58mark

iTrader: (3)

42 cars. Great day. Still driving home, i'll post lots more later. Special thanks to RJ and Robbie for all they did to make it such a great day

DiabolicalRS

where was the swap meet? lol i just remembered that!

58mark

iTrader: (3)

Johnnydees backed out at the last minute. I was not happy about that. I was hoping they would bring lots of cool parts, but everything. I personally asked them to bring, they said they didn't have in stock. Their website is NOT representative of what they actually have

Grrrrrrrr

texascat2

That's kinda cs....

58mark

iTrader: (3)

Yep.

Can't wait to get home to yank their link off the website, especially since they told me a couple weeks ago their business had doubled since we started talking about them

texascat2

One can only hope that their business will shrink in the same time frame.

DiabolicalRS

hmmmmm. deja vu! lol but im goiing to keep my mouth shut lol

one92rs

iTrader: (5)

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v1...xas%20roundup/

90IROCconv

Here's one!

one92rs

iTrader: (5)

great to meet everyone. lots of fun and a lot of damn nice cars. cant wait till next year. first time out since going back to tbi and got 22 mpg.

texascat2

26 cars?

58mark

iTrader: (3)

Not everybody stayed for the photoshoot. We lost about 16

one92rs

iTrader: (5)

NOT EVERYONE WENT TO THE PHOTOSHOOT.

BlackenedBird

iTrader: (5)

That was from the Photoshoot after the lunch & I know some people didn't go to the Photoshoot after eating.

I counted 36 as we were walking inside & several more were there when we came out afterwards.

But still nothing near what was in the count that was shown coming.

58mark

iTrader: (3)

yeah, I think several things held down the numbers. Price of gas, many cars being down for repairs, a couple people with health issues

and yes there will always be people who sign up, and then drop off the planet and never show up.

on the other side, there were a few people there that had no forum affiliation that came out because they saw the website listed on a car show website, or had a flyer put on their car. I get really excited to see new people out there, as we're showing them that these cars have a following and they are worth preserving....

58mark

iTrader: (3)

oh yeah, and I think the chance of rain held the numbers down too...

I would have liked to see some more clouds today actually

travis401

iTrader: (1)

I dropped a flyer on the maroon IROC I keep seeing at the parking garage at work, you happen to know if he/she showed up Mark?

58mark

iTrader: (3)

I don't think so. doesn't ring a bell

travis401

iTrader: (1)

I figured it was a long shot. Maybe one of these days Ill find out who owns it.

DiabolicalRS

i liked how alot of ppl showed up. gave me some stuff to copy lol

rbjones

Mark--thanks for all your hard work. That's a great place to meet, good schedule, good activities--everything. Next year I won't spend 2 weeks messing with headers just before the meet--I'll at least wax the car and vacuum the interior, then park down below. Again, thanks.

58mark

iTrader: (3)

my pleasure, it was great to have my wife there to help out, and the assistance I got ahead of time from guys like RJ and robbie. wouldn't have been the same without them

My only regret from the day was that it all went so FAST. I feel like I hardly got to give any car more than a glance, and could have visited with everybody longer.

Next year we're going to find somewhere that we don't have to worry about working around a restaurant's busy time of the day. We'll start earlier in the day when it won't be so hot

58mark

iTrader: (3)

picture thread!

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/sout...gathering.html

rbjones

Mark--the loneliness of command. While we're all relaxing, eating and bs'ing, you and a few others are working to make sure we have a good time. Duke's had a lot of room reserved for us, great food, paved parking down by the river. Maybe an earlier start would give us some cooler display time before lunch, less interference with the restaurant schedule. For now, the group should congratulate itself for an excellent meet.
As for time going fast, it does that when you're having fun, right?

sailtexas186548

iTrader: (2)

Yes many thanks to you mark, the event was GREAT

For the guys coming from out of town thats asking a lot, getting up at 6:30 am wasn't too bad but 4:30am is not gonna happen

