West Coast Nats attendees.....?
- Thread starter DCEPTCN
- Start date
ChrisCairns
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 24, 2001
Where to start, where to start. 
The WCN were great, wonderful and stupendous. I'm slightly depressed now that it's over.
First....a huge thanks to the 3 amigos, Jon, Kraig and Jack for putting it on. They do it all out of love of our cars....they don't take any kind of money. And I believe they put an amazing amount of work into organizing it and then fretting over little things that aren't coming together as they planned. Thanks guys, from everyone's heart.
Len....the man actually LOVES 3 or 4 thousand guys showing up at his shop days in advance. We interfere, distract and are all around pains to any running business. I wasn't going to show up at Len's shop on Friday since I thought the last thing he needed was another in-the-way nuisance, but I couldn't resist and once there I asked Len if so many people underfoot bothered him. That's when he told me that he loved everyone coming....so for next year I'm going to bring some homeless people also. Just to help out.
Otto...under everyone's car. I've personally never met anyone who helps so much as that guy. Gets his hands dirty for anyone in need .... and is very, very knowledgable about our cars.
More on Len and Otto later.
I met Jim "Platehead" Romanello for the first time. Lots of laughs...a great sense of humor and would lend a hand without even being asked. But he called me a bad name so I'll kick his ass next year.
The Boise boys as I call them (sounds perverted) BuickRon, (actually from Emmett, Idaho) Shawn, Big Dave, Chris, Scotty, and Vic from New York plus myself all stayed at The Cannery. It was great to be close to the track and it was a decent hotel/casino although I did stop in at AZ Charlies and liked the layout in the casino better. It'll be a tough decision for next year for me to decide where to stay but since I hate traffic The Cannery does have a mark in my plus column already.
The track at Las Vegas is still the most beautiful one I've ever visited. And the track personnel are the most efficient. In fact this year the tech guy was checking cars more intensely than last year and I was worried since I have a few "questionable" items...lol. Never mind questionable, downright illegal. But by the time he got to me cars were lined up deeply and he started going faster so missed my illegal crap.
I met a few new people, met lots of old, but anyone who races knows there isn't a lot of time to socialize at the track. That's why personally I'd like to see a host hotel where we ALL stay so we can exchange lies in the evenings after racing.
From my small corner of the world........
While in L.V. I had Len to look at my tranny. He found some burned clutches and replaced them. Then a few hours before racing Friday night I found the solenoid I'd mounted to pull my shift lever out of first to unlock the tranny brake wasn't working. I bought a new solenoid, installed it and found it wasn't working. Took it back, got another one and it worked when I tried it from under the car but wouldn't work at the track. So I had to go back to the old manual "lift the column shifter out of first" to get it to work. Not as exact but beggers can't be choosy. The next problem I found on Friday night was at the top end of each gear the engine was missing and cutting out badly. Plus if I did a hard launch the car would totally shut off and wouldn't recover until I shut off the engine and restarted it.
This is where Len and Otto came to the rescue. They both suggested plugs, and to gap them at 30. I've always gapped my plugs at 35 with no problem so was a little in disbelief that this would cause my problem of top end missing. Len came up with a new set late Friday night (he even supplied the necessary tools) and we installed them but I never got a chance to try 'em since our Buick evening was over. So with light launches (5 psi) and top end misses I was only able to conjure up a 10.95. Depressing.
Saturday morning after a 3 mile no traffic drive I was able to try the car with the new plugs. Ran perfectly. I'm now a believer in changing plugs often and gapping 'em to 30. The second problem still existed....the one of total shutdown with a hard launch. Otto suggested we check out the positive battery cable. Sure enough, we found a bare piece of cable. I'd run the cable from the trunk over top of the crossover frame above the rear end and during a hard launch the body would come down on the cable. Otto moved the cable and on the next pass I tried a 15 lb launch with no problems. And no missing. Ran a string of 10.47's with the best of 10.43. Also I did my best short time ever of 1.46. Happiness is a good running car.
I lost my second round in racing to a fast Toyota pickup with an LC2 engine in it. Couldn't have picked a nicer, cleaner car to lose to....lol. (Unless it had been the 49 Oldsmobile with the complete GN frame and running gear under it.)
As I said earlier I'm a little depressed. Racing is now over for the season. Just when the car is running perfectly. I think I'll just cover it and not touch it (read screw it up) for the winter.
Thanks again to everyone who made the WCN a success and a very pleasurable experience.
One more thing.....Jack Bilger shaved his head. He now looks like the son I never wanted.
The WCN were great, wonderful and stupendous. I'm slightly depressed now that it's over.
First....a huge thanks to the 3 amigos, Jon, Kraig and Jack for putting it on. They do it all out of love of our cars....they don't take any kind of money. And I believe they put an amazing amount of work into organizing it and then fretting over little things that aren't coming together as they planned. Thanks guys, from everyone's heart.
