Our Tour to the 2009 Eastern National Meet – Windsor, Connecticut

By Ken Bounds

On June 29 our small group of 7 NIRG members returned safely home after our 8-day trek to the 2009 Eastern National Meet.  For the most part, our four V-8s performed well on the 1,900+ mile trip and we brought home “the hardware” and plenty of motoring memories.

After planning the trip for many months, we began June 17 with our traditional drivers’ meeting at Roundheads in Lombard.  At this meeting we went over various plans, maps, and itineraries for the long drive as well as reminder lists of items that needed to be brought along for the cars and for the meet.  Sadly, we did not have time for our traditional trivia quiz; we hope it is back for the drivers’ meeting prior to the Auburn Meet.

Dan & Diane Pudelek elected to leave a day early in their ’53 Victoria for a side trip to Brooklyn, NY, to visit their son.  I just had to ask Dan if he had ever seen the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  Bright and early Monday morning, June 22, Ken & Carolyn Bounds, ’50 Crestliner, Joe & Nell Kozmic, ’37 Coupe, and Joey Novak, ’40 Pickup, met at the Lincoln Oasis to begin the trip east.  The first day’s trip, if long, was rather uneventful.  We had great driving weather, cool and no rain, and arrived at our first motel near Youngstown, OH, mid-afternoon.  Our Crestliner had logged 433 miles.  We had a nice dinner at the nearby Quaker Steak and Lube, which will show up again later in our story. 

On the second day we drove a short distance into Pennsylvania where we met Pat & Barbara Rooney, ’52 Sunliner, Craig & Annette Gorris, ’40 Coupe, and Jay & Jean Rounds, trailered ’36 3-Window from the Northern Ohio Regional Group.  Our caravan from there on to Connecticut with our expanded group couldn’t have been more delightful.  We are grateful to Craig for suggesting it and to Pat for mapping the route.  Two more Northern Ohio couples, who we saw along the road, drove separately to the meet:  Ken & Ruth Canankamp, ’49 Business Coupe and Jeep & Georgene Iacobucci, ’47 Mercury.

The sun was still bright in the sky, but V-8 clouds were looming.  While leading the group, our Crestliner suddenly shut off.  As we coasted off the road I could see we had no battery power.  Fortunately, the fix was simple and fast:  a quick disconnect switch had come into contact with the battery tray and shorted the system.  A few turns of a wrench and we were back on our way.  Incredibly, though, a similar event occurred a few miles down the road, just as we approached a heavy backup due to road construction.  Joey Novak’s pickup suddenly shut down.  This time it was a little more troublesome – Joey’s nearly-new Optima battery had simply and suddenly died.  Jay volunteered to take Joey to find an auto parts store in his modern ride while a few of us stayed with the truck.  They were lucky to find a battery that fit perfectly and we were soon on our way again.

We spent night two near Goshen, NY, after driving 393 miles.  We had a nice dinner with our friends from Ohio and made plans for our departure the next morning.  Day three was an easy 131-mile leg to the meet hotel in Windsor.  Unfortunately, this was also the day that it rained on our parade.  The drive through the super-congested area around Hartford was complicated by fairly heavy rain, but we managed to keep all 6 vehicles together.  After two days and one short morning of driving, we had arrived!  A greeter directed us to V-8 parking and the fun began.

Check-in at the hotel had to be postponed because not all rooms were ready, but we walked past the beautiful ’34 Woody parked in the lobby to the meet registration room.  After receiving our packets and meet merchandise, we spent a little money at the 50/50 raffle and the “your choice” raffle.  Now there was plenty of time to renew old friendships with V-8 friends from all over the country.  We also had some time to browse the swap area, looking for those hard-to-find Flathead items.  I was excited that I was able to add some National Meet gearshift knobs to my collection, purchased from Charlie Schwendler from New York.

While eating lunch we learned that Dan & Diane had arrived with their ’53 intact after two nights in Brooklyn.  Whew!  We were also delighted to see that our long-distance members, Rick, Marissa, and Kim Claybaugh had arrived from Tulsa, along with old friend Don Robbins.  Later we ran into National President Jerry Reichel with fellow Georgia group member Bob Padovano, who had driven their V-8s over 1,100 miles from Georgia, not including some ferry miles for a side trip to Bob’s native Long Island.  Joe Kozmic provided Jerry, originally from Wisconsin, with a Packers jersey with his name on the back.  At the welcome party we spent time with so many V-8ers that we typically get to see once a year, if that often.

After overnight rain, Thursday was the day to go to the cleanup area and begin detailing our V-8s for the Friday concourse.  Carolyn helped me get the Crestliner ready to be point-judged for the second time.  In addition to the usual interior and exterior detailing, there was also the undercarriage cleanup and removal of non-original items, such as the GPS, CB radio, and tollway transponder.  I’m sure the Touring Class guys get a kick out of enjoying a beverage while watching me flailing about under the car.  While this was going on, Nell and Diane joined other V-8 ladies in a brunch and shopping tour.

