SWDP 10th Annual Barbecue

[Charlie69]

Be leaving Phoenix between 4:30 & 5:00 am.  Should be in Fontana between 9:30 to 10:30 AM depending on traffic and Gene's ability to pass slow moving semis.

 

Great to here you made it to Fontana Angela,

[thisismatt]

Haven't left yet, but prob be there around noon

[red13]

good to meet some of you in person.

[thisismatt]

good to meet some of you in person.

 

Hey, what about the rest?   :rofl:

[red13]

Hey, what about the rest?   :rofl:

Did we meet?

shouldve gotten name tags with names

[thisismatt]

Did we meet?

shouldve gotten name tags with names

 

I only met a few people, so I don't think so.  I was only there from about 2-3.  Picked up a 521 hood from Gene and had to get back home.

[Angela]

I took a few pics but gotta figure out a new way to post them.

 

I still have a paid PB account but looks like they've changed things up & I'm not sure which of the choices to "copy & paste" so it'll show up here. Urgh...

 

Anyways, it was great to put screen names with faces, hear stories & learn about different ways to make my AC work!

 

Thanks Seeker, Keith, Charlie, Juan & a few others (forgive me, my memory is awful) for helpful hints...You guys were all great

 

Tanker, it was a nice surprise for you to show up just to say hello. Looking forward to more wagon chat!

 

One question...does this event have to be SO far away???

 

It'd be so cool to meet up & do a cruise & hang out when it's not like 100* outside.

 

Just my 2 cents...

[mrbigtanker]

http://s1339.photobucket.com/user/Cheapface/library/Public

 

http://s1339.photobucket.com/user/Cheapface/library/Public

Angela was good seeing you and will see you again at JCCS. And wagon looks real good.

[Charlie69]

Good times, good people, and great cars and trucks and great barbecue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carlos thank you for reserving the Ramada and bringing your family and your beautiful Datsuns and Nissan.

 

It was a pleasure to meet all of you and get to know you all.

 

Mr Fontana Datsun George Kipsell came with his albums of Datsun History.  Thank you sir for your years of dedicated Datsun enthusiasm!

 

Good Times.

[Carlos 312]

Hi guys thanks for the bbq my family and enjoyed 200% the food was delicious and the company

Thanks again

[gene knight]

as i was loading up truck early yesterday morning, it started pouring down rain, when we got home a little after 10pm, it started pouring down rain again. it was nice to meet new faces and hang out with familiar faces and talk with Mr, George. thank you for those who showed up and made the journey hopefully us guys from phoenix will bring our datsuns again

[Seeker > 620 KC]

This is once a once a year event is by far my most favorite Datsun event! I can wander around and see great trucks and early Dats, get ideas, and ask attendees "how the hell did you do that?" And they'll tell me!

 

But what other Datsun event can you go to and sit side by side with George Koepsel, who owned a Datsun dealership and knew Mr. K who ran Nissan?? And after hanging out and talking for an hour or so with George..he breaks out his scrap book full of pics of his dealership and staff with new 60's & 70's Datsuns in the background!,And there were couple pics of him shaking Mr. K's hand at Georges new dealership in Fontana 1968! He was impressed because Mr. K spoke good English for those times, and didn't require an interpreter.

 

George still enjoys telling the stories of how the local Inland Empirev Datsun dealers came to be. He explained what the city and Nissan's criteria were to have a dealer in their city. The local cities with the first new Asian economical Honda dealers, also wanted a Datsun dealer in their towns to bring in commerce to businesses and car tax revenue to local government. He knew who the big sellers were and said Joe Vittone of the Riverside Asian multi mfgr dealer that I worked for had his hands in everything long before he started Empi VW racing parts.

 

He told one storiy how his dealer had a paint & body shop. Nissan Japan early on and for a long time would tell dealers how many of each model vehicle they would get, and what colors, features like 5 speeds vs an automatic, etc. Sometimes his dealer got as few as 20 a vehicles month sometimes 40. Dealers would have to trade vehicles if they didn't have the one the customer wanted in stock, and it was always to the dealer in-needs detriment. If he needed a Z with a 5 speed, he'd also have to take in an unpopular color vehicle with an automatic. His Fontana Datsun dealer often had to paint a new car the color the customer wanted if they couldn't make a trade with another dealer for it. once they even painted a new 510 pink with an orange stripe??! And he had a pic of it too...Ugh.

 

Nissan Japan once flew all the top producing dealer owners from all across the country to Hawaii. There Nissan filled up an entire plane with just dealer owners and then flew them to on to Japan where they were given tours of the manufacturing plant, then wined and dined them for two weeks! In his scrap book he had a photo of all the participants on the tarmac holding a Datsun banner with the shiny polished old style plane in the babackground that looked like a sleek polished aluminum airstream trailer.

 

George enjoys hanging out with everybody and was willing to answer all our questions. He enjoys this meet so much he flies out from Florida where he lives now, just to attend! He is truly a treasure to experience and enjoy.He's up there in years, but is already looking forward to next years BBQ event. So If you haven't met him you might want to next year. Be sure to tell me to bug-off, if I'm hogging George ;)

 

I also got to meet, re-meet, and hang out with Keith in his Chop-Top 620 KC,, Angela in her DD 510 wagon sporting a Ghetto Breeze AC (who got lots of AC guidance from everyone) met Tom, Danny, and Hosestop Brad, re-met NevTony, Gene and Charlie (thx for the health and great pain management advice Charlie!) and tried to twist Juan's arm into designing a rotary new compressor bracket for a 620 ( remember, your wife needs one for her 620 too Juan ;)

 

It was a great time. Thank you SWDP for another memorable event!