Len....the man actually LOVES 3 or 4 thousand guys showing up at his shop days in advance. We interfere, distract and are all around pains to any running business. I wasn't going to show up at Len's shop on Friday since I thought the last thing he needed was another in-the-way nuisance, but I couldn't resist and once there I asked Len if so many people underfoot bothered him. That's when he told me that he loved everyone coming....so for next year I'm going to bring some homeless people also.
Just to help out.Otto...under everyone's car. I've personally never met anyone who helps so much as that guy. Gets his hands dirty for anyone in need .... and is very, very knowledgable about our cars.
More on Len and Otto later.
I met Jim "Platehead" Romanello for the first time. Lots of laughs...a great sense of humor and would lend a hand without even being asked. But he called me a bad name so I'll kick his ass next year.
The Boise boys as I call them (sounds perverted) BuickRon, (actually from Emmett, Idaho) Shawn, Big Dave, Chris, Scotty, and Vic from New York plus myself all stayed at The Cannery. It was great to be close to the track and it was a decent hotel/casino although I did stop in at AZ Charlies and liked the layout in the casino better. It'll be a tough decision for next year for me to decide where to stay but since I hate traffic The Cannery does have a mark in my plus column already.
The track at Las Vegas is still the most beautiful one I've ever visited. And the track personnel are the most efficient. In fact this year the tech guy was checking cars more intensely than last year and I was worried since I have a few "questionable" items...lol. Never mind questionable, downright illegal. But by the time he got to me cars were lined up deeply and he started going faster so missed my illegal crap.
I met a few new people, met lots of old, but anyone who races knows there isn't a lot of time to socialize at the track. That's why personally I'd like to see a host hotel where we ALL stay so we can exchange lies in the evenings after racing.
From my small corner of the world........
While in L.V. I had Len to look at my tranny. He found some burned clutches and replaced them. Then a few hours before racing Friday night I found the solenoid I'd mounted to pull my shift lever out of first to unlock the tranny brake wasn't working. I bought a new solenoid, installed it and found it wasn't working. Took it back, got another one and it worked when I tried it from under the car but wouldn't work at the track. So I had to go back to the old manual "lift the column shifter out of first" to get it to work. Not as exact but beggers can't be choosy. The next problem I found on Friday night was at the top end of each gear the engine was missing and cutting out badly. Plus if I did a hard launch the car would totally shut off and wouldn't recover until I shut off the engine and restarted it.
This is where Len and Otto came to the rescue. They both suggested plugs, and to gap them at 30. I've always gapped my plugs at 35 with no problem so was a little in disbelief that this would cause my problem of top end missing. Len came up with a new set late Friday night (he even supplied the necessary tools) and we installed them but I never got a chance to try 'em since our Buick evening was over. So with light launches (5 psi) and top end misses I was only able to conjure up a 10.95. Depressing.
Saturday morning after a 3 mile no traffic drive
I was able to try the car with the new plugs. Ran perfectly. I'm now a believer in changing plugs often and gapping 'em to 30. The second problem still existed....the one of total shutdown with a hard launch. Otto suggested we check out the positive battery cable. Sure enough, we found a bare piece of cable. I'd run the cable from the trunk over top of the crossover frame above the rear end and during a hard launch the body would come down on the cable. Otto moved the cable and on the next pass I tried a 15 lb launch with no problems. And no missing. Ran a string of 10.47's with the best of 10.43. Also I did my best short time ever of 1.46. Happiness is a good running car.I lost my second round in racing to a fast Toyota pickup with an LC2 engine in it. Couldn't have picked a nicer, cleaner car to lose to....lol. (Unless it had been the 49 Oldsmobile with the complete GN frame and running gear under it.)
As I said earlier I'm a little depressed. Racing is now over for the season. Just when the car is running perfectly. I think I'll just cover it and not touch it (read screw it up) for the winter.
Thanks again to everyone who made the WCN a success and a very pleasurable experience.
One more thing.....Jack Bilger shaved his head. He now looks like the son I never wanted.
ChrisCairns
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 24, 2001
Originally posted by LV GN
we love you chris------------- even if you didnt call me sunday
Hey....I tried the number you gave me. It was a towing company....Las Vegas Hookers.
Next time give me the right number.
ChrisCairns
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 24, 2001
For those who wonder....
Shawn drove all over Las Vegas with the words "Support Gay Rights" written on his back window. Dunno who would have put words like that on there.
For some reason he thinks it was me and later when he drove through a small town in northern Nevada and saw my pickup and car in the parking lot of the local casino he stopped in and sprayed pop on my windshield. What a dastardly deed.
