MISSISSIPPI STREET ROD ASSOCIATION

NEWSLETTER May 1997 No. 123

MSRA web site address. http://www2.netdoor.com/-samhowell BITS & PIECES We were saddened to hear of the death of NSRA founder and street rod pioneer, Gilbert Bugg, in Memphis last week. I'd met him a few years back through Paul Acey, and admired his work and development of the National Street Rod Association. He will be missed Last April 6, Joe, Steve, Wayne and I went down town to watch the Kyle Petty NASCAR charity motorcycle tour come in on their first stop of a run from Texas Speedway to Bristol Tennessee. Winston Cup drivers Kyle and Richard Petty, Geoff and Todd Bodine, Morgan Shepard, Lake Speed and Harry Gant were on hand as well as top Ford engine builder Robert Yates. Race winning crew chief Buddy Parrot along with radio personality Robert D. Raiford were also on hand along with about 80 more riders. It was great to get to mingle with these NASCAR stars and talk to them about racing. Two of our own club members, Charlie Murray and Sam Hupperich rode their motorcycles over to Louisiana and joined the tour in to Jackson. They said these guys rode their motorcycles about as fast as they drive their race cars, running Interstate 20 at 80-90 miles an hour Our condolences to the family of club member Paul Zabaldano on the death of his wife, Connie, in April. Also condolences to Freddy Waters on the death of his mother. Our thoughts were also with Paul and Peggy Acey as their oldest son Mike underwent triple bypass heart surgery last month. Mike is out of the hospital and doing fine. Also club member Sam Hupperich had hernia surgery recently Went to the wedding of Josh and Tammy Smith. Y'all should have seen T-Tommy. Cleaned up really good. Looked like a penguin. When they got to the part where he was supposed to hand Josh the ring, I noticed some sort of deal going on but couldn't figure out just what it was. Found out afterwards he handed Josh a big lockwasher instead of the wedding ring. Ricky McGuffie was on hand too. Understand he was under orders to catch Josh in case he got cold feet and tried to escape. First wedding I'd ever been to where I got a dash plaque. Bo Laird was there too. He was pre-registered so we got real good seats where we could watch Cynthia cry. The goodie bags weren't much. Mine only had some bird seed and rice in it The Round Ones, Jimmy Creel, Joe and Steve Thomas, Paul Acey, Gene Purser, and Freddie Waters drove their street rods to Knoxville for the South Nats. The Siffords, Pittmans, and Zabaldanos also went. They all made it back in one piece, although Paul had to make some roadside repairs when a ballast resistor burned up on his pickup. Some of the others who rode along with them had various problems. T-Tommy lost an axle bearing in his pickup and had to tow it home. Can't fmd those Jag parts just anywhere. The number of rods on hand was again a record ( over 3800) and I don't know where they can put many more in Chilhowee Park Roundman, Don Wade, Wayne Thomas, James Pittman and Brian Scurlock drove their cars to the Greenville run. I tagged along with Brian just to get away from my car for the weekend. Brian (in Kathy's Camaro) won a sweet sixteen trophy, so did James Pittman, Don won the Klassy Kruzer's club pick and all got a sponsor trophy. They had about 100 cars. This was a fun run and we all enjoyed ourselves. I'm not sure of the exact amount, but the River City club collected a couple of thousand dollars for the St. Jude Hospital Hey we did it in McComb! MSRA won the club participation award. Round man, Danny, Jimmy Creel, Sammie, Kim, Wayne, Brian, Gene, Joe, and I drove our rods through the rain to attend. We did OK on the awards side also. Brian won two game trophies and Miss Earle's sidekick Matthew, won one of the kids games. Everyone, even Critter, won a sponsor trophy. Round Man won a sponsor trophy from-of all people-SKINNY'S auto repair. Kim's 34 won favorite coupe, Joe Thomas' 34 won favorite trailer, ladies choice, and a top 25 award. Also placing in the top 25 were Half Round and Wayne Thomas. Brian's pickup won the

