Anti-Tour 2009? Where are we heading to next?

Hey everybody.. Where are we heading this year? I have to be up front and say that I skipped the 2008 Anti-Tour because it was too local.. LA to OC is a commute.. (Though, I could have jaunted along to SD with everyone but.. blah. It was also just a bad weekend for me I guess..)

Do we have any tentative dates? I've got to make sure it doesn't conflict with my teaching commitments (about 1 weekend a month for academic competitions)..

The Beatercuda has a spray-bomb color change and the Chevelle should be up and running and ready for some action.. If I can't recruit my brother into joining me, I may just drive the Chevelle for its long distance shakedown cruise.. It'll be back on the road for the first time in 5 years

Raj
67 Beatercuda Coupe
71 Chevelle SS
Anti-Tour Veteran 2005, 2006, 2007.. and hopefully 2009

PS: Does anyone have Doug Van Beek's email address? He and Tim have the 74 Camaro and the 71? Gremlin.. I have his phone # somewhere but not his email address..  

I'm hoping to make the next one as well, again in my Skylark. This time pushing another 100Hp and bigger brakes.  Depending on the timing perhaps actual paint too!  
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The Silver Buick- '77 Skylark coupe w/ a Fuel Injected Buick 455&TKO-600, '72 Centurion Conv't - 455w/TH400, '67 T-bird 4Dr (suicide) w/428&C6. Needing to replace a '69 Firebird 400.

http://www.bangshift.com/forum/index.php?topic=6189.0

Suggestions? I liked the locality of the Tour last year. Auto X, Bahrona drag racing and warm beach cities. What's not to like?  

Uh . . . how about it's not a "tour?"

BTW, there IS a "car scene" outside of the Golden State.

And with HRM's mammoth road trip all taking place East of the Mississippi, plenty of Car Crafters will be left hundreds, if not thousands of miles from any touring events.

Oh for the distant days of huge budgets (relatively speaking) under the Petersen empire wherein CC could invest dozens of pages and staff manhours on "Crusin' U.S.A." and "Americruise."

At least "anti-tour" over to Vegas and chow down at Shelby Automotive's new cafe.  It's the 45th Anniversary of the Mustang and the legendary GT350. . . that ought to be worth more celebration than an afternoon in Orange County.

And gas will never be any cheaper.

On the other hand, if CC spends the time saved by staying home in So-Cal working up that B-I-G BLOCK FORD TURBO PROJECT (see the "Were not rich but were not stupid" thread), then I say drive around the block and call it good.      
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460_BBF_Turbo-in-CC (formerly Dr511scj) "This guy has no life other than posting endlessly on carcraft.com." -- Car Craft, July 2005
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October 1, 2003: " I'm thinking a couple of...turbos, blowing through an old Powerstroke intercooler...on a Super Cobra Jet-head 460 would be mad cheap and make sick power."
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"I have no problem with your...talking to several versions of yourself...or pointing out our failure to do a turbo story ...." --Douglas "CC/Rambler" Glad

We skipped the 08 Tour because driving through the greater LA area traffic does not sound like a fun way to spend some valuable vacation time.  Most of us get enough of the commute every day, and your traffic there is far worse than what I am used to.  Open road with a racing event at the destination sounds great.  
  The Tour should not be a large cost burden to CC, find a sponsor, Global West put on a great bar-b-q in 07.   I'll pay for the T-shirt!  
  The Galaxie is pretty much unchanged from 07, just another 4000 road miles and 24 more passes down the strip, (slow year, back surgery).  
  Jim
12.13 @ 116MPH, 12MPG, driven 4000 miles annually, 341 passes down the quarter mile, 46 years old, 4000lbs heavy.  Red, red, red.  What fun!!  
(2)63 Galaxies, 05 Mustang GT

I like long drives and 1/4 mile racing.

Went on the 2007 anti-tour with the wife, and broke at the track and again on the way home.  Went on the 2008 tour with my son, and threw a belt a mile or so from the starting point, but caught-up as they were pulling into Good Guys.  

With that said, I would like another trip to Vegas and to run at LVMS, or a trip out to Bakersfield, Hodel's Buffet and Famoso Raceway for a private track rental.

Since the 2008 Anti Tour, the wife and I drove the 62 to Bowling Green, KY, raced at Beech Bend, and drove it back. It's best 1/4 mile to date is 12.64 on the original engine (bored and stroked)... The engine was just dyno'd and upgraded with a HR cam and AFR 195 CC heads, so I hope to get some decent times out of it.

Wes  
1965 Chevelle Conv
1962 Corvette

"find a sponsor . . . ."

CC's down to 90 pages and they didn't even sell all the ad space in those.

Lots of folks are begging for a dwindling amount of sponsorship dollars.  We're in a horrible economy . . .  

GM and Chrysler are about to die . . .

NHRA pro fields will be smaller and with fewer sponsors . . .

The top seller at the 2009 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale was not even a muscle car, but an antique FORD AIRPLANE (and it barely made to about one fourth of what a top-seller would have garnered a year or two ago). . .

