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| Article by Fuzzee Pics by Eric |
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Well, it that time again; I am going to tell you about the Redneck Power Tour 2010 without tooting
my own horn. It hasn't been but 7 months since the first one, and we were hoping it wasn't too
soon, but once again everything went great. We had planned to start in Laurel, MS but several
cars came to Meridian, MS to start the Tour with me and Eric. We gathered at the Best Western
for our Sunday Kick Off Party, sponsored by Fuzzee's Performance. We had fixed some Red
Beans and Rice to feed the masses while Ollie & Teresa Patterson brought Potato Salad. To
quote the ambassador, "We eat like we were going to the electric chair!" Doris (aka Ma), Tony,
and David Parker from Hueytown, AL had headed to Meridian on Sunday morning and about the
MS state line, the tranny went out on David's '33 Studebaker President. Let me tell you, Ma was
not a happy camper when she got home, so, not to be denied, they loaded up and drove over
Monday morning in Ma's van. We were on the road by 8:00 am with our first stop being Twin
States Customs up Hwy 19 north of Meridian. This shop is owned by Eli and Justin Griffin, and if
you have never seen their workmanship, you don't know what you are missing. Lots of cool
projects are going on in this shop. I guess the one that got the most attention was a 1960
Chevrolet 2-door hardtop. The frame had been modified for Air Ride, and was going to be
powered by a 406ci small block Chevy motor fitted Twin Turbochargers. Can't wait to see this
one on the road! Twin States has had many cars and trucks featured in magazines and one truck
featured at the SEMA show. When we were about to leave, their dad Charles drove up in a 1967
Chevelle SS396. Eli and Justin built this car for his birthday. He never knew who the car
belonged to when they were building it. Thanks to Eli and Justin for taking time to let us come to
the shop. It was keno-jet!
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Our next stop was not on the Itinerary, but Mark Doran was getting gas in the '53 Chevrolet when
he saw Gary Weatherford who has a shop about a mile above Twin States. Even though I have
known Gary for many years, I have never been to his shop. It was a private shop that had full
time help, and too many projects to list. One of my favorites he had was a '33 Ford coupe with a
392 cid Hemi! He had lots of ole school stuff that he in putting together an old school gas station.
Another car in the works is a '32 Ford roadster that will be powered by an old ('54) Hemi. What
can I say? I'm a fool about a Hemi! We want to thank Gary for having us at his place. It was
really cool. Then we headed to Newton by the back roads. This is me and Eric's stomping
grounds, so we showed them some back roads. I had called my mom when we headed to
Newton where she could check out the cars and do some fellowshipping with the group. I gave
her a Redneck Power Tour Pin in case she wanted something nice to wear when she dressed up.
The pin had an image that Joey Hudson from West Monroe, LA painted on my first scooter when
we were at The Emerald Coast Crusin in Panama City Beach FL a few years ago. Some people
said the image looked better than me! On the way to Stringer we picked up 2 cars from Brandon
at Bay Springs where our next stop was John Stanley Poor's shop. Stanley had gone all-out
buying Door Prizes. He also had some trophies made up for us that said: The 2nd Annual
Redneck Power Tour 2010. All Door Prizes and our Lunch were furnished by Stanley and his
family. Thank y'all for your support!
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Next we were off to Roy's Rides in Laurel, MS. Roy had a bunch of stuff going on, one project
was a '62 Corvette he was putting together that had a Art Morrison chassis, also Roy was working
on a '61 Chevrolet "bubble top" that will sport a 409 motor with 3 deuces and a '32 Ford that had
a Ford motor in it. Thank you, Roy, for showing us your shop. After we left Roy's we headed to
Collins to hit Hwy. 49 to head to south. You see, some fool made a rule that we couldn't drive
Interstate Highways. Wait a minute, that was me! Before we got to Hattiesburg we stopped for
gas and told everyone we would stop on the side of the road when we got to Lyman. After we
regrouped, our next stop was VanderLey Racing Engines. Mrs. Kay came out first and was
surprised to see that many cars ...I had no idea how many cars there would be... followed shortly
by Mr. Paul. As you know, unless you have been living under a rock, Mr. Paul has been racing
for about 60 years and was one of the first inductees into Div. 4 NSRA Hall of Fame and at the
age of 75 still races at the Bonneville Salt Flats and has held the record in his class. We got to
see the engine shop and the building where the "Toys" were. The Bonneville car was
disassembled; every bolt has to be taken out after every run on the salt. Also we saw the '32
Ford that he bought when he was 17 yrs. old; it has had many faces and it is currently wearing
the one that is powered by a V-6 Pontiac. Don't let it fool you! ...It's stout! Then we headed
down the road to Dan's Hot Rodz for our final stop for the day, and once again Wrong Way Joe
missed the turn to Dan's Hot Rodz. I can't understand it; I gave him 10 ft. notice! Shortly after we
arrived, Paul and Kay arrived in their '32. This car looks brand new! We found Dan Tackett
cooking us supper. After he finished, he repaired the shock bracket on one the participant's cars
and later joined us in the "office?" I guess that's what it was! Anyway, it had a Tiki Bar , a '54
Corvette in Black Primer with a LS-2 Motor, a '54 White Corvette with a Blown Big Block, and a
'67 Camaro Convertible. Also, there were cabinets full of all kinds of memorabilia. There was a
wall where you sign a dollar bill and put the date and the event you were there for; he got a bunch
of new dollars! Want to thank Dan and the Orange County Kruisers Car Club for their hospitality!
