Discrimination at the Local McD's

[turbojimmy]

This happens every year to my brother in his WS6 TA, but it was a first for me. I showed up to the local Tuesday Night cruise with the GN and am stopped by one of the teenaged-cops-in-training ("Explorers" - the event raises money for them). The kid has Terminator-style shades and sticks his chest out at me and says "Sir, what year is this vehicle?". I said 1987. He says "I'm sorry sir but the show is for 1979 and older....." The kid next to him is trying to discreetly quiet him and finally blurts out "Dude it's okay - it's a GRAND NATIONAL". The first kid blushed and let me in.

FYI - any year Vette can get in no questions asked.

So I go to give my donation to the real cop manning the table so I can get my "plaque" for the season. The plaque is your ticket in without messing around with the Explorers. This guy asks me what year, I told him 1987. He points to my car - that one right? I said yeah. He said "I wondered how that got in here. Did you get a plaque last year?" I said yes, and the year before. He had to go consult with a higher authority. He came back and apologized for knowing nothing about cars. He said the Grand National is in.

So it was a lot of hassle, but I finally got a little respect. It seems there is a "special interest" clause in the rules. We're going to try my brother's Turbo T once it's painted. I'm thinking that it's not going to fly.

My Typhoon was also there (the one I sold and was promptly wrecked). The guy that wound up with that truck did a great job restoring it. I forgot my digital camera, though. Pics wouldn't do the paint justice anyway - it looks great. He had similar qualification problems and was appealing to some other cop when I was leaving. The point of the rules is to keep the rice and punks out, so they have to walk a fine line. I think you could make an argument that something like a T-Type, Typhoon, etc. are special enough.

More GNs and TRs need to show up at this thing - it's in Ledgewood.

Jim

 

[BEATAV8]

This year the local cruise night in Crystal Lake, IL started with the pre-1980 only rule this year, presumably to keep the ricers out. I have enjoyed going to this weekly local cruise for the past 3 or 4 years. But last week I pulled up with my light blue 87T and the "volunteers" at the entrance to the parking lot asked me the year.

I really wanted to see if they would actually send me on my way, so I told them straight "it's an 87".

They kicked me out.

I did notice several newer corvettes were allowed in.

they can kiss my azz. I hope somebody with a latemodel gets pissed, does a huge burnout in protest, and the city shuts it down.

 

[JoeNational]

Originally posted by turbojimmy

More GNs and TRs need to show up at this thing - it's in Ledgewood.

Jim

Where in Legewood NJ is this, iam from Bk and if it isn't that far i would try to come out, how many cars at this thing?

 

[turbojimmy]

Re: Re: Discrimination at the Local McD's

Originally posted by JoeNational
Where in Legewood NJ is this, iam from Bk and if it isn't that far i would try to come out, how many cars at this thing?

It's pretty far northwest. I'd say there's 75-100 cars on any given Tuesday night. It's a mix of old-school hot rods, bikes, Vettes, musclecars, etc. The only post-1980 stuff, other than my car and the 'phoon is the Vettes. It's cool because the GN is an oddity there - people aren't sure what to make of it with the V6 and all. I'd prefer to find a place where there was more newer street/strip stuff but without the rice. Not sure if such a place exists.

Jim

 

[JoeNational]

Well i know of the chevy show in S.I. and in my other thread in here is about the whiskey cafe havent been there yet but i dont think they decrimnate like that, but i strongly agree with keeping the import junk out.

 

[RAMAIR1]

Originally posted by turbojimmy
More GNs and TRs need to show up at this thing - it's in Ledgewood.

Jim

Is this on Route 46? It's been a year since I moved out of Parsippany and I can't remember where the McD's is exactly. Only one I can remember is on Route 10 in Dover...

 

[turbojimmy]

Re: Re: Discrimination at the Local McD's

Originally posted by RAMAIR1
Is this on Route 46? It's been a year since I moved out of Parsippany and I can't remember where the McD's is exactly. Only one I can remember is on Route 10 in Dover...

