For all those who asked me for this, here is my report on Spring Fling 2000,
from Van Nuys, CA:
The word of the weekend was RAIN. It started when I picked up Dan Corrigan
from the train station in Eugene, as we planned on making this trip
together. That night we stayed at my place and the biggest thunderstorm I
can remember tore through, waking all of us up at about 3am, rocking the
house, and shaking the windows.
Dan and I left the following morning, and had a relatively uneventful trip.
However, we brought along my copy of "Salvage Yard Treasures" and tried
several different places in California on the way down. All of them were a
bust, for one reason or another, except one: Romo Auto Dismantlers of
Fresno.
Ron Romo has the most finned Mopars I've ever seen in one salvage yard!
Anything you might imagine, plus a few I'd never dream to see in a salvage
yard. The highlights: a '57 Fury (not much left of it before I got there,
even less after I left), and a 300D!!! This 300 was a very nice car, and it
appeared to be all there, minus the taillights and grill. we were not
allowed to open the hood, but the man said it was all there! Unfortunately,
he also said the car was sold to someone in Europe, who just hadn't picked
it up yet. However, the 300 was surrounded by about 40 newer "junk" cars
that would have to be moved to be able to get it out, so is this the
truth??? He didn't want to disclose much about this car. He also said he
wished he had 500 of these, as he knows he'd be able to sell them all (don't
we all have that same dream???).
I'll give anyone who asks the phone and mailing info of Romo's. FYI, they
DO NOT ship parts, so if you want it you have to go get it, which probably
explains why he has as the things he still has. . .
Anyway, this is supposed to be about Spring Fling!
It actually rained in LA. Saturday morning was quite cool and damp, and it
never did get hot, though the light rain eventually quit and it did warm up
to comfortable levels eventually.
There were several hundred vendors in the swap area, and I saw more '57-58
Plymouth parts (my area of concentration) than I've ever seen at one swap
meet before, including Fury gold grilles, 2x4 setups (including one for a
'58 Fury that had intake, both carbs and air cleaners for $850. He sold the
air cleaners to one guy, then sold the rest for $500, same price the '57 2x4
set up w/o air cleaners went for. Very good deals!!).
The car show area, though very crowded with beautiful cars, was a little bit
disappointing for me, as I had hoped to see several Golden Furys. Bill
Gillett brought out his '56, and his was the only one. I did see Bill
Craffey's gorgeous '58 Sport Suburban with almost every conceivable option,
and ran into Richard Main, and saw several early 300s, but quite honestly I
was expecting to be able to meet many more early Fury owners, even if they,
like me, didn't bring their car for whatever reason.
But the show seemed to be extremely well organized, the weather okay, and
the people extremely friendly, and it was well worth the 18 hour drive to
see it. I just don't know if I'll ever be able to bring Mr. Finzzz down to
this show, as it would mean contending with LA traffic, which, as usual, was
no fun.
The drive home was also memorable, as it DUMPED rain on me the entire 2
days. I think the whole West Coast must have been in the same storm those
two days of driving, as I had my wipers on every single mile of the way
home. Although the worst part was the last hour, as that's when the rain
became so thick as to hardly be able to see, much less avoid, the standing
water and highway bound lakes. Also saw 2 crashes in the last 25 miles due
to the water.
But even this could not dampen the good time I had on this trip. I would
say all Forward Look fans should make this show and swap a must see, at
least once if not more!! I'll be developing the pictures I took soon. If
anyone wants to see them, let me know. I do have pics from Romo Auto
Dismantlers, including the Fury and 300D, plus at least half a dozen other
finned cars. I'll post to the list when pics are ready to send.
Mark mjh
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