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Then, finally, we headed to the Biloxi Motel6 for the night. Now this is only our 2nd year to do the
Power Tour, but we learned one thing, that was, traveling 220 miles and making 6 stops is too
much to do in one day! Tuesday morning we left the motel at 9:00 headed to Picayune, MS for
our next stop: B & B Motorsport. Since Arlis Corley had a car being built at B & B, we made him
our leader. When we arrived, about 30 cars from the Coastal Cruisers were on hand. Barry
Barone has been in business only a short time, but let me tell you, his work is top notch. Barry
and his staff had gone all out to make us welcome. We had all kind of food to eat and Barry
offered his shop's service if anyone was in need of repair. There was a paint rep. on hand, if you
had any questions, and of course I didn't, plus several other vendors were on hand showing their
stuff. While at Barry's I ran into Tom Woods, an old street rod buddy of mine, and he told me he
and Tina were both retired and don't have time for car shows? I'm still trying to figure that one
out. Thanks to Barry, all his crew, and the Coastal Cruisers for a great time. Next we were off to
Metairie, LA so our new leader was Kenny Nunez since he knew that neck of the woods. Well
everything was going good till we crossed the Causeway; that's when I noticed Ollie Patterson
was leading. At this point we knew we were lost. Ollie had turned on Hwy 90 rather than Hwy
61. We called Kenny and Susan to try to find us. Anyway we finally arrived at Jimmy and
Richard Gueydan's shop. Jimmy and Richard have 28 cars, mainly '55 and '56 Chevrolet, and of
course we had to eat again. They have 7 lifts in the shop with cars stacked. Upstairs was the
Parts Dept. with all kinds of NOS parts. I hadn't seen Jimmy and Richard in a few years and it's
always good to fellowship with them. Thanks guys for the memory! Then Kenny and Susan took
us to our motel in Kenner because they knew we would get lost!
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Wednesday morning we were on the road at 8:00 headed across the Causeway to Madisonville,
LA for the day's activities. Joe Doran had arranged a Police escort once we got in town. He had
also had arranged for us to go to the All Ford Museum at Champagne Beverage. I was told this
was the best Ford Museum in the US and I think they are right! On display there were 77 cars ...
all beautiful... an antique Parts Dept., and a room with old slot machines. You could make a day
of this place! We want to thank Jim Wilson and his staff for taking time to show us around. Then
we were off to Joe and Brenda's for lunch. Lee Roy Jenkins had cooked us some Jambalaya and
Bread Pudding and let me tell you it was some kinda fine. Thanks to Joe and Brenda for a great
meal! After Joe and Brenda's, we made our way to Hilltop Street Rods. Ronnie Sandifer is a
long-time Street Rodder and has been in business of building Street Rods as well. Ronnie has
many Willys bodies. He cuts the glass, builds the frame and the interior. Ronnie is known for
his quality workmanship. Thanks, Ronnie, for a good education! Then we headed to the motel in
Covington for the night. The next morning we headed to our final stop, Hammond, LA, and
the Coon-ass Redneck Nationals (which is always a blast)! Me and Eric want to thank everyone for
showing us their venue and the ones who took the time and trouble to feed us, and most of all
thanks to the folks that showed up... we couldn't've done with you! Redneck Power Tour 2011
will be April 3 thru April 8. Lots of neat stuff is already planned and we hope you can make it.
Check www.fuzzeesperformance.com for updates.
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Well that's it for now and remember, "Timing had a lot to do with a rain dance"
Happy Motoring...Fuzz
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