For quite some time now I’d wanted to host a car meet/ show just for the fun of it. So after a bit of planning, and working with the nice people at the American Legion Post 277, a date was set. And since the American Legion raises money for Veteran’s causes I thought it suitable to put a portion of the donations toward the Holyoke Soldier’s Home in Holyoke, Ma. It also serves as a personal connection due to the fact that my grandfather spent quite some time there when I was younger. He also served in the armed services. The other portion was decided to go to the Boston One Fund because as we were planning the events in Boston had taken place. The majority of the donations went to the Soldier’s Home because a lot more people were contributing to the One Fund and the Soldier’s Home often gets overlooked. That, and in recent years funding has been cut from much needed care. But enough of the logistics on to the pictures!
I threw together the flyer from shots of shows I had gone to over the past few years.
The ad in the Out & About. I thought this was awesome! Thanks to the Legion for putting this in there.
The sign out front on Oak Street in front of the Legion. In case you don’t know they have Karaoke. You should definitely check it out sometime!
Before setup. Clean slate!
There was a variety of different cars that came to this event which is exactly why I called it a meet. Just an informal gathering of like-minded individuals coming together to talk about cars and raise money for some awesome causes.
On the far left there was a prize wheel with a bunch of small car-related prizes and stuff from the vendors. 3 spins for a $1.00. You could hear throughout the day “We have a winner!” And in the middle of the field there was a grill with hot dogs an hamburgers being cooked.
This Buick Century has a lot of cool angles to it. It’s also powered by a straight 8.
’73 Mustang ‘Vert.
Martin’s Upholstery had a tent set up and came to support the Legion and the causes. If you need Upholstery work done give Martin a call! The banner says it all!
Over on the left of his tent were a line of tents for the Beer, Food, Legion, Auxiliary, Bake and Book Sale and of course my tent for Distance Photography!
One day I was doing research on the internet for my car and I came across a car in the Philippines or Malaysia, not really sure which, that had a sticker on it that made me laugh. It said “USDM* as Fuck”. This is funny because of all the “JDM* as Fuck ” things floating around the US. So, I asked a friend of mine if he wanted to make his car “USDM as Fuck” for real. It makes sense because he’s got a Chrysler Concorde which is domestic to the United States. So incorporating all the trends in “US” car culture and a bit of inspiration from the Mighty Car Mods’ TRDLZR and music video at the end, here’s what happened:
You know you’re not cool unless you’ve got a blacked-out hood because everyone will think it’s carbon fiber. It makes it lighter you know. And rally pigs make every car better!
Since it was a benefit for the aforementioned charities, and we Plasti-dipped the hood, roof and trunk, I came up with another cool way to raise money. Check out the end of the coverage to see what the car looks like!
Of course you need to tell everyone what you drive with a windshield banner otherwise it’s not cool.
You know because it’s a race car you need a tow hook. And because you’re going to track the car you need to show them where it is with a sticker.
Of course you need a sticker to tell you how legit his USDM stance is!
You definitely need to show your sponsors on your car and the fact that this car was definitely Built NOT Bought!
So I decided that because I couldn’t find a USDM as Fuck sticker that I would make one from a few stickers I bought off ebay. The Wakaba with the American Flag was an extra touch to show that we are surely beginners. Things that I wanted to do to this car that I either forgot to or didn’t have the chance were: autocross the headlights and taillights (I ran out of electrical tape) and cover the front bumper and mirrors in painter’s tape because you have to make sure your front bumper of your show car stays in good condition on the way to every meet.
BBS’ and Brembo’s, such a good combination.
If you’re wondering what looks like another motor next to that one in the middle, yeah, it’s a supercharger.
Towards the middle of the meet I didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere near covering the car so then I decided to do 3 stickers for a dollar. That still didn’t get the result I wanted so just before the meet ended I just had people start covering the car.
I had to add my own personal touch!
The trunk didn’t get as many stickers on it but it was still awesome.
As mentioned in the flyer there were raffles, of which were as follows: A basket from Supplement Zone, a basket of car care products from Auto Zone and, featured in the picture above, a $100 Gift Certificate towards the purchase of tires from Town Fair Tire. All businesses were located on Boston Road in Springfield, MA. After costs we gave $250 to the Holyoke Soldier’s Home and $65 to the Boston One Fund.
I want to thank EVERYONE that was involved from start to finish for help, support, attendance, donations, time and good thoughts! Especially the American Legion Post 277, Martin’s Upholstery, Auto Zone, Supplement Zone, Town Fair Tire, PRIME CUTS VINYL and family, friends, Military Personnel (Active or not) and the Fathers who gave up their day to help and show support! Happy Father’s Day to them and all the fathers out there! It was definitely an interesting experience. Thank you.
One last thing.
Thanks for the help!
Rest in Peace Rockstar/ Keno Joe! August 17, 2013.
*United States Domestic Market
*Japanese Domestic Market
