The time had come and on Saturday April 26 the 2008 PPG/Street Rodder Road Tour season and the Lokar Tour to the NSRA Nationals South began in a very big way. Our American Speed Company Speed '33 bodied 1933 steel high boy roadster was completed at The Roadster Shop at their incredible new facilities in Mundelein, Illinois. The debut of the Road Tour Roadster was coupled with the grand open of The Roadster Shop and it was a party that saw 400 vehicles and almost 1,000 people show up at the celebration. Roadster Shop owners Neal and Candy Gerber and sons Phil and Jeremy along with their staff greeted the party guests with hamburgers, hot dogs and ice cream. Besides the refreshments, the visitors were treated to a look at one of the finest hot rod, muscle car and special interest build shops in the nation. The Gerber family took over the reins at The Roadster Shop a few years ago and just completed the move from the former location in Elgin, Illinois.
The Road Tour Roadster looks fantastic and drives just as well. Powered by a Ford Racing new Boss 302 the high boy has 450 horsepower to get it down the road. The Heidt's front end smoothes things out on the bumpy Midwest highways. Wrapped in PPG paint, the salt flats graphics are going to have people talking wherever we go this summer. The Coker dirt track tires add to the look and the Wheel Vintiques steel wheels are period perfect. AMSOIL products keep everything lubricated and filtered. The top drops inside the body on the sunny days and electric windows seal things up when the weather gets nasty. The roadster was ready and so were the twenty vehicles and occupants that had signed up for the Lokar Tour to Knoxville.
On Sunday morning we gathered and made the short drive to Heidt's Hot Rod Shop for their annual NSRA Appreciation Day and Safety Team inspection. Almost 100 vehicles arrived at Heidt's and a record 35 cars went through the safety inspection process. It was an emotional day for Gary Heidt who has decided to step down as owner of Heidt's and new owner Marc Price was also on hand to greet the crowd. Gary will stay on with Heidt's in a consulting capacity for some time and will be present in the Heidt's booth at all of the major events this season.
With Heidt's new owner Marc Price in the passenger seat of the Road Tour Roadster we headed to the huge Volo Auto Museum in nearby Volo, Illinois. Multiple buildings filled with collector vehicles and consignment cars share the beautiful grounds with a number of antique and collector mall shopping areas. It is definitely with a stop if you are in the area.
Sycamore, Illinois was our destination for Sunday evening. We are scheduled to get a behind the scenes tour of Auto Meter Monday morning and then head to Manteno, Illinois for a visit to the Rad Rides by Troy shop of Troy Trepanier for an evening get together. Check back here and get all the details of our Lokar Tour to the Nationals South. Watch the pages of Street Rodder Magazine for the whole story of our trip and think about signing up for one of the other seven week long trips we have planned this summer. All the details can be found here on the web site or call our Road Tour Hotline at 1-800-664-1362. We hope to see you on a Road Tour soon!