Spring Festival Pics

[MADDOG`]

We had a great time at Spring Festival. LA area traffic sucks and we had to take a bit of a detour but Brad led us through in fine fashion.

I was Tail End Charley most of the trip, keeping an eye out for fast movers coming up from behind us. I tell ya, it's true...

The View Don't Change If You Ain't The Lead Dog!

No real mishaps except for a ding or two and one minor car problem. Coming off the Grapevine on I-5 one of our PNW members, Mike (BHIND8) all of a sudden experienced the dreaded limp mode and lost power. Checking the codes and clearing them with the Predator did the trick. Jay (Tork Monster) hung back with Mike to assist as needed but things turned out just fine.

We had what proved to be a fun gathering Friday night here at the DoubleTree. Heidi, Ken and Chris from BT were there as was Mark (Freebird) and I've had a chance to meet them (Mark again after 12 years!).

So, here's some pics. Our first stop, after hooking up with most of the PNW crew, was breakfast in Salem at the freakin' crack of dawn.

Check out where Brad led us...I tell ya, this guy knows all the best spots...







So, down the Willamette Valley we went. As we cruised on by Eugene, Bob (Green Goblin) got some pics of us and he posted those up last night. Moving through Southern Oregon and the Siskyou Mountains was awesome. Not a raindrop fell on us the WHOLE WAY!







Day One ended in Sacramento where we fueled up, had some dinner and said good night as Freday was an early get-up and back on the road by 5AM!

A few more pics from on the road on Friday.



We all got passed by a Honda! LOL

[MADDOG`]

So, Friday nites pics catching WBGlider and Tork Monster unawares as they were discussing how far back towards Washington they would get with the Bee before Mark noticed it was gone, Brad smiling from ear to ear sitting in the Bee and just a lot of pics of the cars that were there in the DoubleTree parking lot:

[MADDOG`]

More pics from Friday nite:

Just to prove Luis (LMSRT8) was there:




Lots of blown cars there...here's a Kenne Bell kit:

[MADDOG`]

And now, The Show!!!

I won't provide any narration on these. All I can say is that the quality, quantity and the amount of money spent on the cars is just Over The Top!!!

oh...had to put in a people pic...from the right is Hank, JP and JP's wife:



Now, on to the cars:

[MADDOG`]

More pics from today at SF 2009!

The prize/giveaway car. A $15 donation gave you the opportunity to win - a blown Dart! This thing sounded mean and nasty when they started it and it was very well done!

[MADDOG`]

The MOPAR drift team was there. First, the Viper then their Charger and the new Challenger Drift Car they are introducing this year.






I said there were a lot of blown cars there. A lot of them sported the Techo unit. Now that I've seen them in person, I am really impressed with the quality and fit of the supercharger. And, in talking with the Techo reps there today, these guys won't leave you hanging. They love what they do and really do care about the product and their customers. You'll notice the Techo strut tower brace in the pics. They actually have several fitments, from a base 2.7/3.5L application, the 5.7L application that clears the engine cover, a stock 6.1L application and a 6.1L application that will clear the supercharger. I am gonna get me one of these. They really are nicely made parts.





I wasn't sure what wheels these were on the base 2009 300 until later. Somehow, they didn't look like aftermarket wheels:





The engineering VP's gave a short speech on how Chrysler/Dodge listens to it's customers. They mentioned that they have been told by their engineers that certain things can't be done. Then they come to Spring Festival, see owners doing things the VP's were told couldn't be done and they go back and tell their engineers "The Hell It Can't!"

They introduced and unveiled a new base Challenger with a 5 speed auto tied to the 2.7L, the wheels pictured above and a nice striping package. I let the VP's know that I thought it would be best if they consider taking the stripe from bumper to bumper and not cut it off any shorter than that. So, here's the new base Challenger. Not a bad looking package!




I look like a red faced raccoon...I forgot my sunblock and wore my sunglasses all day! LOL... The back of my calves, forearms (can you say "Farmer's Tan"?) and tops of my knees look a bit red but all in all, no worries.

I had a great time and I hope you all enjoy the pics!

So, that's that. My first Spring Festival but not my last!

[MADDOG`]

I left Irvine at 4:45 AM Sunday morning, rolled in at 8:30 Sunday night, total travel time 15 hrs, 45 minutes. So, I'm gonna be fair and split the miles in 1/2 and I covered 1049.3 miles on the trip back...give or take a tenth or two. So, I averaged 66.622 mph. I came to a screeching halt twice due to construction and took a 1/2 hour break to walk around and stretch the back out near Weed, California.

Total fuel used = 90.125 gallons, total miles covered 2,098.6 and the math says my round trip mileage was 23.825 mpg. Not bad for a fast trip.

I gotta say, it was worth the trip to meet all the great people there and I am definitely going back next year!

[MonkeyBoy]

Wow, just wow.... I wish I had been there with ya, Mike! Stellar pictures... Thanks! At least I am able to experience the show vicariously! Thanks again!!!!

Tony

[legendisdope]

thanks for the pics bro! alot of nice cars.. and i agree they shouldnt cut the stripe off it looks funny.

[Pale Rider]

Thanks for the pics! I won't be missing next years. The level of the cars have REALLY gone over the top. Seems this platform is finally starting to explode with SERIOUS custom stuff, not just the simple bolt on stuff most of us do.

Saw some full custom interiors in the main pic thread - wow. Really crazy stuff.

[MADDOG`]

Thanks for the kind comments!

Yeah, Chris...some of the mods and ideas are totally awesome. Chrysler's Engineering and Design VP's are watching what we do with the cars and have really been amazed at some of the mods. One even said he went back to his engineering staff, who had told him certain mods can't be done and he told them, "The Hell They Can't!!!" LOL

[Pale Rider]

What mods are the engineers saying can't be done? I'm amazed that engineers would say that - sounds more like beancounters than engineers.

[tmac06srt8]

So awesome!!!! Thanks for the pics. Showed the wifey and she is game for next year.

[Big Boy]

Thanks for the PNW view of the LX Spring Fest.

Your convoy was very different from our predominately Magnum convoy to Spring Fling a couple of years ago. Maybe next year we can have more Diversity.....

[MADDOG`]

What mods are the engineers saying can't be done? I'm amazed that engineers would say that - sounds more like beancounters than engineers.

And I may have misquoted what he said. It may have been something on the order of "my people" and it may just have been the business people and not the engineering staff. In any event, they listen and look. I wonder how many VIN's they wrote down and noted all the mods on the cars they recorded so if a warranty claim comes in, they can void it...LOLOL