From Gear Star Transmissions, we made the short trip to Cleveland and the shop of Barry and Ginny Lobeck. Lobeck's V8 Shop built three of the past Road Tour cars and always has some great projects in the works. From there, it was west to the Cleveland suburb of Berea, the home of Flaming River Industries. Jeanette Ladina and the folks at Flaming River had food, fun, and entertainment all planned out for the evening. The PPG folks were on hand with a display of paint products and the big PPG show rig. It was a long day across Ohio, but boy did we have a blast!
Wednesday's weather was better as we traveled from the Cleveland area to Detroit, Michigan. Our first stop was at the newly formed America Speed Company in Southgate, where we got a behind-the-scenes look at the company's '33 Ford steel roadster project with a retractable convertible top. From there, we made the short drive to Eaton Springs in downtown Detroit. Sandy and Mike Eaton provided lunch and a tour of their spring manufacturing facilities. We then visited the GM headquarters and the OnStar Command Center at the Renaissance Center, which is the jewel of Detroit's downtown. After a great tour of the massive facility, we headed out for Duggan's Pub in nearby Royal Oak. In spite of the heavy downpours earlier in the day, our party at Duggan's on famous Woodward Avenue was a success, with the Shifters Car Club of the Michigan Hot Rod Association turning out in force to help with all the logistics of the evening.
By Thursday morning, it was time to get to the Zoo, as the Nationals North is affectionately called. We did have a few more stops to make. We had been invited to tour Pratt & Miller Engineering & Fabrication in New Hudson, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. We were treated to a tour of the company's incredible facility, where the C6R Corvette, Cadillac CTS-V, and Pontiac GTO race cars are designed and built for General Motors. We were all very impressed by Pratt & Miller's state-of-the-art shop. For lunch, we made a quick stop at Cereal City, USA, where we took a tour and saw how Kellogg's Corn Flakes are made.
It was then on to Kalamazoo and the Nationals North. After stopping at registration, we all traveled across town and had dinner with Bob Rutledge and the crew at Rutter's Rod Shop. It was a great way to wrap up the day and begin a great weekend at the Nationals North. The PPG / STREET RODDER Road Tour #5 was a jam-packed, fun-filled week. It would have been impossible to fit any more stops or any more food and fun into the week.
Our many thanks go to everyone who greeted us along the way and treated us to their Midwest brand of hospitality. Road Tour #5 will be remembered as one fantastic week on the road through the Heartland.