pro-street trophy. I won the Klassy Kruzer's club choice plaque. When it came down to the final two on the wipe out game $$, Sammie Howell and Sherry Fisackerly were the finalists and decided to split the winning $500. It rained going and rained coming, and even rained a good bit of the time while we were there, but the Dixie Rodders went right on with the show and we all had a great time. They had a record number of cars in spite of the rain. Looks like the Fat Boy Psychic would have forseen this rain and arranged for better weather. Somebody said his hot line must have gotten wet and shorted out. Apparently one of the club members there works in a local plant that makes ladies underwear. Everyone's goodie bag contained a pair of bikini style. The rod run was immediately named the Panty Run. Round man said Cherrell Grogan said she'd take those that anybody did not plan to use Want to rock to the oldies? A new station in Jackson, WIIN on the AM dial at 780 has gone to a 50's format and plays 'em all day long. As they say on their promo, set the dial, tear the knob off and throw it away. I welded mine. Beach Boys, Shirrelles, Buddy Holley, Little Richard-great stuff from the days when times were so much simpler. Being a new station, they have not sold much commercial time yet, so the music is almost constant Gets so good I have to slide out from under the street rod once in a while and do a step or two. Hope Joe Thomas doesn't look over here while that's going on. Hope they sell some commercials so it can stay on the air. When you get my age, nostalgia gets very very important Notice of two new events just came across my desk. Vic Boggs tells me they are having a car show as part of the annual Florence Day festivities May 17 at Hemphill Park in Florence. There will be a parade, carnival rides, live entertainment and more. Call Vic at 939-4094 for details Also, Peter Schwab sent some fliers on the car show to be held at the annual Broiler Festival at Gaddis Park in Forest, Mississippi on Saturday June 7. Entry of $15 gives two passes to the festival. Plenty of good BBQ chicken, dash plaques, sweet 16 trophies, live entertainment, 100 arts and crafts booths. Registration from 8 to 11 a.m. with trophies presented at 3. I have entry blanks for this show. For details call Peter at 469-4799.

GARAGE SCENE Everybody went pin-stripe crazy at McComb. Gene and Joe both had stripes put on their rods at McComb Joe also had the pink panther painted on his trailer. Sammie had some stripes and graphics painted on his '34. For some reason part of it actually came off on the rainy ride home That 12 hours of rain at McComb wet most everybody's car in and out. Anybody that tells you their street rod doesn't leak is usually stretching the truth a bit. Talked to several people who had their cars in the their shops with fans or heaters blowing to dry out the wet floors, etc. Mine didn't leak, it poured in. Fortunately I only had the metal floor to worry about Steve Thomas has a new set of wheels. They are solid with small caps and thin beauty rings Round Man and Mike are still thrashing on Mike's pickup. He bought a set of wheels and tires in Knoxville. You should have seen the roadside repair job Roundman did on his '40 Ford panel truck at Greenville. The alternator bracket broke on the way there. He took a 9/16 end wrench and a piece of threaded rod, stuck them together, put it on the alternator adjustment bolt, wedged it against the fender well, and hit the road again. His guardian angel has got to be working overtime.

MISSISSIPPI NSRA APPRECIATION DAY SET FOR JULY 5 Last week I sat in on a meeting with state NSRA rep Chicken Willie Smith, Hazlehurst Mayor Randy Kimble and Chamber of Commerce Chairman Crosby Tanner, where details were worked out on this year's NSRA Appreciation Day. The town of Hazlehurst came to us wanting to sponsor some type of street rod event this summer. The rods that came through there on the Frames-N-Thangs shop tour cruise last February really attracted a lot of attention. So the mayor had been after us to come back. When told about the NSRA appreciation day, they offered to host it. After we discussed it with them, they really got excited about it and have begun to make big plans. So on Saturday, July 5, we invite you to come to Hazlehurst for a day that promises to be a fun filled one. The site, Lake Hazle, is located in the middle of Hazlehurst just behind the Wal-Mart store on state highway 28. Highway 28 is at exit 61 off Interstate 55, about 30 miles south of Jackson. The several acre lake is stocked with bass for those of you who want to fish.