[Charlie69]

I just want to thank everyone that came. 

 

Hosestop left before I got a picture of his black 510.  He was great to meet and talk with. 

 

Kieth with the blue chop top 620 was fun to here how he has had his truck 20 plus years and that people gave him hell when he chopped the top on his 620 king cab. 

 

Juan was full of information and has a good time at the barbecue. 

 

Carlos and his family gracious provide food and reserved the Ramada for us.  His family also brought 4 vehicles that were the stars of the barbecue, he and his family are definitely a class act!

 

Angela is a fun person to talk with and a very dedicated Datsun person.  I was pleasantly surprised when she opened her 510 goon hood and there sat a beautiful twin SU L16 what a sweet little 510. Her interior is gorgeous!   I also got a big smile out of her gheto AC she rocks the roads with. 

 

Seeker (Hugh) was intertaining and also brought a truck loaded with 620 parts.  He also had a few 720 parts in the truck.  Thank you for the magazines and the the 720 parts.

 

thisismatt came by for a hood Gene Knight brought for him.  Nice to put a face to a name.  He could not stay long because he has a new baby at home.

 

Brian and his misses brought a beautiful red flared 280ZX from Chandler AZ.  This man knows how to build a beatiful car.  Beautful flares on this 280ZX.  It was fun watching him on the highway come to the barbecue.

 

All the work to get everything to the barbecue is just fun when it turns out like it did on Saturday!

 

Thank you everyone! 

[hosestop@msn.com]

It was great meeting all of you at picnic and putting a face to who we talk to online ,also meeting non ratsun people from IE. they are into real older stuff and was nice .Next year will bring a truck , 521 I hope !

[Charlie69]

I would like to thank Red13 for briniging his family to the barbecue.  It was nice to meet you and your oldest son was a well mannered kid, good job raising your kids Red13.

 

There was a 521 there early and I did not get pictures but it was beautifully done.  I beleive it had a Toyota motor in it and it also had electric power steering.  This truck I thought when he pulled in it was MrBigTanker but it was not. 

 

MrBigTanker did show up and I thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to come.  If I new that all we had to do was get Angela to come to get you to show up we would have done this years ago!  LOL

 

It was a beautiful day warm but with a lite breeze,  great people, Datsuns, and food!  Thank you all for another great SWDP Barbecue.

 

I personally feel like Seeker that George Kepsell was the most interesting person there and the stories and the photos to back up his stories is by far the best free Datsun intertainment aperson can experience.  Thank you George for coming and bringing your albums to the barbecue.

 

If I have missed anyone here I appologize,  It was Satuday and as I get older my memory is fading.

 

Thank you all for a great Barbecue!!!!

[red13]

I would like to thank Red13 for briniging his family to the barbecue.  It was nice to meet you and your oldest son was a well mannered kid, good job raising your kids Red13.

 

There was a 521 there early and I did not get pictures but it was beautifully done.  I beleive it had a Toyota motor in it and it also had electric power steering.  This truck I thought when he pulled in it was MrBigTanker but it was not. 

 

MrBigTanker did show up and I thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to come.  If I new that all we had to do was get Angela to come to get you to show up we would have done this years ago!  LOL

 

It was a beautiful day warm but with a lite breeze,  great people, Datsuns, and food!  Thank you all for another great SWDP Barbecue.

 

I personally feel like Seeker that George Kepsell was the most interesting person there and the stories and the photos to back up his stories is by far the best free Datsun intertainment aperson can experience.  Thank you George for coming and bringing your albums to the barbecue.

 

If I have missed anyone here I appologize,  It was satuday and as I get older my memory is fading.

 

Thank you all for a great Barbecue!!!!

Thanks and hopefully ill have my truck done for the next one.  

 

The 521 was Jose 

521 by nathan hacker, on Flickr

[Charlie69]

That is the truck.  Thank you Red13.

[red13]

the power steering he has is a saturn vue electric power steering.  Lot of write ups and mods on it.  As well as a kit on ebay for a wire harness.  He used my airbox idea from a ford windstar

[Charlie69]

Do you have links to the writeups.

[Danny]

It was nice to see everybody out there sorry I didn't get time to talk to most of you I was too busy cooking hope everybody enjoyed the food thanks to Carlos and everybody who brought the food it was a great time

[Charlie69]

Danny thank you for cooking.  Next year i hope to do the cooking but I think I will bring Danny a Chef's hat any way.  LOL 

 

Disappointed there were not many SWDP members at the barbecue.

[red13]

Do you have links to the writeups.

http://www.fordmuscleforums.com/all-ford-techboard/538585-100-power-steering-yes-you-can-use-column-electric-power-assist-system-epas.html#/topics/538585?page=2

[red13]

One of,many

[Charlie69]

I forgot Chopper Jim, good man and definitely some one you can call if you break down heading to or from The Multi State Datsun Meet in Williams, AZ. thank you Chopper Jim and you buddy that was with you for coming.

[Charlie69]

http://www.fordmuscleforums.com/all-ford-techboard/538585-100-power-steering-yes-you-can-use-column-electric-power-assist-system-epas.html#/topics/538585?page=2

Sorry I should have been clearer I meant Josies' 521 build.