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It's that time of year again... Six cylinder time! Follow along with us as we get the old pistons pumping through Imlay City and Port Huron Michigan. Last months's tour to Lake Tahoe has me feeling like this one is just over at the neighbour's place. Okay, if your neighbours live 230 miles to the south. Paul Rozon decided to give me a bit of a break this time, and start out at a more respectable hour. I was to leave Bolton at 7:00am, for an 8:00am departure from their place in Burlington. I was pulled over after the first 200 metres to reload the car on the trailer. I had loaded it in the dark last night, and found out I had it about 3 inches too far forward when my mud flap scraped on the ground the entire way up the hill to the coffee shop. Amazing the difference that shifting the load a mere 3 inches makes! Loaded up with coffee and courage, I hit the 427 & 403 for Burlington. Our drive from Burlington to the border was fairly uneventful. We hit the backroads, as that is the preferred scene for Paul to strut with his '53 Belair. One lunch stop and a few bathroom breaks later, and we were at the border. Paul spent a long time in front of me with the guard. I thought "Wow they're being thorough..." My turn came. I pulled up, and the guard greeted me with "Just pull that little trailer queen in here!" Damn that Paul! The guard and I talked cars for a few minutes, then he remembered to ask me where I'm from and where I was going. Turned out I knew the answers, and we were off! Another half hour of getting to the bottom of my gas tank got us to Imlay City. The gas light popped on as we hit the exit off of I-69, a couple of blocks from the hotel! Meet & greet ensued in the parking lot. Lots of arrivals, and reunions with old friends. We headed over to Inlay City Eagle's Club for dinner. I hitched a ride in Jim & Lois Koontz's (Backroads here on Chat) 1940 Sedan. A nice driving car that Jim has just got running right. Dinner and a drivers meeting were finished, and the fun begins tomorrow.... Stick around for the ride!
Last edited by brewster; 10/24/16 11:12 PM.
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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You lot only just got home from the Tahoe tour and your off on another. I am jealous on 2 fronts 1 having all these beautiful Chevs to look at and 2 having the time to attend these tours in the first place. Tony
1938 1/2 ton Hope to drive it before I retire
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Monday morning started early! Woke up at Oh-dark-thirty, got dressed and headed for breakfast. Took a quick look at the car, and found out September is here, and so is morning dew on the cars. Love the view from my room! I'm a fantastic hotel waffle making chef, so my breakfast was spectacular. Also got some raison bran. Headed out to the lot where the drivers meeting was at 7:30. It was a short meeting. "good luck... don't get lost!", or something to that effect. I took the car over to the now sunny side of the hotel and tried to talk Paul into wiping my car off. I think he's threatening to snap me with that shammy! Verle Weatherwax's '53 could use a wipe too, Paul! The day was due to be kind of a review for some of us of the fantastic Central meet that we attended in 2012. Our first stop was the Wills Sainte Clair museum at Marysville. The museum hasn't changed much over the past few years, but and the location hasn't been made any easier to find! Last time I wrote about cars all lost and U-turning to find the place, and it happened again today! For once it wasn't the fault of Paul's Garmin, and it got our little flock of Canadians there and back on time. I think some of the others are still out there driving in circles!
Last edited by brewster; 02/09/17 01:18 PM.
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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Wills Sainte Claire was a high end car built in Marysville from 1921-1927. Their competitors were cars such as Packard, Auburn, Cord, etc. At a time when you could buy a Ford or Chevy for $500 and get change back, a Wills Sainte Claire would set you back $3000 to $4000! You can see a history blurb here... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wills_Sainte_Claire... or you can stop in and visit this super museum! One of the owners of a WSC roadster was there to give us a talk about the history of the cars and the museum. His roadster was there on display... ...as well as the car he drove to the museum today: this nice '48 Fleetline... All of those nice 1920's cars and projects, and the one that captured the most attention was this nice '54 210 sedan that was for sale...