58mark

iTrader: (3)

yeah, more things to balance out. We met at hillsboro at 10, pulled out of there at 11 and got to dukes by 1245. What time did the houston caravan get on the road, and what time do you get to dukes?

sailtexas186548

iTrader: (2)

we rolled out at 845 (meeting place is a solid 45min from my place) and got there at ~ 12:15

lonestar7

iTrader: (1)

It was great to see so many Third Gens in one place. Everything from almost perfect original cars to daily drivers in need of some work and about everything in between. I got there a little after 12 noon and had lunch, I brought a friend with me who had to be back in Austin before 3:00 pm, so I had to leave a little after 2:00 pm. I think most of you guys were in Duke's having lunch while we were out looking at the cars, so I didn't get to talk to the owners like I had hoped. I'm looking for an IROC-Z to buy, but in the 5 or 6 months I've been looking, only a few have come up for sale close enough to me so I could go and see them in in person. Maybe by next year I'll have a Third Gen that I can bring.

Here's a link to some photos I took.

http://s791.photobucket.com/albums/y...n%20Gathering/

morbital

sure enjoyed myself that day! unfortunately it didnt last.. didnt have the chance to talk to everyone, but i did talk to some of the crew in Ntta! and mark, AWESOME event! cant wait for next year!! and i know the next ones are even BETTER!

58mark

iTrader: (3)

that's interesting... in 3 1/2 hours you could have made it all the way to Dallas from north houston.

Right now I'm planning on returning to Austin next year, but I'm also open to moving it around in a rotation. Dallas one year, Houston the next. I'm already on Google maps and bing maps trying to find someplace that has three things...

1. plenty of parking
2. plenty of shade
3. a photogenic area on site or close by for another photoshoot

if anybody has something like that in mind, send me a PM

sailtexas186548

iTrader: (2)

north houston and a decent semi central meeting point are two very different things, depending where your going in dallas, it's is a solid 4.5/5 hrs from the south side of town. also we cruise at ~65 most of the time so we dont have breakdowns and overheating cars.

something near lake travis would be cool, marina with a restaurant and big parking lot, then pics near the lake

58mark

iTrader: (3)

I can get to conroe in the same amount of time it takes me to get to Georgetown, about 3 hours. If we did houston, I'd want to keep it north of beltway 8. For Dallas....I'd want to pick somewhere south of I 20 like waxahachie that is easy for everybody to get to

North houston to waxahachie is an easy drive

and yeah, austin is still the front runner to keep it... it's just so darn convenient

weswisehart

Hey I think with my $200 dollar gift card I won at the meet from Hawk's I'm going to get the ABS headliner. It should last a lot longer then the crap material they came with. So big thanks to Hawks, and everyone who helped bring the first and second annual Texas wide meet

drew.davis83

iTrader: (1)

just my two cents but i have family in dallas and from south houston i have never made it too dallas in less than 5 hours and with my gear being on the high side theres no way i would be making the trip to dallas in my car would have to take the truck

Mancha87

We all had a great time, it will be intresting to see what everyone has done to their cars next yr round. I'd really like to see Stephens Trans Am with some nice paint and of course some borla exhuast.

The cruise over was one of the best parts of the whole day for me, I had'nt driven my car in about 6 months! The cruise back not so great....I got pulled over in Brenham for doing 74 in a 55 but I lucked out cause the cop could'nt get his ticket writer to work. Must've been my lucky day....

Mark you did a great job of organizing the whole thing and its a real shame that Craig Landry (R.I.P) was not around to see it, he would have really enjoyed seeing so many thirdgens in one place. I don't know if you guys met him but he was a great guy....

Sorry I'm ramblin a little....Anyways you could put it anywhere on the texas map and we will be there next year for SURE. So put me down as confirmed for next yr.

58mark

iTrader: (3)

I can usually make it to my inlaws house in LaPorte in 4 to 4.5, but I have to plan when I come and go to avoid peak traffic times. Conroe can be a killer

I like south of Dallas and north of houston for possibilites. There is a GREAT location I know about in Waxahachie, and I'd be looking at the conroe area for a houston meet, maybe the woodlands or spring.