He mentioned when I saw him Monday he would have preferred to remove one of my pickup's wheels.
I think the 84 armed security guards around my pickup changed his mind.
As one of the 3 organizers, I thought I'd add my opinion.
I was a little disappointed at the turbo Buick turnout this year; V8's went up, V6's went down. Aside from that, I had a good time. It was great to be re-united with my eSTRANGEd father Chris Cairns.
The hotel thing was chaos. I'm under the impression that most would like to stay together next year. However, we seem to have some issues with hotels allowing us to come back. I don't think it's meant personally, per se. It's rather that it's a very busy time of year for Vegas as the convention season starts. Hotels can sell their rooms for high prices, and holding a block of rooms at a discounted price doesn't make good business sense for them.
Most people would like colder weather for the event. However, the problem there is, people to the north would have to tow car trailers through the snow, not to mention that the track "suggests" a date for us. It looks like it will be Oct 15th next year. Believe it or not, our track actually closes from mid November into February.
Renting the track is a sick joke. We'd need enormous sponsorship to pay for it. It's nice the way it is, in that the money from registration/t-shirts/raffle goes into the payouts. So those that win, pretty much have their weekend paid for them.
With all that said, to those that chose not to come this year (or ever), why not?
To those that did, what would you change?
I was a little disappointed at the turbo Buick turnout this year; V8's went up, V6's went down. Aside from that, I had a good time. It was great to be re-united with my eSTRANGEd father Chris Cairns.
The hotel thing was chaos. I'm under the impression that most would like to stay together next year. However, we seem to have some issues with hotels allowing us to come back. I don't think it's meant personally, per se. It's rather that it's a very busy time of year for Vegas as the convention season starts. Hotels can sell their rooms for high prices, and holding a block of rooms at a discounted price doesn't make good business sense for them.
Most people would like colder weather for the event. However, the problem there is, people to the north would have to tow car trailers through the snow, not to mention that the track "suggests" a date for us. It looks like it will be Oct 15th next year. Believe it or not, our track actually closes from mid November into February.
Renting the track is a sick joke. We'd need enormous sponsorship to pay for it. It's nice the way it is, in that the money from registration/t-shirts/raffle goes into the payouts. So those that win, pretty much have their weekend paid for them.
With all that said, to those that chose not to come this year (or ever), why not?
To those that did, what would you change?
Gary Wells
White turbo Buick trailer park trash
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2002
FWIW & IMHO:
I would not change anything. Change what you think would be better, don't worry about what you can't change. It would still be better to try and get a host hotel/motel if possible. Not to bogart phrases here, but, "If you build it, we will come". And I'll damn sure be there. Even gonna crash Len's party.
I would not change anything. Change what you think would be better, don't worry about what you can't change. It would still be better to try and get a host hotel/motel if possible. Not to bogart phrases here, but, "If you build it, we will come". And I'll damn sure be there. Even gonna crash Len's party.
I owe thanks too...
Len was given our "thanks" award (I can't remember the exact phrasing). Beyond being a sponsor, he really took a huge leap for getting us raffle prizes when things were looking kind of lean.
Kevin, as he does year after year, shocks us with stunning plaques. Any that own his items know that this is all top-notch things.
Sean M. for forcing me to count up to a really high number for the raffle drawing. Next time, buddy, I'll make sure that a continuous stream of tickets so it's much easier for you to know if your number was called.
Chris Cairns for showing me what I'll look like when I turn 97.
And of course to all those that participated and sponsored!
Len was given our "thanks" award (I can't remember the exact phrasing). Beyond being a sponsor, he really took a huge leap for getting us raffle prizes when things were looking kind of lean.
Kevin, as he does year after year, shocks us with stunning plaques. Any that own his items know that this is all top-notch things.
Sean M. for forcing me to count up to a really high number for the raffle drawing. Next time, buddy, I'll make sure that a continuous stream of tickets so it's much easier for you to know if your number was called.
Chris Cairns for showing me what I'll look like when I turn 97.
And of course to all those that participated and sponsored!
Thanks for the Kind words Chris, I am one to help anyone in need no matter what the cost to myself,Hearing a thanks is all i ask in return, and i got that many times over from you. I dont always get that,Originally posted by ChrisCairns
Where to start, where to start.
The WCN were great, wonderful and stupendous. I'm slightly depressed now that it's over.
First....a huge thanks to the 3 amigos, Jon, Kraig and Jack for putting it on. They do it all out of love of our cars....they don't take any kind of money. And I believe they put an amazing amount of work into organizing it and then fretting over little things that aren't coming together as they planned. Thanks guys, from everyone's heart.
