Bluegrass on Ballard Car Show 2017
My First Ride Podcast
Today’s episode is a little different. It was July 2017 and I finally got a chance to go to a local car show. This car show is an annual event held in conjunction with a bluegrass music festival in downtown Wylie, Tx just before July 4th. What you’re going to see is a slide show of some pictures I took of the vehicles at Bluegrass on Ballard. It’s a short video but you’ll see some great vehicles. Here's the link to watch the video:
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The VW Convertible: First Ride for Frank McCarthy
My First Ride Podcast
Do you remember your first ride? You know, the first mode of transportation that gave you a newfound freedom when you were younger? Stick with me for a few minutes while I go back in time with my guest and explore some great memories. Today, I’m talking with Frank McCarthy. His first ride was a 1964 green VW convertible. But wait, my first ride was a 1964 green VW convertible! What gives? We’ll Frank was the third person for that vehicle to become a first ride. You see, he bought the VW from me after I got another car. We’re going to talk about his first ride experience with the...
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Mustang GT California Special-My Next Mustang?
My First Ride Podcast
My first ride? You probably know by now it was a VW convertible that was British Racing green with a black top and chrome wheels. In episode 27 I talked about my first Mustang. A 1979 coupe. Today, I’m going to talk about what I would like to have as my next Mustang.Hello, I’m your host, Gary Neidert. Thanks for listening to and watching My First Ride Podcast. This podcast is about nostalgia. Automotive nostalgia. You know, reliving the events, sights, smells, and emotions of special memories connected to our favorite rides. Said another way…it’s about allowing our memories to...
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My First Mustang
My First Ride Podcast
This podcast is about nostalgia. Automotive nostalgia. You know, reliving the events, sights, smells, and emotions of special memories connected to our favorite rides. Said another way…it’s about allowing our memories to travel back in time and experience our special car moments all over again. My first ride? It was a VW convertible that was British Racing green with a black top and chrome wheels.That car was so much fun to drive, and I have lots of great memories associated with it. However, I did yearn for more power than the VW could deliver. When I was a senior in high school, a...
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The Hot Rod Big Three
My First Ride Podcast
In this episode, I explore the fascinating world of hot rods and celebrate the "Big Three" who shaped the hot rod car culture. They are George Barris, the "King of the Kustomizers,". Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, the audacious artist and creator of Rat Fink, and Von Dutch. I’m looking for people that would enjoy telling the stories of their first rides and how their lives were influenced by them. And I bet you probably know someone that would be a great guest for My First Ride Podcast, right? Let me know a little about them and their story. What about telling your story on the podcast? Let me...
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My First Ride Podcast: Looking back on 2022
My First Ride Podcast
To sum up My First Ride Podcast for 2022 here are some of my favorite automotive highlights: - Going three for three with my 2000 Toyota pickup in car shows. - Seeing friends at a car show I had not seen in years. - Getting to see the Viet Nam Mustang (https://youtu.be/0_eAS2Gf8vk) in person at a car show in Murphy, TX. - After watching a couple of videos that featured a COPO Camaro on Dennis Collins’ Coffee Walk, a few days later getting to see and listen to it do a short burnout at a car show in Murphy, TX. 2022 was a good year. Hopefully it was a good year for you too. Here's...
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What does Frank Sinatra, Marylin Monroe and NASCAR have in common?
My First Ride Podcast
Hello, I’m your host, Gary Neidert. Thanks for listening to and watching My First Ride Podcast. This podcast is about nostalgia. Automotive nostalgia. You know, reliving the events, sights, smells, and emotions of special memories connected to our first rides. Said another way…it’s about allowing our memories to travel back in time and experience our special car moments all over again. So, let’s talk about what Frank Sinatra, Marylin Monroe and NASCAR have in common? The Ford Thunderbird For more information, go to MyFirstRidePodcast.com.
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Why You Need to Share Your First Ride Story
My First Ride Podcast
Do you remember your first ride? You know, the first mode of transportation that gave you a newfound freedom. Think about it. What do you remember about your first ride? I would be thrilled to have you as a guest on My First Ride Podcast. It's an online audio/video program spotlighting the stories of people's taste of freedom with their first vehicle. Whether it was a car, truck, or motorcycle we all have some great memories that need to be shared. We'll talk about your first vehicle and the memories attached to that time in your life and what kind of an impact it had on you later in life. It...
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1st place! Old School is three for three in the car shows!