That being said, I would say there is 75% chance we'll be back in austin again. Central Texas just makes sence

58mark

iTrader: (3)

thanks Mancha! It was great having you out with us, and I'm already working on trying to make next year's event even better than this years

weswisehart

I honestly think it makes the best sense to be between Waco and Austin area. Its better for everyone to drive 2-3 hours then say San Antonio - Houston or Dallas to Houston in 4-5 hours. The more centerthe spot between Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Houston we can get then the better for the larger majority of Texas. Just my opinion. But ill be there regardless of where it is.

58mark

iTrader: (3)

yeah, that was the logic in putting it north of austin two years in a row. The main motivation to move it would be if I thought we could draw even more by moving it north to Dallas, for example if we could draw more from colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, and northern louisiana. So far I've seen ZERO evidence of a strong Thirdgen presence in any of those states, so the point is probably moot

one92rs

iTrader: (5)

well imho it took me 3 1/2 hours to get from league city tx to georgtown. and that was stopping to stretch twice. and traveling with only 2 cars at 5 miles over the speed limit. to me not too bad. i think if we start moving it closer to one or another we will leave out the group that teavels the farthest.

and if we are going to make it to where more states are going to make it then it needs to be named something else. i traveled 201 miles to get there and that back. all together i traveled 430 miles with the photoshoot and all. to think someone would be willing to travel 500 miles or more would to me be a stretch. then you would be looking at trailering and a whole new cost. i think it needs to concentrate on texas only. center it up completely. some of us dont have cars that can make long trips. some of us do.

58mark

iTrader: (3)

I knew it was about 3.5 hours for yall, because the roads are so slow. I was thinking that if you can get to a south Dallas city in the same 3.5 hours, I thought that might be fair.

not to worry, like I said, there's at least a 75% chance it's staying where it is. I'm just brainstorming ideas and hearing opinions. Thank you for contributing

one92rs

iTrader: (5)

well if it is going to be towards dallas then the people from more south are not going to come. SLOW. i traveled 70 to 75mph all the way there. it is going to take 3.5 hours from laporte which is farther north than me or league city down towards galveston.

if you want the most people from texas then center it in the middle of texas and give a 4 to 6 month time ahead.

RS Chris

What are you driving like ten under the speed limit Andy? I made it from Denton to Bobby's in a little over 4 hrs one time, in the rain. But then again you can get anywhere quick when cruise control is set at 90.

rbjones

Mark--good discussion--whatever you dense-population Texans decide, I'll be there, good excuse for a road trip. My car got 27.7 mpg going with the a/c on, 70 mph, and 32.4 mpg coming home with no a/c, 60 mph because of all the deer. Heck, let's meet in Brownsville.

58mark

iTrader: (3)

dang! my sunfire doesn't get that!

rbjones

I'm really amazed: these headers gave about a 10% increase in efficiency all around, power and mileage. Crane Cams tech line told me years ago not to mess with the original computer as long as the 305 was in there; swapping a T5 for the automatic and 3.23's out back put it at 1900 rpm at 70 mph, a super sweet spot. I can go on long trips now for just a bit more gas money than in my Civic--jeez.

travis401

iTrader: (1)

now thats impressive.

rbjones

Yeah, all I can say is I lucked into the right combination. You hear this stuff from Quadrajet builders that they can make a Qjet perform equal to EFI. Well, Crane told me that these early computers are constantly adjusting timing and mixture in small increments for emissions purposes, which also gives great mileage. So a good Qjet and HEI controlled by an efficiency-minded computer, motor running in its sweet spot with free-flowing exhaust cruising at near-constant rpm must be the answer. My super-duper 350 will stay on the motor stand until gas prices drop.

Albani

iTrader: (2)

I've got a 305 TBI w/ 5-speed and 3:08 in back (89 Formula).
I'm taching 2000 @ 80 mph and getting 27.5 mpg (0n the hwy. no A/C).

rbjones

Excellent...even better!