Len....the man actually LOVES 3 or 4 thousand guys showing up at his shop days in advance. We interfere, distract and are all around pains to any running business. I wasn't going to show up at Len's shop on Friday since I thought the last thing he needed was another in-the-way nuisance, but I couldn't resist and once there I asked Len if so many people underfoot bothered him. That's when he told me that he loved everyone coming....so for next year I'm going to bring some homeless people also.
Otto...under everyone's car. I've personally never met anyone who helps so much as that guy. Gets his hands dirty for anyone in need .... and is very, very knowledgable about our cars.
More on Len and Otto later.
I met Jim "Platehead" Romanello for the first time. Lots of laughs...a great sense of humor and would lend a hand without even being asked. But he called me a bad name so I'll kick his ass next year.
The Boise boys as I call them (sounds perverted) BuickRon, (actually from Emmett, Idaho) Shawn, Big Dave, Chris, Scotty, and Vic from New York plus myself all stayed at The Cannery. It was great to be close to the track and it was a decent hotel/casino although I did stop in at AZ Charlies and liked the layout in the casino better. It'll be a tough decision for next year for me to decide where to stay but since I hate traffic The Cannery does have a mark in my plus column already.
The track at Las Vegas is still the most beautiful one I've ever visited. And the track personnel are the most efficient. In fact this year the tech guy was checking cars more intensely than last year and I was worried since I have a few "questionable" items...lol. Never mind questionable, downright illegal. But by the time he got to me cars were lined up deeply and he started going faster so missed my illegal crap.
I met a few new people, met lots of old, but anyone who races knows there isn't a lot of time to socialize at the track. That's why personally I'd like to see a host hotel where we ALL stay so we can exchange lies in the evenings after racing.
From my small corner of the world........
While in L.V. I had Len to look at my tranny. He found some burned clutches and replaced them. Then a few hours before racing Friday night I found the solenoid I'd mounted to pull my shift lever out of first to unlock the tranny brake wasn't working. I bought a new solenoid, installed it and found it wasn't working. Took it back, got another one and it worked when I tried it from under the car but wouldn't work at the track. So I had to go back to the old manual "lift the column shifter out of first" to get it to work. Not as exact but beggers can't be choosy. The next problem I found on Friday night was at the top end of each gear the engine was missing and cutting out badly. Plus if I did a hard launch the car would totally shut off and wouldn't recover until I shut off the engine and restarted it.
This is where Len and Otto came to the rescue. They both suggested plugs, and to gap them at 30. I've always gapped my plugs at 35 with no problem so was a little in disbelief that this would cause my problem of top end missing. Len came up with a new set late Friday night (he even supplied the necessary tools) and we installed them but I never got a chance to try 'em since our Buick evening was over. So with light launches (5 psi) and top end misses I was only able to conjure up a 10.95. Depressing.
Saturday morning after a 3 mile no traffic drive
I lost my second round in racing to a fast Toyota pickup with an LC2 engine in it. Couldn't have picked a nicer, cleaner car to lose to....lol. (Unless it had been the 49 Oldsmobile with the complete GN frame and running gear under it.)
As I said earlier I'm a little depressed. Racing is now over for the season. Just when the car is running perfectly. I think I'll just cover it and not touch it (read screw it up) for the winter.
Thanks again to everyone who made the WCN a success and a very pleasurable experience.
One more thing.....Jack Bilger shaved his head. He now looks like the son I never wanted.
There was a certain instance at BG i dont want to mention.
Good luck with it in the futire and see you at BG in may
I thought it was a great event and I'm glad I made it out again this year. It was lots of fun hanging out at Len's shop again and BS'ing with Otto and Jim and some of the other guys.
I look forward to going again next year. As a fwe others have mentioned I would love to see a host hotel where everyone would stay so we can all drink beer and BS in the same place. But I'll be going next year either way
Thanks to Jon, Jack and Craig for putting on a great event!
I look forward to going again next year. As a fwe others have mentioned I would love to see a host hotel where everyone would stay so we can all drink beer and BS in the same place. But I'll be going next year either way
Thanks to Jon, Jack and Craig for putting on a great event!
Answer: Because I'm a loser!!!
I attended the first two WCN Vegas events (once with a car and once without) both of the events I attended were excellent! The event, track, people, and town made for a great experience both times. I've got no good excuse for missing it this year...I simply need to prioritize better. I feel bad that Len has supported the Turbo Thunder events for the past 2 years driving up all the way from Vegas. I owe him a beer on his own turf for sure. Whether its a V8 or a V6 Buick I'll be there next year dammit!
DEL - Just so you know, I do mean to attend your event (especially since I can't race at my own). It seems like there's always something wrong with my car when it's going on. This time around, I lost a MAF sensor. I REALLY hope to make it next year.
If you'd like, I can carve off some of the WCN web space for your event. Just let me know.
If you'd like, I can carve off some of the WCN web space for your event. Just let me know.