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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The last time we were in Port Huron we visited The Atrium, a locally owned ice-cream parlour and restaurant. I wrote a paragraph about how great the food and service was, and mentioned that I gladly support businesses that go out of their way to provide exceptional service. You can read about that here. True to my word, we brought the gang back today. Twice!!! We had an hour to kill before our 2:30 lunch cruise, so we stopped in for soup & coffee. I notice Pat Staples was sitting in the same seat we sat in 4 years ago, and sent this picture to my wife... She knew exactly where we were, remembered the fantastic food, and sent me this loving reply... "Sure. Rub it in, Jerk!" If you're in Port Huron, hit them up... great place!!!
Last edited by brewster; 09/12/16 10:57 PM.
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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Next it was off to the docks for a lunch time cruise. Groups One was a little slow leaving, so we had an 80 car Vintage Chevy traffic jam in the parking lot. Hey Steve (m006840)... Get out of my parking spot... Thank you!!! (Of note here... Dale & I both have our cars on a Six Cylinder Tour for the first time together since 2013. In that time, I restored the entire car, and Dale replaced a wonky camshaft... with Cousin Dave's help, of course!!) We toured up and down the river, while the Captain of the boat provided a commentary on the buildings and boats on the river...
Last edited by brewster; 10/01/16 12:45 PM.
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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When we got off the boat there was drama in the parking lot. Every year John Hudson spends hours helping everyone in the lot fix their cars. This year it was all of us that had to help him! We got to the cars and he found his keys right wear he left them in the ignition... of a locked car!! Now, apparently there are 64 versions of the GM hex style key, and we have 80 cars here... so odds are that someone will have a match. Every one of us tried all of our keys in that lock, and not one of them worked!!! John wasn't sure if that made him happy or angry, but the keys were still in the car anyway. We all stood around and watched them try a wire on the windows for half an hour without any success. while we were doing that, some of us were looking under the hood. I thought I could reach the keys through the access hatch. A couple of the guys thought there was no way. Well, it turns out my arm is skinnier and longer than they thought. Keys were out in 2 minutes! All that practice re-wiring my dash through the access hatch had come in handy! After all of that, it was time to head back to The Atrium for ice-cream! I sent Jane this picture... she's not talking to me now!!!
Last edited by brewster; 12/14/16 08:07 PM.
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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Great stuff Brewster! We all appreciate that you take the time to take the photos and do the write-ups when we can't be there. Thanks very much.
All the Best, Chip
"It's wise to choose a SIX"
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I also thank you for sharing your adventure with us. Regarding John's locked car. When I worked at a gas station in the 50's I often would find a key taped to the underside of the air filter cover for emergency use. I guess I would not have found one in John's.
Dick
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Day Two of touring is now complete. Anytime you see a VCCA Chat member doing donuts in the middle of an intersection in a 1932 Chevrolet, while cars are going past him in both directions, you know that it was one of those days for the guys handing out the directions!! The day started out really nice... and really early! We were up at 6:00 in the morning, with a 6:30 breakfast. Out to the lot for a shammy, oil check, and warm up. I'm down a touch of oil. Departure was for 8:00am, for the John McMullen collection. Just the drive up his driveway let us know we were in for something special. Nice big gate with paved, tree lined driveway and a vintage Burma Shave set of signs along the edge greeted us. Over the past few years, Mr. McMullen has been selling off a lot of his collection. He had recently held an auction that sold 83 vintage cars. What is left is still spectacular. Five or Six large climate controlled barns were nicely decorated and filled with a variety of cars, from full blown classics to more common Model A & T Fords. Our flock of Chevys helped pretty up the yard. They forced me up onto the roof of one of the garages to take a group shot...
Last edited by brewster; 10/01/16 01:02 PM.
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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We need more pictures of that '39 Chevy. Sorry I couldn't be there
Gene Schneider
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The internet in this hotel is horrible. I may have to complete the journal when I get home...