There is a brand new pavilion on a little peninsula out in the lake where we will gather. A paved parking lot adjoins the lake for parking your street rod. Admission is free. Each entrant will receive a goodie bag from the Chamber of commerce with a coupon for free hamburgers and hot dogs. There will be trophies presented by the mayor, other city officials, and merchants, as well as door prizes donate by local merchants. They are arranging for entertainment, some kiddie rides and no telling what else, as the town plans to really get into it to make us feel welcome. There will be special rates at the local Ramada for any of you who want to come in on the Friday before. So it looks like this will be a big day for NSRA and street rodding in Mississippi. Things will kick off at 10 a.m. and wind up about 4. Each club is encouraged to come and be responsible for one game. Provide scorekeepers and a trophy for the winner of your game. So make your plans now to be there, support Chicken Willie and Sammie Howell our NSRA rep. and inspector, and help give us a large number of street rods for the folks in Hazlehurst to look at. They will have a big welcome for us. NSRA pins will go to each entry along with a dash plaque. NSRA Safety Inspections will be going on too. Our bunch here in Jackson has talked about a caravan down there Saturday morning. All clubs to the north, east, and west are invited to join us. All the clubs on the Gulf coast are encouraged to caravan in from the south. There's nothing more fun than a two mile stretch of street rods going somewhere together. Any of our friends in Louisiana and Arkansas who read this are also invited. We sure would like to bring 100 or 150 rods to this little town. We plan to give it big coverage in Street Scene, too, so come on and join us. We'll have more details as it gets closer. If you have any questions call C.W. or Sammie or me.

1997 CALENDAR OF EVENTS Florence Day car show. Hemphill Park. Florence, Mississippi Spring Fling Rod Run. Covington, Louisiana pre '69 Silver Dollar Rod Run Pigeon Forge, Tennessee Reservoir Rally Car Show by Camaro Club. Old Trace Park 15th annual Moonlighters rod run. Minden, Louisiana MSRA club meeting. 7 p.m. at Jerry's Fish House in Florence

Broiler Festival car show. Gaddis Park. Forest Mississippi open 19th DIXIE RUN at HOLIDAY INN in JACKSON MISSISSIPPI Noccalula Falls Rod Run Gadsden Alabama Klassy Kruzers Rod Run . Crossett, Arkansas pre '66

NSRA APPRECIATION DAY, Lake Hazie, Hazlehurst, Mississippi NSRA Southwest Nationals, Fairgrounds, Shreveport, Louisiana 10th Annual Autorama at Coast Coliseum. Biloxi, Mississippi Rod & Custom Americruise '97 to Springfield, Illinois Catfish Run Miss. Delta Street Rods. Sardis Mississippi Super Cruise by Camaro Club. Sonic Drive-in on County Line Road NSRA Nationals, Fairgrounds, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Rude & the Dudes rod run II . Biloxi Ms Herrin Gear Invitational Car Show by Camaro Club. 155 North 19th R.O.D.S. Labor Day run . Baton Rouge, Louisiana Cruise to the Creek. Alabaster, Alabama Pre-'73

Shades of the Past Rod Run XV. Pigeon Forge, Tennessee Super Cruise by Camaro Club. Sonic Drive-in on County Line Road 9th Ole Brook Cruisers rod run. Brookhaven, Mississippi Singing River Rod Run . Biloxi, Mississippi Shelby County Street Rods rod run. Memphis, Tennessee

MAY 17 MAY 16-18 MAY 16-18 MAY 17 MAY 23-25 MAY 24

JUNE 7 JUNE 13-15 JUNE 20-22 JUNE 27-29

JULY 5 JULY 11-13 JULY 18-20 JULY 18-20 JULY 25-27 JULY 26 JULY 31-

AUG 3

AUG 8-10 AUG 9 AUG 29-31 AUG 30

SEPT 5-6 SEPT 6 SEPT 12-14 SEPT 19-21 SEPT 19-21

SEPT 26-28 Queen City Rod & Custom Rock & Roll Revival. Meridian Mississippi

OCT 3-5 OCT 9-12 OCT 10-12 OCT 17-19 OCT 24-26

NOV 28-30

Arkansas SRA rod run. Lake DeGray, Arkansas Cruisin' the Coast car show & Music fest. Various Gulf Coast venues Ole South Rod Run V West Monroe, La NSRA Southeast Nats. Tampa, Florida Halloween Fun Run. Street Rods Ltd. Tupelo Mississippi