Because of the time needed to prepare the car, I missed some seminars that I would have liked to attend:  an engine seminar by Mike Moriarty, an ignition seminar by Marll McDonald, and a paint presentation by Ed Spagnola from Colorite.  We did get to attend a judging seminar, as well as the V-8 Foundation meeting, the President’s meeting, and the Judges/Owners meeting.  There was a funny moment during the President’s meeting when Jerry Reichel was talking about the need for National Director candidates.  He noted that he was confident that “Mr. Bounds” would apply for the Midwest opening next year.  Jay Rounds was seen clutching his chest in horror until he was sure he had heard a “B”, not an “R”.

While some folks took an evening trip to a casino, others stayed in the hotel to rest up for concourse day.  It arrived Friday with sunshine, but with an ominous threat of potentially severe weather between noon and six.  With all the beautiful V-8s in place, judging began early and at an accelerated pace.  To be sure, though, the judges took plenty of time to thoroughly inspect each car.  This was only our second time being point judged and you can’t help but be nervous as your baby is examined.  The judges were thorough but fair, giving our Crestliner a score of 982 points.  After our car was judged, Carolyn and I hurried around the concourse taking pictures of the 130 or so beautiful V-8s present and voting for our favorite touring cars.  Most of the guys in our group had already viewed the cars and made their picks.  The pace was frantic as sprinkles began and the “heavy stuff” was near.  Fortunately, the day was not a complete washout, the severe weather never materialized and the sun reappeared later.

During the concourse Nell & Diane participated in the ladies tour, including a tour to Mark Twain Hartford home.  I would love to see it someday.  Back in the parking lot, though, rain was not the only threat.  Joe’s ’37 had begun to drip coolant.  After some work to tighten a lower radiator hose we needed to quit for the day to attend “Cabaret Night.”  The evening included a light meal, followed by entertainment from a terrific ‘50s-‘60s band, Sharkey & the Unknowns.  Their music was quite good and encouraged so many V-8ers onto the dance floor that there was not enough room for all dancers.  Everyone seemed to have a great time and there are sure to be some pictures appearing in the V-8 Times!

On Friday we returned to work on Joe’s ’37, first replacing the lower hose before determining that a water pump was leaking.  Fortunately Joe carries plenty of spare parts and we were able to replace the pump, solving the leak.  Then the car didn’t want to start.  We replaced the coil, spark plugs, and carburetor and got the car running.  Later we determined that the original carburetor was better and we replaced it on the way home.  The successful repairs got the ’37 home without further problem.

During the day the Claybaughs joined other V-8ers attending a driving tour to Connecticut member Don Passardi’s collection.  We hope to have pictures and information about this tour and collection in a future issue.

At the awards banquet all ten NIRG members were able to sit together, alongside the ten folks from the Northern Ohio group at the adjacent table.  We had a great evening.  As the awards were announced, we were pleased to receive a Dearborn Medallion for the Crestliner.  Dan Pudelek’s ‘53 won a 1^st Place Touring trophy, Joe Kozmic’s ’37 took a 2^nd, and Joey Novak’s pickup was awarded 2^nd Place in Touring-A.

After the banquet and on Sunday morning we had to say our goodbyes to many V-8 friends.  We would not be traveling with the Northern Ohio group and said our goodbyes to them with hopes to see most of them in Auburn.  Our trip home would be only two days, so we needed to put a lot of miles behind us the first day.  We did just that, leaving Connecticut, New York, and even the wide state of Pennsylvania in our dust.  The only anxious moment was when we went through an area called the Pennsylvania Wilds where gas stations are few and far between.  As Joe’s gas-guzzling carburetor (which we later replaced) drained his tank to the empty mark, we finally found a station.  Joe’s tank, which he had thought held 12 gallons, took just over 14!  Talk about running on fumes.

After 517 trouble-free miles we arrived back in the same town where we had spent night one – only to find that a large cruise-in was in progress at the Quaker Steak & Lube.  What did we do?  We took our cars down to join the fun.  We were even announced on the loudspeaker.  They were amazed we had driven our cars from Illinois – and overwhelmed when they learned we had come from Connecticut that day.  A steady stream of folks examined our V-8s and we saw a lot of nice cars.

On Monday we began the final 400-mile leg of our 8-day journey.  The trip fortunately was uneventful, nearly void of construction delays, and containing no lines at toll booths.  At the last gas stop we said our goodbyes and made our way home.  Carolyn and I arrived at 1:45 p.m.  We had a great time and are excited to do it all again in August.  Except about 750 miles closer to home!