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Okay... I'm going to take another stab at this internet thing again! Where were we?... We left The McMullen collection and were on our way to lunch. The lunch stop was at Blake's Cider Mill in Armada. Blake's is one of those fruit farms that have expanded into a country store, winery, and amusement park. Lunch was delicious and nobody got lost in the corn maze. Somebody did try to pinch all of the donuts though...
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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Our next leg went south... both literally and figuratively! We left Blake's and headed for the Algonac Clay Maritime Museum in Algonac. About half way there the Michigan State Highway department decided not to put names to the roads we were to turn onto. 80 cars all headed in the wrong direction. We came over a hill and saw Steve out getting his passengers all dizzy in the '32 as he pulled 3 U-turns (Is that 540 degrees??)in the middle of the intersection for access to I-69!!! Old Chevy's were going by him in both directions, with drivers pointing all ways trying to get it all sorted out! We finally got everyone pointed the right way, and made it to Algonac on Lake St.Clair. The Museum was a collection of classic wooden boats from Chris Craft and Garwood, as well as other local matinee history. One of the neater displays was a boat given away in 1949 as a fishing derby prize, that got donated back to the museum when the winners were done with it... Along for the tour this year is VCCA President, Mary James & her husband Roger...
Last edited by brewster; 09/14/16 10:30 PM.
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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Last edited by brewster; 09/14/16 10:58 PM.
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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Last edited by brewster; 10/01/16 01:08 PM.
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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Wednesday morning was another early rise. On the agenda for the day is Bronner's Christmas store, Michigan's Military & Space Hero's Museum and Downtown Frankenmuth. Today was the day that Paul's Garmin decided to switch languages again. I think it picked German in celebration of our visit to Frankenmuth. The first problem was when the directions we had ended at a closed road and a detour sign. Paul had a choice to follow the detour or the Garmin... and he choose poorly! It didn't help that there was a parade of vintage cars and an angry dump truck piling up behind him... as well as some idiot taking photos! Two turns later, and the Garmin had us on this... That's right... my junior award winning trailer queen hit a gravel road! I could see Paul had it out for me today. Stay tuned! We got things sorted out, and found pavement again. I asked Barry if I could borrow his toothbrush to clean the underside of my car, but it was back at the hotel. Such is life.
Last edited by brewster; 12/14/16 08:20 PM.
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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We arrived at the military museum and did a self guided tour. This museum is different from any I've ever been to. It was full of display cabinets, and each cabinet told the story of an individual Michigan soldier, sailor, airman, or astronaut. Many, many of them made the ultimate sacrifice for your country. Every artifact in the cases were genuine items of that service person, either donated by themselves, or their family. Each story was different. Some were sad, some were humorous, some were exciting, all were heroic. I didn't take a single picture in the place, and spent the entire time wrapped up in the history...
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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After lunch we decided that it may be a good day to get back to the hotel early. We'd take a quick walk through Frankenmuth and get a coffee and an ice-cream. Tim Hortons is right on the main drag, so in we went. We lined the cars up out front, and did a quick photo shoot as well. Barry has been having fun editing all of his photos on his new cell phone, and he was sharing how he did that with me. While we were sitting on their patio a guy came along on his Harley and started chatting with us. He did missionary work with the local churches, and was full of interesting stories about his travels oversea's to India and Africa. Another local soon joined us as well, and we must have been there more than an hour talking about life, travels, old cars, etc, etc... Not the way we planned on spending the day, but it really happened to turn out great! We left, and headed down town. A picture at the covered bridge, and a bit of shopping ensued. There may have even been more ice-cream eaten! I bought Abby a puzzle, and Jane a bottle of Cheap Red Wine. It really has a brown label that says "Cheap Red Wine"!!
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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Bruce, Thank you so much for this report. We enjoyed seeing you on tour. I agree with the person that told you that you are the future of VCCA. Keep it up.
See you Touring the Back Roads
Joined VCCA June 1, 1961
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