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River City Reliability Run III

Yesterday it was - for us - and about 85 other cars and cool passengers. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Pasadena Roadster Club Reliability Run, RCRR III started at the Rose Bowl just like they did in 1947.

The fleet included the most auspicious iron that could be summoned, including the dirt, mud, ice , gravel, snow and burnout premier of the much-heralded Doane Spencer/Bruce Meyer roadster. Meyer always has fun with his cars, but treating his concourse-winning restoration like a car pleased him greatly. Tom Sparks rode along and - modestly - agreed that the Sparks-built motor ran 'real good'.

The pendulum swang the other way, too......painter John Carambia installed his '29 A roadster body on his pals' '32 banger chassis, hung on 17" and 16" wires and intro'd the piece looking exactly like a kid might have had it then! Bundled up against the cold air, John and wife Roberta grinned for 130 reliable miles.

THIS PASTORAL SETTING WAS SOON INTERUPTED WHEN THE DRIVER OF THE DEUCE UNLEASHED THE DONOVAN MOTOR ON A 1 MILE PASS DOWN THE CANYON. RUMOR HAS IT THAT IT WAS ABOUT 140 INDICATED. IT SOUNDED LIKE IT.

In attendance were a Great American Race winner; 200 MPH Club members; some of the best fabricators in the hot rod trades; an original 1947 Reliability Run participant; 'real' magazine people; and 70 or so nobodys who are every bit as cool as the celebrities. (We ain't star-struck, here.)

There were no posers. There can't be, because these are Hop Up guys. What a relief.

Our favorite rodder put on an ice-capade for the video cameras (there were two crews doing the event for cable, or something) spinning and sliding his ride in a crazy (and controlled) demonstration of silliness. Although there were a couple of actual unplanned slow speed ice spins, there was no damage other than that suffered when the victims were harangued by 'friends' at the end of the day.

Only one car proved unreliable and - this is terrible - it happened to a real rod and real hot rodder, whose water pump failed on a bitchin 4-port Riley A Roadster P/U.

When he showed up at the BBQ 'On the hook", he was viciously attacked by all the superior folks who did not fail! Their time will come, won't it, Jim?

As usual, the local Horseless Carriage Club arrived at the BBQ before the rods and set up a mock protest:

That shiney spot looks like more ice!

"We knew we'd been somewhere when we saw the mud on Doug's shades!"

"Del was suckin' vinyl when that coupe began to spinnin'"

"Is your car runnin' rich, or are you burnin' oil?"

"My whole day is already made....no, my whole life!"

"You roadster guys were sure havin' fun on those twisties back there."