Pristine Boss 429s, Hemicudas, Superbirds, and COPOS are selling for pennies on the dollar compared to last year . . .

Rusty Wallace had to get Robert Yates to throw in lifetime engine repairs in order to unload his ZZ Top-styled '34 Ford at Barrett-Jackson . . .

A fair number of cars in the Daytona 500 will be unsponsored or have one-race "deals" . . .

About 750 fabricators, mechanics, engine builders, machinists, and race team crew persons are out of work in NASCAR country . . .

There might not even be full fields for some NHRA and NASCAR races in 2009


AND JUST WAIT UNTIL OBAMA WHAMS US WITH THE HUGE ANTI-CARBON EMISSION TAXES AND COST-INCREASING REGULATIONS that will be necessary to cut GHGs enough to meet the aggressive reduction targets that his greeniac supporters are demanding.

When you factor in the corporate politics (protecting the Power Tour even to the extent of killing off the Pump Gas Drags), the nervous-nellie lawyers, and the other demands on CC's tiny staff, it's a miracle that CC even organizes an "anti-tour" commute.

Putting together a real sponsorship deal for a real "anti-tour" in a handful of weeks in this economic/political climate would be impossible.  
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460_BBF_Turbo-in-CC (formerly Dr511scj) "This guy has no life other than posting endlessly on carcraft.com." -- Car Craft, July 2005
-------
October 1, 2003: " I'm thinking a couple of...turbos, blowing through an old Powerstroke intercooler...on a Super Cobra Jet-head 460 would be mad cheap and make sick power."
-------
"I have no problem with your...talking to several versions of yourself...or pointing out our failure to do a turbo story ...." --Douglas "CC/Rambler" Glad

There's no doubt both time and money are stretched thin at Car Craft. Perhaps those of us in the Car Craft Community can help with some of the leg work to lighten the load a bit for the CC staffers... not that different than what is done in little league or the AYSO.

CC just needs to let us know what we can do to help out, and we'll get it done...  
1965 Chevelle Conv
1962 Corvette

As much as I love Vegas they recently announced new *** rules at LVMS for midnight mayhem that make most cars illegal. You cant have an aftermarket power adder, no tint, and no slicks. There are a couple of other stupid rules that I cant remember but basically I cant run any car that I own.  

Those rules are stupid. They were probably written by some insurance company hack.  No tint in the middle of the DESERT!  No slicks at a DRAG STRIP!  No forced induction or nitrous!

[Note that they haven't updated their website for these new rules http://www.lvmsstrip.com/midnight.cfm]

if all of this is true, there's not much "mayhem" left anymore.  
http://speedzzter.blogspot.com

What is happening to us these days? When a multi million dollar magazine can't scrape up enough dough for a cruise? It seems as though all we want to do is drive our cars somewhere so we can beat the crap out of them, either on the way (100 mph+) or at a strip (100 mph+) and we as adults know somebody will do something stupid and that is why we still do it. I know driving fast is dangerous, but I still do it. We all think we can do it. We wouldn't have built the cars we drive the way we have if we didn't want to drive them. This isn't about trailer queens or bubble wrapped tires,we want some place to go and have fun getting there and while we are there. Bakersfield is an idea. Open road for quite awhile, dragstrip , food and hotels around. My car gets about 10 mpg and I would drive there and not *** about it. C'mon Car Craft, get off your ass and do something for us!  

Here is where i read the new rules http://www.lvms.com/news/strip_news/529515.html  

Sorry, I did not mean to make getting a sponsor or planning an Anti-Tour sound simple or easy.  However it is part of what the magazine is about.  Getting together provides support and inexpensive feature cars and at least one feature article.  The staff that participated also seemed to be having fun?

The rules for Midnight Mayhem at Vegas may not suit everyone but my car is good to go, a lot of the cars that went in 07 would probably pass also.

No pressure Glad.  Where ever you would like to go, if it remains a little too urban for me there are other ways for me to get out on the open road and drag race.

The magazine is great no matter how the Anti-Tour works out, read it cover to cover the same day it arrives.  The articles on FE Fords are so greasy and thumbed through it is almost impossible to read them.

Thanks,
Jim  
(2)63 Galaxies, 05 Mustang GT

Although I really enjoyed the Autocross last year at Goodguys, I do have to admit we need more of longer drive included. Maybe Goodguys on Saturday and Famoso on Sunday if the track is operating.  

...For me, it's all about the drive and the friends along the way.. If I don't get to see Doug and his son, Yowzah, UK Nick, Rebeldriver, etc.. then what's the use of dragracing? If I want, I can hop on the freeway and get to Irwindale.. But, that isn't the same as the camraderie getting there.. I *loved* LA->Phoenix... Vegas was alrighty, but the heat had me nearly dead right when I got into town.. I had to skip the racing because I was so out of it..

But, regardless, even if it isn't sponsored, I'm in for meeting at a parking lot near the CC offices and driving like hell somewhere for the weekend..