Mako72

Follow along as my boy and I do 2964 miles in a '72 vette with no A/C or spare tire. We returned from this year's Hot Rod Power Tour last week and I finally downloaded some pictures which I thought you might enjoy. This year's Power Tour started in Newton, IA. On Friday my boy and I drove the 360 miles from southern Illinois to Newton, IA. Saturday we headed over to the Newton, IA Speedway which was the first stop of the Power Tour. We signed up for some laps on the 7/8 mile speedway.
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Here's a pic of us on the track:
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Overview of the Power Tour cars at Newton:
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Back at the motel we talked to the owner of this sweet Pantera. I drove one of these back in the '70's and have always wanted one.
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Sunday, we left Newton and drove to Springfield, IL, the next stop for the Power Tour. Here's some folks waving at the cars coming through:


At Springfield I was surprised by my friend who met us in his '69 Charger. He parked the Charger 20 some years ago, got it running in a month just for this Power Tour. Didn't say a word, just showed up in Springfield with it. I was floored! It's a gorgeous car.
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Here's one of three Holdens which shipped in from Australia just to do the Power Tour, complete with right hand drive:
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Monday after a great lunch complements of Mike Yeager at Mid America Corvettes in Effingham, IL, we headed to DuQuoin, IL for the next stop on the Tour. Another friend showed up with his survivor '56 Chevy. He let my boy (who just got his license ) drive the '56 to DuQuoin complete with 6-cyl and three on the tree. My boy did great, never stalled it once.
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Another friend with his Z06 showed up also for the ride:
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Tuesday we left DuQuoin and headed for Bowling Green, KY for the next stop on the Tour. Here's a pic taken of us by RolloMoLT4 who hangs on Corvette Forum C4. Rollo, thanks for the pic and wished we could have hooked up with you somewhere on the Tour.
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At Bowling Green, another friend showed up with his unfinished LS-1 Corvair wagon. It complements his other LS-1 Corvair Monza coupe which has been in various magazines.
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Here's a sweet '71 'cuda that was at Bowling Green. He finally got it finished, all 632 CID of blown Hemi. I'm partial as my first car was a '71 'cuda:
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Wednesday, we left Bowling Green and headed to Chattanooga, TN, the next stop on the Tour. Wednesday would prove to be the only rainy day of the entire Tour. The skies opened up and we stayed only long enough to get our cards punched:
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Pretty creative trailer:
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Thursday, we left Chattanooga TN for Regions Park Stadium in Birmingham, AL:
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At Regions, they had an autocross course set up:
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Friday we headed for Mobile, AL, the final stop of this year's Power Tour. Like Springfield, they closed off the streets of downtown Mobile for the parking of the Power Tour cars. Not all cars got good parking spots but we lucked out. And was it ever hot! I've got to get the A/C working again on my car.
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Did I mention it was hot in Mobile?


How's this for a Rat Rod?
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Finally got to meet Brown78. We ducked into this Fireman's Museum to escape the heat and shoot the breeze. The museum actually was very interesting and made some donations as we left.


Saturday we headed over to Battleship Park for the Long Haul awards ceremony and group picture. We're headed under Mobile bay here:
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The Long Haul group picture was to be taken from the bay side of the USS Alabama but ended up being taken more from the front so we got blocked by one of the gun mounts. Anyway, I've toured this beautiful battlewagon twice before on vacation, she's something else.


Pics of the Long Haulers parked:
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After hanging around long enough to find out that I didn't win the giveaway 2010 Camaro or the GM crate motor, we headed to Tupelo, MS and then home the next day. Covered 2964 miles and the ole girl didn't miss a beat. Checked the oil when we got home and it was still at the full mark. The Keisler TKO-600 overdrive truly made this trip enjoyable, especially taming the sidepipes. Speaking of which I only burned my legs twice :o. Being creative, we were able to pack for 2 people in the back of the '72...barely . My newly licensed boy got some seat time and did pretty good . Met some friends from previous Power Tours and made some new ones. I couldn't think of a nicer way to spend a week on the road with your boy, vette and a bunch of car crazies. Word is the 2011 Power Tour's final stop will be Detroit next year. The full route will be released this fall.

rvazquez

Sounds like a great trip you had with your son, those are some priceless memories that I'm sure will stay with him forever.
Thanks for posting all the pictures
Regards
Roy

chiefbob

Fantastic on all levels!
What an experience for your son. You gave him a priceless week he'll always remember.

Great photos, too!

Cheers!
Bob

PS: how fast did you go at Newton?

capevettes

Now that's a great road trip Nice to share it with your son and all the other car nuts. Sounds like your Vette performed very well. Thanks for sharing

Mako72

They don't let you get crazy out there. There'll be the pacecar and about 10 cars on the track and there is NO passing. The game plan is to lay back and nail it. It all depends on who you have in front of you. Last year at Bristol, I got stuck behind a pickup and despite my best efforts to avoid it this year, I got stuck behind a pickup again. Though an SSR this time, I kept running up on him, so I was limited to short bursts. Still plenty of fun though.

GREGG-73

Mako,

Thanks much for posting up the pic's with descriptions. All I can say is WOW!

Your son and yourself will have some great memories!!!!!!!!! I've always wanted to do one of these tours, but it just never works out for me for one reason or another....thanks again for sharing on what has to be one of the best experiences a Dad and son can enjoy together.

Saty in tune....

Kustom8

That was awesome!Thank you for the detailed account,and no....you couldn't find a better way to spend with your son.Awesome!

jordan89

You gotta love these type of father son moments. That's a nice LS-1 Corvair wagon.

chstitans42

When I get home, I think that Im gonna be doing something similar with my brothers/friends. wont be as many people, but a road trip is in order!

RollaMo-LT4

Charles, I wish we would have had a change to meet.
You have a sharp looking car there. And what a great trip you and your son had!

Most people don't realize just how many cars actually do this tour, and how slim the chances are that you actually run into someone your looking for.

Laps around the speedway in Iowa was a blast though.

crossed

Cool story and pics, sounded fun

golfradict

Thanks for sharing the awesome trip pics, keep em coming.

kbosland

Mako,

Thanks for making this post. This is something I will do with my kids when they're older (and the vette is finished ). Great post and I'm sure you and your son had a greater time!

Keith

Mako72

Thanks for all the positive comments about my boy.
He did great as the navigator....when he was awake, LOL.
How you sleep in a hot car with a sidepipe blasting inches away is beyond me .
Here's a pic of him getting some seat time in the ole vette.
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hwcoop

Looks like a blast!

Curby

Great pics!

larryg3

Great Pics Mako 72 Sorry to not have me you on the tour. My wife and i only did part of it this year and we had a blast.

RHD '68 L89

Any more pics of the Holdens?
BTW, Holden has been using up the G8 fronts by offering them as an option on the SS/V models.

Mako72

Here's a couple of pics. Neat looking vehicles. All 3 had their windows up, so the interior shot isn't that good.

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chevymans 77

Charles;

Sounds like y'all had a great time on the tour

Your friends have some very nice looking cars

You and your son make a great tour team

Thanks for posting, makes me sorry I missed it and some great inspiration to get the OD tranny in.


Neal