It's on Rt. 10 in Succasunna. In front of the Roxbury Mall. There is one on 46, too, but that's not the one.

Jim

 

[RAMAIR1]

Re: Re: Re: Discrimination at the Local McD's

Originally posted by turbojimmy
It's on Rt. 10 in Succasunna. In front of the Roxbury Mall. There is one on 46, too, but that's not the one.

Jim

Oooooh yeah, gotcha. Well next Tuesday is my anniversary, doubt the wife wants to spend it at a cruise night, but ya never know. Maybe a week or two from now I'll try to shoot up that way...it's about 45 minutes from my house. I'll show those damn cops a thing or two

 

[turbojimmy]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Discrimination at the Local McD's

Originally posted by RAMAIR1
Oooooh yeah, gotcha. Well next Tuesday is my anniversary, doubt the wife wants to spend it at a cruise night, but ya never know. Maybe a week or two from now I'll try to shoot up that way...it's about 45 minutes from my house. I'll show those damn cops a thing or two

I'm not there every Tuesday so if you do come out let me know.

Jim

 

[steveX]

you guys should check out Thursday night (i think) at Nathan`s on long beach road in Nassau county. i seen a few GN on some night. its not so much a car show, it more like a street race event. most of the time all race will set-up in the parking lot and thenmove to OBI or Jones beach.

Lots of ricer, but they have they own section (rear parking lot)to conduct they madness. I will also go to hunts point or red hook for money race. I think the hunts point location is close.

 

[S1NISTER 87GN]

i believe Nathans is on wednesdays. i'm gonna try to get out there one day this summer.

 

[racemybuick]

ok...this is my 500th post, so I gotta make it a good one:

I was a police explorer for 7 years for Rockaway Township. Those little *$@&%(!) pany kids from Roxbury have been notorious for taking any asignment far too serious. Now that I got that out, you should ask them why last year, they let in a 1993 Laborghini Countach? Or what about that A-Hole with his yellow 1998 Plymouth Prowler, or the red 88 Vette that goes to every show imaginable. I see 81 Panthera's all the time at these shows, and then they have the balls to say no to the fastest production car of that decade, and the last display of any muscle from any dealership willing to admit gas costs too much!!!???!!!

The only reason I go to any cruise night in NJ, is in hopes of finding a GN, talking with the owner, and seeing what other cars could possibly compare to a stock GN. These shows are for cars 25 years and older, then fine...let no-one in whose car is newer than 25 years....That means all the corvettes, replica kit cars, yadda yadda yadda. But dont make once exception...not one...because obviously, that is when the problems arise.

As for Jim, did your brother bring his car to that one time car show at the Rockaway Mall a year or two ago? Does he always go to the Mc Donalds car show? I used to talk with a guy every time I went to that ledgewood show about his GN...If memory serves me, It hink he said it was running 12's a year ago? If it was him, small world...lol...if not, I wonder if they gave that guy a problem getting in?

John

 

[turbojimmy]

Originally posted by racemybuick
ok...this is my 500th post, so I gotta make it a good one:

I was a police explorer for 7 years for Rockaway Township. Those little *$@&%(!) pany kids from Roxbury have been notorious for taking any asignment far too serious. Now that I got that out, you should ask them why last year, they let in a 1993 Laborghini Countach? Or what about that A-Hole with his yellow 1998 Plymouth Prowler, or the red 88 Vette that goes to every show imaginable. I see 81 Panthera's all the time at these shows, and then they have the balls to say no to the fastest production car of that decade, and the last display of any muscle from any dealership willing to admit gas costs too much!!!???!!!

The only reason I go to any cruise night in NJ, is in hopes of finding a GN, talking with the owner, and seeing what other cars could possibly compare to a stock GN. These shows are for cars 25 years and older, then fine...let no-one in whose car is newer than 25 years....That means all the corvettes, replica kit cars, yadda yadda yadda. But dont make once exception...not one...because obviously, that is when the problems arise.

