got to know Larry has a lot of balls to take that ride down the dragstrip, but the real ride was on our little "TOUR THROUGH THE HILLS". We got just a whew bit aggressive on the tour, and Larry rode backwards in Lisa's WS6 as we lead the tour. At one point, we pulled off a corner and let all the cars pass for video, then proceeded to pass each car one at a time working our way to the front, overcoming cars running speeds well north of the legal limit, forcing us into triple digits at times. Some of those guy's DID NOT want to be passed, LOL! All the while Larry held the camera, LOL!. Just imagine riding backwards, video camera in hand, slashing through corners, not knowing what is coming, scuffing the tires in most corners, LOL! It scared me and I had the steering wheel and could see what was coming!
Anyway, I wanted to thank Bill and Larry personally. I also wanted to let everyone else we met know we enjoyed everyone's company. It was really a great group of people. We feel like we made life long friends.
Once I get revived from the travel and fun, I will do a full summary. There was plenty to talk about, but right now, I'm tired!

[Larry Callahan]

I feel kind of bad about not warning you before hand!

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BE ENTICED, COERCED, PERSUADED, OR TRICKED INTO ANY SORT OF DRIVING SITUATION WITH FRANK BEHIND THE WHEEL!!!! IF HE GETS YOU IN A CAR BE SURE HE HAS TO DRUG YOU TO DO IT, or at the least as smart blow to the noggin!!!

If I had been timelier in my precautionary advisement I might have saved you a few years added to the end of your life, as well as NUMEROUS freshly sprouted gray hairs and fingernails, which likely resemble bloody STUMPS after the experience!


Now you tell me!!!!!

In all seriousness, Frank was really cool letting me experience my first ever run down a strip, In fact he offered me the keys! If nothing else he's nuts for that. LOL!:screwy:

We made two passes and here is a video clip of the second pass.

What a ride!!!!

https://www.pro-touring.com/events/pigeon_forge/video/larrypass2.wmv

[zbugger]

Nice video. That track announcer sounded funny though.

[Quickstreet]

Had a awsome time in Tenn this week end , Looking forward to doing it again

[69rs]

Hope you have better luck next time, Raymond. Did you fix your motor yet? BTW-your car is awsome!:icon996:

[David Sloan]

Had a blast!!!!
Could not ask for a better bunch of people to hang out with!!!!!
Special Thanks to Bill for putting us up for the night an making this happen!!
If you are ever in Ga. an need a place to stay Bill (You got it)
Thanks everybody for a good time!!!