LeRoar made it to the Hot Rod Nationals in Lincoln, Ne on Sat.. It ran very well and despite the hot weather I only saw the t-stat open once as I was watching the gauge. It got up to 180deg that one time. Mostly it ran around 150deg! I may need to install a fire pit to warm it up. The weather hit 96deg so it sure wasn't cold. I even let it idle about a half hour the day before and it still stayed plenty cool. I parked next to a very nice 55 Ford wagon the first day and the next day a 2010 Mr Norm's HemiCuda parked next to me. I know it's a Challenger convert. It did say Challenger/Cuda.
I watched a couple dyno runs. One was a Corvair Stationwagon with a blistering 42.1hp. The other was an early 20?? Mustang which showed 1255hp. Now that's a variety for you. Big Foot was there doing a "burn out" demo. They
did have 3 cars agree to the burn out contest. The majority didn't want to screw up their tires or car. These guys had a spare set to use. Too bad I gave my old set away! But even then you have to worry about your fenders.
There were plenty of cars at the show. I never heard a count but it was large. Of course the '55 Chevies took most of the awards. They had a judge come in from somewhere for the show. If he had to judge them all himself then he had his hands full. I doubt if I even saw them all. There were Mopars in attendance and I believe a few won awards more than best Mopar, etc.. I enjoyed the event and got a nice toasty red ring around the collar. I had many people stop and talk about my engine for quite awhile. There were several young guys who were really interested. Of course the wood spacers are always a big draw. Everyone thinks they will instantly go up in flames. I recruited a few folks for my WPC club and
hopefully our chatrooms.
I had several wanting me to work on their cars. One old gent wanted me to paint his car. I set him straight and showed him my genuine Red/Green duct tape bodywork. It is classy since I used the thin metallic tape they use to seal seams. He didn't believe me till I poked it and it wiggled . Nothing is too good for LeRoar :-) I am not a bodyman, yet.
I think my mileage may be up to about the 13-14 range now. It's difficult to get precise without an accurate speedo reading. But with some checking and interpolation I think I'm in the ball park. With my previous 264 cam and stock heads my best was maybe 11-12mpg. It had been as low as 4mpg when racing and when the tune was out of whack.
I think a critique of Dodger's hotel is in order too. I must say his waffle and bacon breakfast was unexpected and top notch. However I'm afraid he can't get
a 5 star rating until he starts leaving a chocolate on the pillow :-) We did enjoy a nice Chinese buffet after the show on Sat and it was on the street where the participants go to cruise afterwards. We sat on the tailgate of his truck and watched for about an hour and a half. It was a very pleasant evening then with the temp in the mid to upper 70's at that time.
The bottom line is I had a good time. No awards as usual but lot's of attention. LeRoar does draw a crowd.
Rich Kinsley '64 Dodge Polara LeRoar 4dr 324 poly w/goodies
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