My First Ride Podcast
This podcast is about nostalgia. Automotive nostalgia. You know, reliving the events, sights, smells, and emotions of special memories connected to our first rides. Said another way…it’s about allowing our memories to travel back in time and experience our special car moments all over again. In episode 22 I told the story of going to car shows and eventually entering my 2000 Toyota Tacoma, Old School, in one on May 7th this year. It was a great experience and met some great people. Well….I entered another show on May 28th along with my friend Danny. He brought his Mustang GT that is...
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Do I have a car show obsession?
My First Ride Podcast
Do I have a car show obsession? Not really. I’d rather call in an intense interest in going to look at cool vehicles and taking photos of them. Here’s my story of how this “intense interest” came about…. For many years, there was a car show in Rockwall, Tx that I always wanted to attend. However, the weekend it was held, every year, was the same weekend my wife produced a music event that I helped with. Every year, I would see the ads and think “maybe next year it will be held on a different weekend, and I’ll be able to check it out”. As it turns out, I was never able to...
info_outlineNow that we’re in early spring of 2022, local car shows are running full blast.
April 30th and May 1st it was car shows galore with two on Saturday and one Sunday afternoon.
The first show I attended was at Dickie’s BBQ in Rowlett, TX. This was the first time to go to this show and was pleased with the cars and trucks on display. I talked with the owner of a 1955 Ford truck, which was a great looking vehicle. He had one when his kids were little but sold it. Here's where the story is really cool. Years later, his kids pitched in and bought him a truck similar to the one he sold years ago. I’m sure you can imagine how this made the truck all the more special to him.
The next show on Saturday was a real treat. Not because of the cars, there were some nice ones there, but people.
The shows was in Murphy, Texas at the PSA parking lot. Just like the one in Rowlett, the Murphy car show had a lot of great looking cars and trucks. But, what made this show special was running into some friends I’ve not seen in quite a while. I enjoyed visiting with them and looking over their C8 Corvette. Of course, it’s a beautiful vehicle and sounds fantastic.
When I attend the car shows, I’m always looking to interesting cars that I can photograph. I especially look for interesting angles and close ups. And, at this show in Murphy, like most other car shows, I was able to take several photos of great looking vehicles.
Sunday afternoon, I wrapped the weekend up with another show in Murphy, TX at Country Burger. This is one of many shows that Mustang Sally Productions puts on in the Dallas/North Dallas area.
Be sure to check out their website, mustangsallyproductions.com, for a full calendar of shows that run through December 2022.
Not long ago, I had to go my local Kroger to do some shopping. As I was looking for a parking spot, I noticed the back of a t-shirt with “mooneyes” on the back.
If you’re not familiar with “mooneyes”, it’s a hot rod cultural icon created by Dean Moon, which was big into racing during the late 60’s and early 70’s. I’ll talk more about him on a future episode.
Well, as I was walking through the store, I saw the guy with the mooneyes t-shirt. I told him that I liked his shirt, because of the mooneyes. We started talking and had a great conversation.
Turns out, he races at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. With a 57 Chevy. With a recorded top speed of 217 MPH and an average of 209 MPH during the 2018 Bonneville Speed week in Utah. His name is Tom Hurley.
After we talked for a few minutes, I had to get going. But before moving on to get my groceries, he invited me to his shop to see his car.
A week or so goes by and I called Tom to see about going by to look at his car.
Once I get there, Tom showed me the car and talked about how it had been modified to run at Bonneville. Very cool.
Then he began to show me the photos on his walls. Talk about a guy that’s lived a full life! He helped bring what is now Autorama to Dallas in the early 60’s. Tom started racing in top fuel rails when the driver sat behind the engine and rear axle. He then got the 57 and raced it as a dragster. He promoted a lot of VW events and off-road events during the 80’s. Then a few years ago, he turned the 57 into a Bonneville racer. Did I mention Tom has lived a full life?
My time visiting with Tom was a real treat listening to the stories of him being involved in motorsports for all these years.
I found an article written about Tom called: WHY THE UNDERDOG ALWAYS WINS: A SPEEDWEEK STORY. Kristin Kline wrote the article in 2016 which was in DrivingLine.com Go check out the article to find out more about Tom’s Speedweek story and more details about how he started racing at Bonneville. (This will be posted in the show notes) Tom Hurley’s Speedweek story
A side note this the story…. Tom took me down the street to introduce me to Steve which is the guy that does paint and body work on the ’57 Chevy. Turns out Steve still has his first ride. How cool is that!
My thanks to Tom for giving me the tour of his shop, introducing me to Steve and sharing some great motor sports history.
Hope to see you at one of the shows in Murphy, Wylie or Bass Pro Shop in Garland.