Re: [ihc] 2004 NW Binder RoundUp Comments

[John Hofstetter <hofs@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Jul 17, 2004, at 8:49 PM, Colin MM Rush wrote:

> Those that missed this show really missed a fabulous event, with
> something like 187 registrants, many of which brought more than one
> machine.  I personally feel that we could top 300 registered owners 
> there
> next year after a little schedule change and now that folks know what 
> to
> expect.
>
> Also, if anyone wants to see what Yours Truly looks like, visit the
> collection labelled "IHSTO July 4th at the Donnelly's", and look for 
> the
> fella wearing the American flag for a shirt.  My favorite is the one of
> me standing watching the fireworks.
> -Colin Rush
I have no idea why Colin thinks anyone wants to look at him. Now that 
I've seen him .......

Just got home this evening, a week after the end of the NW show. We've 
had a wonderful trip home through Oregon, looking at covered bridges 
and very much enjoying the area around Salem. The fact that we had 
fabulous weather the whole week made it very nice indeed.

As I've read my accumulated mail i noticed that Jim Grammer says that 
he wasn't there. Darn, I never even missed him. Actually, we talked 
about him a bit sitting near John D's Streamline trailer.

Some thoughts about the show:

It's a spectacular place to have a truck show. After everybody was gone 
for 3 or 4 days, I was still wandering around looking at all the 
machinery that is on the grounds. As just one example, the Pacific 
Northwest Truck Museum is on the grounds and they have a wonderful 
collection of trucks.

About Wednesday when I thought I'd seen about all there was to see, 
Larry, a major player in the operation of the Powerland, brought in a 
Heider tractor. So what's different about a Heider. How about the 
engine and tranny slide forward and backward to engage the drive train? 
My point just in case it's not clear, is that the Powerland is a 
machinery lover's dream.

The facility is green grass, mostly, lots of shade trees, RV camping 
for $10 a night and run by very nice people. While on the subject of 
the facility, I need to digress and tell you about Bud. I wondered far 
off to the back of the facility where  there is another of many storage 
facilities and there was a guy working on trying to get the engine on a 
1936 IH pickup to turn over. The fellow tells me he is Bud and he 
wishes that this IH hadn't come into his life. The truck was a mess, 
but the dump body on the back looked great. It was a Wood dump body and 
was unique looking in that the hydraulic ram pushed a couple of greased 
"rods" against a couple of eccentrics which lifted the front of the 
dump body from the back. I'm no engineer but the whole setup looked as 
if the manufacturer had forgotten about any mechanical advantage 
factors. Anyway, very interesting.

So, as we talked, Bud offered to show me the 1936 Dodge truck that he 
was kind of finishing up. A hundred hours on the grill, a couple of 
hundred hours on the body, two rivets that he had made so that the 
bracket on the frame would be riveted as it "was supposed to be" rather 
than fastened with bolts and nuts.

"How long have you been working on this truck, Bud?"

"Six years."

I didn't ask how long the IH was going to take.

Anyway,  back to the show.  I'm in a pout right now because so many of 
my friends are finishing up the day at Salida and the Rendezvous so 
maybe I'll compare this years NW with last years RM.

There just can't be a better place for this kind of event than the 
Powerland facility. Nobody serves better food or more of it than the 
guys and gals at Salida. Food during the show at Brooks was OK but 
certainly not memorable. After the show was over, we got invited to a 
"staff" barbecue and party and that food was memorable.

The folks at RM are SO nice to be around. The folks at Brooks were just 
as nice. I wanted to see my friends at RM, and I saw my friends and 
made some new ones at NW.  The organization of vehicles for judging was 
better at Brooks, but the peer judging, IN MY OPINION, was awkward and 
maybe less effective than the judging at Rocky Mountain. However, the 
planners at NW were caught by surprise by some things they couldn't 
predict. They, unexpectedly,  had a whole lot of pickups show up, and 
they were all grouped together for judging and I was hopelessly lost in 
trying to judge this category. There was a 1928 restored pickup, a 
non-restored but in good shape 1936, there were beautifully restored 
pickups of all kinds from the 50's,  60's and 70's. These were all in 
the same judging class and really couldn't be prepared. I'M NOT 
CRITICIZING, just pointing out the kind of thing that the organizers 
will have a better handle on next year. I'm not convinced peer judging 
is as effective as the Rocky Mountain model, but I'll certainly 
participate next year again if that is what is decided.

Thank yous are often better not started because of whom you forget, but 
I would be amiss if I didn't thank Robert and Chris for sharing their 
new Cynthia with us, and for Robert's on-going saga of the Scout that 
he never expects to see. Special thanks to John D, Colin, Kyle of NW 
Binders who bought our steaks, Jack's wife for not quite running me 
down 4 or 5 times <g>, somebody's nurse/wife or nurse/mother-in-law or 
whatever who took care of us all and was so friendly, and everybody 
else that made this event so successful.

It was a spectacular success, and the organizers should be proud of 
their efforts.

One last thought. After the IH people left, the Ultra Van group came in 
for the week. Aluminum aircraft type construction with Corvair engines 
and drive trains. 4800 lbs. for an about 20 foot motor home. So, I 
thought I had learned about everything there was to know about Ultra 
Vans when another one pulled in late. It looked a little different, so 
I wondered down to talk to him. I commented  knowingly, "Too bad these 
things are so under powered."

"Underpowered?", he asks.

"Yes", I said.

"Well, if you call a 455 Oldsmobile Engine underpowered, then I'd like 
to know what you think is powered enough?"

How was I supposed to know that they changed the power train the last 
couple of years they were made?

These folks weren't as out-going as the IH group and I think they 
thought they should have the choice spot where my trailer was. A spot I 
didn't offer to leave. So, they circled up their Ultra Vans all around 
me and partied late into the night.
9:00 some nights. Well, late is in the eye of  the beholder. Anyway, 
pretty funny, the RV camping goes for maybe 300 yards and there is John 
with 14 Ultra Vans circled up around him, using maybe 30 yards of the 
available space. I say agian, pretty funny.


John Hofstetter
Ol' Saline
www.goldrush.com/~hofs