Those living in New England become very accustomed to the word "change;" whether it be associated with big changes or the fact that the intercity roadway system in Boston is different from one day to the next (thanks to the ongoing mayhem of the "Big Dig," the largest roadway construction project to date in this Country). One thing is for sure, though, change is a very Right Coast thing that must be dealt with each and every day.
With New Year's having just passed by, the time was right to spark up the old heater in the shop and to lay out plans for some new revisions. With the icy temps outside, we got motivated to get busy trying to decide if it was the right occasion to revamp the suspension or to tear down the engine and freshen it up for next season. Hey, thoughts might even circulate in your mind that it's time to weld a snowplow frame to the front of your coupe and to add some snow tires just for the fun of it!
Die-hard rodders always wait with great anticipation for January to break 'cuz it means that the World of Wheels is coming to town to quench their thirst for totally bitchin' horsepower-fueled thunder. This year on show weekend, the weather gods had a high old time playing roulette with the atmosphere; so much so that they delved out equal parts of torrential rain, sleet, snow, ice, sun, and even costal flooding...talk about change! Whatever way you look at it, there was no better way to spend a few days than at the Bayside Expo center for the 29th celebration of this exciting event!
True to form, the gang at Championship Auto Shows worked tirelessly to pull together a grouping of over 350 hot rods, musclecars, bikes, and race cars that were a totally wicked assault on the senses! From exquisite feature cars like Mattel's "dream come true" fullsize recreation of the Twin Mill, to Hanna Motorsport's 2003 Pontiac Firebird Jet funny car, the '67 GTO driven by Vin Diesel in the spy thriller XXX, and a huge display (courtesy of New England Dodge dealers) including the Raminator monster truck, everywhere you looked you were left awestruck. There were also plenty of fresh street rods lining the floor this year. They ranged from true traditional ones like Dan Magane's pissah flatty-powered Deuce coupe to ultra smooth cars like Robert Riviezzo's cutting edge orange pearl '33 Ford roadster. This year also saw the return of customs-with a few primo examples on the display floor for the weekend-that pleased everyone who had a chance to see them. It was a perfect time and place to hang out, meet up with old friends, cruise the swap meet looking for that perfect piece of memorabilia, and grab a frosty and dog with all of the trimmings. If over-the-top horsepower's your game, the folks over at the New England Dragway booth put on a display full of big, bad, blown racers that left a whiff of alky and nitro hanging in the air! There were even scheduled shows featuring the gravity-defying BMX Extreme Team with their high-action bicycle stunts that were really mind-blowing.