My 2016 trip to Phoenix, Spring Fling and other forms of oversharing.

Carmine

Old Man with a Hat
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I thought I'd share some pictures of my recent trip to Phoenix. I'll probably just refer my relatives over to this link because I don't use the Facebook machine, so pardon the oversharing and bare with me for the car stuff...

Frankly I had no idea that I'd be out in Phoenix the week before the Chrysler Power West show in California until I texted my AZ friend Mark, who immediately told me "Cool, you can go to Spring Fling." Fortunately for me, my wife hates cold weather as much as I do and treats plane reservations like logic puzzle-books. That translates to a $35 flight to Denver, one hour layover, $35 flight to Phoenix. Or you could say both of us (+ our 5 month old daughter) carried away from rainy-gloom and into the bosom of del Sol for $140.

We didn't book a return flight... I was hustlin' hard trying buy a (replacement) Mexican Ramcharger. Going as far as a 3-way call to Mexico with a Spanish-speaking friend. Of course I had several backup plans if I couldn't do the MexiRC:

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Yes I would have bought this, but I'm not crazy... of course I would have ditched the redonkulous wheels. Otherwise, what could go wrong with a cross-country trip in an untested, 30-40 y/o car? No rust in AZ! But the revelation that I would be there the same weekend as Spring Fling had me yelling into the next room asking my travel agent how cheap she could get us home from California. Turns out $135, direct, as long as you don't mind arriving at 4:30 on Sunday morning. :DThen of course the rental Hyundee. $12 a day if I returned it where I picked it up in Phoenix. $7 a day if I dumped it at LAX. Honey, book the flight!

Arrived at work on Monday, April 18 @ 5 AM. Drove home, put on a suit and endured enjoyed a 4 hour city council meeting. Came home, removed shirt/tie. Install Hawaiian shirt. Put luggage, child, dog, wife, myself in the LHS and headed for Toledo around midnight. 4 hours later, in-laws take us to back to Michigan and drop us at the airport. Baby and I pass out on plane, sleep until the Central Time Zone.
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We arrived in Phoenix and picked up some Sponch and Diapers...
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Saw this in the parking lot:
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...and then remembered why I drive Mopars. Once we had settled into our AirBnB-rented house, we went out and performed our first errand for a friend of mine, a buddy who retired from Chrysler/Viper at least 5 years ago. He's crazy about two-door wagons, the more oddball, the better. He had run across this 1960 Canadian Meteor and asked if I'd look at it for him.
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It did appear pretty solid, but hadn't moved in years. Of course as much as I like to look at old junk cars, I'm not super fond of crawling around to disturb scorpions and recluse spiders. The random assortment of metal in the back was "supposedly" all the removed trim. Except for the pieces that weren't there. :rolleyes: By the way, it probably looks like I'm in a junkyard, right? Actually I'm in the backyard of a house that just sold for $400k. If this house sold for that much I'm sure the house next door was worth $650k, because the inside looked about as nice as the backyard. Here's a surprise, the guy was at war with the HOA. Before anybody gets mad that I posted a satellite shot, he and the cars are gone now.
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He absolutely refused to budge from $8k. For a car that did not move, had some rust, non-original drivetrain, and was missing a "few" parts... But after all, they built 55 of them 55-years ago, so I'm sure parts are as close as your local Meteor dealer. Let's just say the owner was as interesting as some of his other cars... He also freely admitted "I don't know anything about cars, I just now how to write checks..."
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Say what you will about how well this conversion "works", but the workmanship was 1st class. Then it was off to lunch with Flamingos at Dillon's KC BBQ in Litchfield Park.
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We saw OJ on the way back to the house.
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The next day began with a trip to the Zoo for wife & baby.
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...and Ecology Auto Parts for me. This was the only Mopar of any interest in the yard. However, I did manage to score a pair of Tempo seats for another friend's Tempo GLS restoration project. (That was not a typo.) And then forgot my $50 Home Depot toolbox. The next day, my wife innocently suggested I ask the yard workers if they found any toolboxes. I told her my odds would be better if I went to prison and asked if anyone saw the pack of smokes I left in the exercise yard.
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Later that night we went to dinner with Mark and his wife at Westgate, which has a Wednesday night cruise. I am sure the powers-to-be at "FCA" do not realize what a good thing they have in the LX/LY/LC cars. If they did, they wouldn't let them get old and throw money and customer goodwill into the trash by wasting time/$$ on these stupid Alpo-Retardo platform cars which will likely be as successful as the other Fiat-influenced cars. But I digress. Just look at the nice pictures...
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...but anyway, I enjoyed most of the car show.

The next afternoon baby stuck her feet in a pool for the first time at the apartment complex I lived in 15-years ago, which still hasn't changed the gate code. Here's a dead giveaway to ID northerners on vacation. We jump in your pools 3 months before you'll consider it, and we might eat Thanksgiving dinner there if you'll let us.
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Continued...
 