Turkey Run. West Fla Street Rods. Pensacola, Florida

DEC 13 Toys for Tots Santa Cruise. Singing River Rods, Biloxi Mississippi

1998 JAN 23-25 6th Annual Winter Rod Run, Diamondhead Resort Inn, Diamondhead , Mssissippi

MAR 13-15 Parade of Rods 98, Mardi Gras Street Rods, Houma, Louisiana. Quality Inn

TUESDAY CRUISE DATES OK you guys, I DROVE my street rod to the Tuesday cruise April 29. The rest of you except Freddie Waters did not. What th...From now on, no excuses except bad weather. If you ain't gonna cruise in your street rod, then change the name of the thing to Tuesday eating meeting. A cruise is something you go to in your street rod. May 6 Jerry's Fish House in Florence May 13 Scotties Restaurant on Terry Road May 20 Wynndale Steak House on Spring Ridge Road May 27 Sonny's Bar-B-Q on Terry Road June 3 Jerry's Fish House in Florence

DIXIE RUN UPDATE Do you have your trophies started-or even maybe finished? Do you have your game ready? Have you collected your door prizes? Have you sold a sponsor trophy yet? If the answer to any of these is negative, just take a look at the calendar. Dixie run is about one month away. Entries are coming in every day and the motel continues to fill up. Even though our car count looks at this point like it may be down a little bit this year, we still owe it to everyone to put on a quality show for those who do come. Goodie bag packing will be June 8 at Joe's house. A work day is being planned for some cleanup needed at the motel grounds and the date for that will be set at next club meeting. Let's get busy. We have some nice goodie bag stuff and door prizes from Heidt's, Painless Wring, Borgeson Joints, Weld Wheels, Summit Racing, Speedway Motors, Edelbrock and others. Frames-N-Thangs and Wheels of Time are two of the vendors expected to be on hand. The pinstriper from Montana has sent tentative plans to be here. Pre entries have been received from Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, and Arkansas. If you haven't made you room reservations call 355-3472 during the day and ask for Linda in reservations. She'll help you get the rooms you need.

NEXT CLUB MEETING Saturday night, May 24 at Jerry's Catfish House in Florence, there will be a MSRA club meeting. This will be a planning meeting for Dixie Run where the rest of the loose ends will be finalized, so it is very important that YOU be there.

THE VIEW FROM NEXT DOOR-AGAIN Ok here's some more stuff Joe Thomas, my next door neighbor, insisted go in the newsletter. Keep in mind that this comes from a man who spent an hour trying to find our why his '34 Ford headlights would not shine on his garage wall last week. He grabbed battery charger, voltmeter

and shifted into panic mode, (we were pulling out for McComb) only to discover that he had not taken the headlight covers off. "On Monday, April 21,1997, while working on my new driveway(also known as a tomato patch) things appeared to be going fairly normal. The half-naked(fenderless) 38 Chevy next door was sitting quietly outside its home(shop) soaking up a little afternoon spring sunshine A short time later as I glanced southward again there appeared on the left side of the RED FLASH two pairs of blue jeans and four tennis shoes. A natural assumption was that these upper halves of these bodies were down in the engine and not visible. Seeing these two artists at work from this

direction immediately brought to mind the old anti-drug slogan SAY NO TO CRACK. After many repetitions of cranking, revving up and stopping the engine, a pair of eyes half hidden under a mess of grey hair popped up and screams "What kind of distributor is this anyway?' Its an Accel, came the reply from a little bald head still tucked between the carburetor and the firewall. "This thing's got an allen screw adjustment inside the vacuum advance hole" HARK! a discovery equaled only by the invention of the A bomb. So after a few turns of this secret device and a little valve adjustment, this Mona Lisa of street rods was again dashing up and down the street at breakneck speed sounding even better than before.. But then how would I know, since I am not a nosy neighbor and hardly ever notice what goes on around here."