As for Jim, did your brother bring his car to that one time car show at the Rockaway Mall a year or two ago? Does he always go to the Mc Donalds car show? I used to talk with a guy every time I went to that ledgewood show about his GN...If memory serves me, It hink he said it was running 12's a year ago? If it was him, small world...lol...if not, I wonder if they gave that guy a problem getting in?

John

John,

When you point to the other post-1980 cars they say they're "special interest", a loosely defined term to give them total discretion as to what they will and will not let in. I think the Countach was a bit older - late '80s maybe. They initially turned him away but when everyone left the show to go see the car parked in the lot next door they let him in.

I'm the only guy with a GN that goes regularly so you were probably talking to me. It was running 12s up 'til late last year when I squeaked out an 11.9. This year I've been consistently in the 11s with it. My brother has a Turbo T which is of less "special interest" than a GN. It's a little rough in the appearance department, though. Once it has paint we'll take it up with the show management.

The past couple 'o Tuesdays have been crappy weather-wise so I haven't been down there. I'll probably get there next week if the weather is okay.

Jim

 

[racemybuick]

after august 10th, I'll be going to the shows. I am in summer classes trying to graduate college, so tuesdays are crap for me, but after the 10th, I wanna start getting intot he rotation of seeing these cars. My bro picks his car up on the 7th, a 1984 T-Type. It isnt too bad of shape, but is a fixer upper. I wanna get that thing into a couple shows before the summer ends!

I understand your loosely defined "interest vehicles," but it just agitates me that a guy with a stock corvette or someone who spent 70,000 on a car can bring it to any show, while you and I may have spent thousands of hours in the garage getting our cars to snuff, and get turned down because we didnt spend 30,000 or higher on it. And for the record...most 80's corvettes (stock) suck. They are ugly, bland, and honestly, have no mechanical appeal...I dont understand why those guys with the 80's corvettes even bother to open the hood. I would be embarrassed. They are plain. Any turbocharged car with enough detail, can catch an eye, but seeing a plastic cover or just the intake and no heads or pipes visible make for more of a blank sheet of paper to me. I love detail. I crave it...Seeing these gen 2 and gen 3 cars and the vettes from 1982 and up, just seem to lack creativity under the hood.

Plain intakes are not appealing, and 15 sec quarter mile slips dont help either. Give me a broke-down GN anyday, and I guarantee more people wanna see what is under the hood of that car, than any Corvette.

As for the lambo, you are right...I think it was an 88...And I remember it being parked at the strip mall and everyone walking around it. That was funny...The next week the car was in the ropes!

Go figure...we need to power a cobra or a willys with a Buick plant and see what attention it gets!

John

 

[turbojimmy]

Originally posted by racemybuick
And for the record...most 80's corvettes (stock) suck. They are ugly, bland, and honestly, have no mechanical appeal...I dont understand why those guys with the 80's corvettes even bother to open the hood. I would be embarrassed. They are plain. Any turbocharged car with enough detail, can catch an eye, but seeing a plastic cover or just the intake and no heads or pipes visible make for more of a blank sheet of paper to me. I love detail. I crave it...Seeing these gen 2 and gen 3 cars and the vettes from 1982 and up, just seem to lack creativity under the hood.

Let me know when you're going. My brother usually brings my dad's '80 Vette (carb'd L82 so it's not so bland under the hood). It's black with a red interior - can't miss it. My dad usually takes his other 'Vette a '67 327/350. That one is maroon with tan interior. I bring the GN, of course, and always get into a discussion with the Explorer at the gate over it. Even though I have the required "plaque" I still get sh*t when I roll up.

Vettes are cool and all, but I really don't think they deserve special treatment over TRs or other niche cars. The organizers are just trying to keep out the riff raff and some good stuff gets caught in the filter.

Jim