This is Desert Center, just outside of Indio along I-10. I noticed it because somebody lopped the tops off all these palm trees... Who the hell does that? (Or do they do that when they die?)

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Since we were running a bit ahead of Mark (pulling a trailer of car parts for the swap) we decided to do some urban-exploring. Trailer Park ruins...
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Elementary School:
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Then you got all these huge windmills...
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I hope these parts were just put there, and didn't fall off while they were spinning.
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There is a joke here somewhere...
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Finally, at the AirPark Hotel. All these vehicles were from Wyoming...
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This is an artsy-shot. I call it: Winged car with planes in background.
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That night we went to an "open house" at Picture Car Warehouse which supplies cars for movies, commercials, etc. I'm told this is from a Superbowl Commercial, but not being a fan, I have no idea:
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NYC po-po
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LTD in the (open air) body shop
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Imperial Limo with some kind of weird rim I noticed on a few of the cars.. I can only figure they CGI the wheels in for some reason?
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Superfly...the only game you know is do-or-die...
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and if you lose don't ask no questions why...
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Taxi! (from three decades please...)
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For the AMC fans
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No idea what these will be in... Attack of the Plymouth fleet cars? Remake of Hunter?
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Captain America Movie (I think?)
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The next morning I was up early with Mark and his truck full of swap stuff...
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I have three of these things NOS in my garage. I could only dream of getting this price:
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Um...
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This was pretty cool... It was the actual unit from Emergency!, and they had an EMT on site from the era. The TV show truck was a 440/auto with A/C. He said the real LA units looked identical, but were 440/manual, no A/C. Because of the heat, they had to run with windows open. Windows that were directly under the SIRENS. Now they're all deaf.
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Hurray for K's!
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My favorite musclecar color and body:
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From the show, we left for LAX and took the scenic route along the ocean. But first there are some mountains. I decided I'd have my wife stand with this car and we'd just pretend it was ours. Since the owner was no where near it, I had to assume it was there to be posed with?
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Our first view of the ocean came with a '71 Blazer/homeless shelter.
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My daughter puts her feet on the Pacific ocean for the first time... Just as like me, lol.

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Now it's mom's turn to fall asleep on the plane.
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Fini
 
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Your commentary is great! Especially the Hogan's Heroes clip...had me laughing!
I was looking at that 81 R body NY online and although I like the rust free aspect and the colour...I noticed that the 5th Ave fins are missing on the drivers side, so it's either a 5th Ave edition that was hit on the driver's side or a non-5th Ave that had the passenger fender replaced from a 5th Ave donor.
That turned me off that car.
 
Your commentary is great! Especially the Hogan's Heroes clip...had me laughing!
I was looking at that 81 R body NY online and although I like the rust free aspect and the colour...I noticed that the 5th Ave fins are missing on the drivers side, so it's either a 5th Ave edition that was hit on the driver's side or a non-5th Ave that had the passenger fender replaced from a 5th Ave donor.
That turned me off that car.

You have higher standards than the people who were building them in 1979. But I can appreciate that, lol.
 
Great photos. Wife and I spent a few days by those wind turbines last week in Palm Springs where it was 96-98 every day. Didn't get far from the pool but I did read about the mopar event in Van Nuys unfortunately we were heading home the day before. Wish I was better at taking pictures but just never think about it. Beautiful views of the Coachella valley from above the switchbacks on hwy 74 going up from Palm Desert toward Idyllwild.
 
Great trip and outstanding documentary! I go on the odd trip but never seem to get enough pictures of the "right stuff". Thanks!
 
Great photos. Wife and I spent a few days by those wind turbines last week in Palm Springs where it was 96-98 every day. Didn't get far from the pool but I did read about the mopar event in Van Nuys unfortunately we were heading home the day before. Wish I was better at taking pictures but just never think about it. Beautiful views of the Coachella valley from above the switchbacks on hwy 74 going up from Palm Desert toward Idyllwild.

Yikes, you came that close and didn't make it? :(:)
Did you come for this?
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I thoroughly enjoyed that Carmine, thanks! I just was talking to a friend yesterday about a '68 RR wind tunnel model that his club rescued from some outdoor storage area at Oakland University(I think) and not too long ago actually. It's the same color but missing its wheels.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed that Carmine, thanks! I just was talking to a friend yesterday about a '68 RR wind tunnel model that his club rescued from some outdoor storage area at Oakland University(I think) and not too long ago actually. It's the same color but missing its wheels.

I went back and looked at the model's wheels. More complex than I thought... Maybe you could get someone from the WW club to take some detail shots and/or dimensions?
 
They did everything well back then.
 
Yikes, you came that close and didn't make it? :(:)
Did you come for this?

Yes should have done some research but we booked the flights back in January. Coachella however, not a chance. Just happened to be on during that week but we steered clear of it. Lots of piercings and tats about town though.
 
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