2008 Street Rodder Road Tour- Leg VII: The Sacramento Vintage Ford Tour

On Tuesday the wharf in Santa Cruz was the perfect place for us all to gather for lunch, with many choices for food. The old Santa Cruz Boardwalk and amusement park was just across the water and the sights and sounds of the sea lions arguing gave our brief visit some local flavor. After lunch we posed for a group photo before rolling out and heading for our destination of South San Francisco and Pacifica. Traveling with the group on the trip were STREET RODDER Publisher Tim Foss and his wife Lynette and former STREET RODDER Editor Tom Vogele and his wife Deb. Tim was driving the yellow 2004 Road Tour roadster and Tom was in his 1997 Road Tour McMullen clone. It was fun for me and my wife Mary Ann to roll along with two other cars that I had spent so much time in on other Tours.

Our first stop in South San Francisco was the offices and studio of The Rodder's Journal. We were greeted by the staff and given a tour of their facilities. Chasity Smith was our guide as we were shown the photo studio where most of the great photos from Steve Coonan and crew are taken. It was interesting to see where the fantastic photography of TRJ originates.

From TRJ it was a quick five-mile trip across town to the facilities of Sanderson Headers and Roy Brizio Street Rods. Owner Donna Smith greeted us at Sanderson Headers. Sanderson Headers has been the official header of the Road Tour for a number of years. Donna gave us a tour of the Sanderson manufacturing facilities, and all of the Road Tourians received a very cool metal Sanderson Headers sign. It was a short walk next door to the Roy Brizio Street Rods shop. Roy greeted us out front and gave us full access to his shop. Customer projects in various stages of assembly filled the facility. Included in the cars being worked on were a shoebox Ford and Chevy pick-up owned by musician Eric Clapton. It was great to see where all the fantastic Brizio creations originate. Sanderson Headers provided the pizza for the evening and Brizio Street Rods provided the facilities as the Road Tourians enjoyed dinner and strawberry shortcake with some of the most creative, energetic, and successful folks in our street rod hobby.

The ocean waves could be heard from the windows of our rooms on the beach in Pacifica Tuesday evening. Some of the Road Tourians even spotted a whale in the ocean. It had been another great day on the Sacramento Vintage Ford Tour. There was much more in store for the Road Tourians on the Sacramento Vintage Ford Tour as we made our way to the NSRA Golden State Nationals.

On Wednesday morning the Tour day began in Pacifica, California. It was time to continue our trek to the NSRA Golden State Nationals. Pulling out and heading north we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and made a brief stop at the vista point at the north end of the bridge. From this spot you get an incredible view of the skyline of San Francisco, the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge that we just traveled across. A few miles north of the bridge we cruised through the town of Petaluma, where many of the scenes from American Graffiti were filmed.

Our destination for lunchtime was the beautiful home of Glenda and Steve Castelli just north of Santa Rosa. Steve is a longtime car guy and owns the yellow hot rod Willys that he has campaigned on the nostalgia drag racing circuit for many years. He also has amassed an incredible collection of automobilia and nostalgia items that has no rival. Gas station items, pedal cars, bicycles, and neon fill four buildings on the Castelli homestead. Glenda prepared a wonderful lunch for us and all of the Road Tourians appreciated the hospitality of Steve and Glenda Castelli.

Phil Smith from Flowmaster met us at Steve Castelli's in the Model A pickup that he has had for thirty years. Phil acted as our tour guide as our day continued in the Santa Rosa area. It was a short drive to the hot rod shop of Vern Tardell. Vern is a guru when it comes to traditional hot rods and Flathead motors. The shop was filled with project cars in progress and tons of vintage Flathead parts, early speed equipment, and great vintage tin. Vern took the time to show us around and talk to us about some of the cars that were in progress. It was very interesting to talk to a man that has been producing hot rods for over twenty-five years in a style that has just recently enjoyed such popularity.

From Vern Tardell's shop we made the trip south to the Santa Rosa location of Cotati Speed Shop. Owner Zane Cullen greeted us and gave us a personal tour of the facilities. There were a number of projects in the works, and the metalwork and fabrication was incredible. Flowmaster hosted supper at Cotati Speed and it was a great way to wrap up a very full day on the Sacramento Vintage Ford Tour.

On Thursday the time had come to get to Sacramento. We had been invited to stop by the huge retail store and warehouse of Sacramento Vintage Ford, who was our Tour sponsor. We were greeted by owner Darold Kohout and given a tour of the beautiful facilities. Sacramento Vintage Ford carries parts and accessories for most Ford cars from 1909 to 1948 and Ford trucks from 1928 to 1974. They also have a retail showroom that features a working diner and an amazing selection of hot rod parts and accessories. After the tour we were treated to hot dogs and hamburgers served up by the Sacramento Vintage Ford staff.

From our visit at Sacramento Vintage Ford we all headed to registration for the Golden State Nationals at the headquarters hotel. In its 7th year, the Golden State Nationals brings over 1,400 street rods, muscle cars and customs to the Cal-Expo Center. The STREET RODDER Road Tour hospitality tent was the headquarters for the participants who were ending the Sacramento Vintage Ford Tour, and also for those who were beginning the NHRA Wally Parks Museum Tour to the California Hot Rod Reunion in Bakersfield. Many folks had signed up for both of the weeklong tours.