A PERSONAL NOTE I was going to write a story about my first trip in my newly finished street rod. About how hard Brian and I worked on it those two days prior to McComb. About how I was so tired he had to drag me out from under the car and help me stand up Thursday night. How at 8 a.m. the morning of the rod run there were no still fenders, grille, or hood on the car, yet it rolled in to McComb at 3 that afternoon. How we left here with no windshield wipers-in a steady rain-in a car that had never been out of sight of my shop-just me and Critter with a cardboard box full of tools scooped up off the shop floor at the last minute; and package of dog food. How numb my eardrums were from the 80 mile drive with the exhaust echo roaring around inside of that metal can with no upholstery or insulation at all. How Critter climbed up in my lap ( there was only one seat in the car) to escape the puddles of rainwater that were accumulating on the floor wetting the shop towels I'd thrown down for him to lie on. And how I choked back the tears when I rolled off the interstate to see ten or so of my best friends in the world cheering my arrival at the motel parking lot. God, Y'all just don't know.... But I guess I'm gonna just keep all that here in my heart and mind and savor the memories of that day. It was special. Big time crazy special.

But I do want to say a special thanks to all of you who stuck with me, harassing, helping, giving advice, giving me parts, and even just outright GIVING me one of your street rods to drive to events several times while mine was down. Sammie Howell, Joe Thomas, Mike Chambless, Roundman Chambless, T-Tommy Smith, thanks for the rides. It kept me going. Who else in the world but street rodders would do a thing like that for a friend. I hope I can return the favor some day. And to Paul Acey who hauled that ol car all over Jackson on his

roll-back wrecker so I could get stuff done to it before it was driveable. Thanks Paul. And to my chief critics, Jerry Mowery and Larry Crain who harassed me unmercifully for three years at all hours and at every possible occasion, I still love y'all-it was fun. In spite of all the digs over the years Larry and Jerry were the first two that led the cheers and ran up to shake may hand when we got there to McComb. Who y'all gonna talk about now? I'm gonna have a party later this year for those who did NOT harass me about the car in their newsletters, and Randy Wilson will be the only guest. Thanks to my wife, Charlotte , for putting up with those boxes of parts in every closet and the set of front and rear fenders that occupied the bed in the spare bedroom for months. And to my slave driver son-in-law Brian who kept after me and kept after me until we got it done, a billion thanks for being so patient with your sometime grouchy ol' father-in-law. I'd have NEVER made it without you, Brian.

Til Next Time Drive Carefully

* STREET RODS * STREET RODS * STREET RODS *

/0tfi anrzaaf

MISSISSIppI N.S.R.A. APPRECIATION DAY

SATURDAY, JULY 5, 1997

10 a.m. til 4 p.m.

LAKE HAZLE

HAZLEHURST, MISSISSIPPI Lake Hazle is located in downtown Hazlehurst Mississippi just off state highway 28. Take exit 61 off Interstate 55 , approximately 30 miles south of Jackson. Drive east on highway 28 about three tenths of a mile, and turn south at the Wal Mart store. Lake Hazle is behind Wal Mart. The activities will be held on the south side of the lake. The Mayor and town officials of Hazlehurst have invited all Mississippi street rodders to their town and plan to roll out the red carpet with plenty of food, prizes, trophies and fun. This will be an event the whole family can enjoy, so come bring your street rod for a full day of fun on this holiday weekend.

****** MAJ'OR'S TIMMY ****** SUONSOIR TIPOID1-111ES ***** GAMES ***** FOOD ***** GOODIE UAGS ****** UAW PLAQUES ****** NSRA FINS ***** DOOR IDIRIZES ****** INSUA INSPECTIONS ***

KIDDIE IRIDES "*" I-IUGIE STREET ROD SHOW FEATURING STUFFY RODS FUCA AFL OVER TI lE STATES OF MISSISSIIDIDI AND LOUISIANA

IALL FREE TO REGISTERED STREET RODS] For info contact: "CHICKEN WILLIE" SMITH, STATE N.S.R.A. REP.

601 833-4606 or 601 922-9140

A National Street Rod Association member event

SAMMIE HOWELL, N.S.R.A INSPECTOR