Without a doubt, grabbing a couple of pals and hittin' the road in your street rods for a day is about as good as it gets. But burnin' up the asphalt with a couple dozen or so fellow rodders for a weeklong cross-country road trip can be the ultimate in street rod fun. Such was the case recently on the first ever ride-a-long version of the 2006 PPG / STREET RODDER Road Tour.
As we're sure you're all aware, for 10 straight years the STREET RODDER Road Tour has been the domain of STREET RODDER's own Jerry "Iron Can" Dixey, who, over that span, has clocked in 250,000 miles behind the wheel of a wide variety of cool street rods, and this year we thought it'd be fun to invite our readers to travel along with us for some good old blacktop-burnin' fun.
The first leg of Road Tour '06 was sponsored by Advanced Plating (one of the nation's premier chrome plating shops) and began at on of the East Coast's largest automotive events, the 16th annual Cruisin' Ocean City, in Ocean City, Maryland. The kickoff show included a daily Cruisin' parade along the Ocean City Beachside Boardwalk, a Saturday night concert held at the Ocean City Convention Center, and closing ceremonies at Ocean City's Beachside Inlet on Sunday. We hit the road Sunday afternoon with 14 cars and 17 participants in tow. Our stop for Sunday night was Virginia Beach and the Norfolk, Virginia, shop of Flatlander's Hot Rods, where Alan Thornton and 25 local rodders were on hand to greet us. Monday morning our journey continued on to Charlotte, North Carolina, and Lowe's Motor Speedway. The track is awesome and we were even able to take a few laps around it in our own vehicles. We then lined the cars up at the start/finish line for an incredible photo opportunity. Brent Vandervort and the folks at Fatman Fabrications were our hosts Monday evening and we were treated to a great tour of the facilities, a really enjoyable and informative conversation, and as an added bonus, a good old-fashion barbecue (there's nothin' like good barbecue after a long day on the road).
Tuesday was a hike; in fact it was a good 400-mile day with our designation being Nashville, Tennessee, where Johnny and Linda Fruend greeted us at their Hunter's Custom Automotive shop for another great evening of fun and food. Wednesday we left the hotel and started our day by touring the Advanced Plating facility and the Gibson Guitar factory in Nashville. Both stops we a blast, and now we know why Advanced Plating's chrome always looks so good and why Gibson guitars make such beautiful music. From Nashville we headed to tiny little Holly Springs, Mississippi, where street rod builder and collector George Poteet treated us to the best burgers in the South and then invited the whole gang of us over for an evening at his farm for homemade ice cream and an eyeful of his massive shop and car collection. When we arrived at our hotel in Holly Springs for the evening, it was hard to grasp all of what we'd seen and learned in that single day of Road Tour #1. Thursday morning we made the 30-minute drive to Memphis where we enjoyed breakfast at one of Elvis' favorite restaurants. We made a brief stop at Sun Records, and then drove down the famous Beale Street section of Memphis. From there we headed across Arkansas, made a stop in Hardy, and toured the automotive museum. One more stop for lunch at Hillbilly Junction, and then it was on to the NSRA Mid-America Nationals in Springfield.
It was a great week on the 2006 PPG / STREET RODDER Road Tour #1. Many friendships were formed and everyone who came along for the ride said they would love to do it again. They will have their chance, since there are five more tours on this summer's schedule. Our next stop is San Antonio, Texas, where Jack Chisenhall and Rick Love from Vintage Air will help lead a group of over 50 vehicles as we head to Los Angeles for the famous Father's Day L.A. Roadster Show. Stay tuned for more coverage of the rest of the 2006 PPG / STREET RODDER Road Tour on both the Web (www.streetrodderweb.com) and in the next issue of STREET RODDER--better yet, gas up your street rod and join us!
We'd like to express our thanks to all who joined us for the first-ever ride-a-long version of the PPG / STREET RODDER Road Tour. It was one of our most enjoyable trips, and the new friendships created along the way are worth their weight in gold. And, though I failed to mention by name (for fear of missing someone) everyone who made the trip, just keep in mind that we'd travel with any or all of you again in a heartbeat--and hopefully we will. And again, as for the rest of you, start making plans to join in on the fun--the new Road Tour is destined to be a blast!
 Our Road Tour adventure began...  Our Road Tour adventure began in Ocean City, MD, at the Cruisin' Ocean City event. It was there we met up with our contingent of long-haulers. The show was a blast; cruising the boardwalk and checking out the thousands of hot rods, classic trucks, and musclecars was a great way to start our adventure. |
 We managed to gather up most...  We managed to gather up most of the gang for a photo op before we hit the road. Everyone was jazzed and ready to rock. This was going to be a heck of a lot of fun. |
 On Sunday afternoon after...  On Sunday afternoon after the Cruisin' Ocean City show, we hit the road on the first leg of our adventure--onward to cruise Virginia Beach and to visit Flatlander's Hot Rods. |
 Alan Thornton and a crowd...  Alan Thornton and a crowd of local Virginia rodders were on hand to greet us upon our arrival. The gang had a great time and we all knew this was just the beginning of a fun and memorable trip. |
 Monday morning we left Virginia...  Monday morning we left Virginia and headed toward Charlotte, North Carolina. Brent Vandervort of Fatman Fabrications met us at Lowe's Motor Speedway and charmed the powers-that-be into letting the crew take a few laps around the track in their hot rods. |
 The opportunity to make some...  The opportunity to make some laps around a speedway that most only get to see on TV was a hoot. If allowed, most of the guys and gals would have continued until they ran out of gas; but alas, they flagged us off the track after a few laps. Needless to say, it was one of the highlights of the trip. |
 We then followed Brent over...  We then followed Brent over to his shop and got the royal treatment. The Fatman crew not only gave us a tour of the facility, but they fed us some of the best barbecue we'd ever eaten! |
 It was pretty much unanimous...  It was pretty much unanimous that we could have listened to Brent all evening; he's so knowledgeable and entertaining that the time just flew by, and before we knew it was time to head to the hotel and get some shuteye in anticipation for what the next day's travel had in store. |
 Here's a shot of this year's...  Here's a shot of this year's Road Tour Chevy. The trip worked out well for all the participants, with hardly anything in the way of mechanical difficulties. |
 That said, breaking in a fresh...  That said, breaking in a fresh street rod via a long road trip is not without some form of mechanical malady. During the course of the trip, we needed to rectify one such situation so we stopped by Lokar for a visit and a bit of mechanical adjustment; the street rod industry is filled with some of the nicest folks! |
 Tuesday the gang headed to...  Tuesday the gang headed to Nashville and Johnny and Linda Fruend's shop Hunter's Custom Shop... |
 ...We were again treated to...  ...We were again treated to a huge helping of Southern hospitality, and of course, more good food. |
 After spending time at Hunter's,...  After spending time at Hunter's, we all headed over to our hotel and, after a few cold beverages, we hit the sack with our sights set on the next day's activities. |
 Wednesday morning brought...  Wednesday morning brought us to Advanced Plating (the sponsor of the first leg of Road Tour '06). This was a real treat seeing just how they go about applying a gleaming coating of chrome. |