The CPW Spring Fling is one of the events I look forward to attending every year. For those of you who aren't familiar with this event, CPW (Chrysler Performance West) puts on a 4 day weekend filled with a day of racing at Willow Springs, a day of cruising down PCH, and two days of swap meets and car shows. Anything and everything Mopar is free to come and it's a must see for anyone who has any appreciation for this product. It doesn't matter if you have a show poodle, a daily driver, or a project that is painted 4 different colors, asymmetrical, and has plenty of rust scales. If it's Mopar... It's good! People from all over the world come to see this event. I've met people from Washington, Oregon, Canada, and even Finland. It's truly an awesome experience to hang out with a bunch of like-minded car people in an overall fun and relaxing weekend. I had only wished my pro-touring '68 Dodge Dart was complete to have made it to this extravagant experience. Unfortunately, the Scion tC had to do as my primary mode of transportation. I guess it's better than a rental car. At least it has a manual transmission.

Wednesday:

Although the Fling starts on a Thursday morning at Willow Springs, for some of us the festivities started on Wednesday afternoon. I arrived "late" at the track at about 4:00 pm where I was greeted with food fresh off the "Barbie." Everyone knows food is the best way to gain any man's trust, so it was off to look at the cars and talk with the people.



I had the opportunity of greeting some old friends I haven't seen since the year prior and it was a great way of catching up. There were also some members, who I've talked to frequently online, yet never met in person. For whatever reason, I never had a shocking moment putting a name to a Moparts username.
So, after the BS concluded, those who had vehicles out were invited to take their cars out for a photo shoot. First we oriented the cars at the starting line just to get a glimpse of what Thursday morning might be like. Then Tim (alltime), the coordinator of this event, had the great idea to orient the cars in a formation similar to that of a peacock spreading it's quills. Through much BS and many of incremental adjustments taking as much as 5 minutes per car, we finally got the shot we had been looking for. (Note: One of these is not like the others)



To end the photo shoot, we all paraded up the track to turn 4 and took our last couple pictures as the sun started to set.





As night was upon us, it was story time. We all huddled up in a circle around Bob Tarozzi and an arsenal of Chrylser Race Engineers from the early 60's and on. I apologize in advance, I forgot the names of the other two engineers. It was an awesome and informative Q&A session where we talked about all kinds of stories such as NASCAR and the Wing Cars, T/A's and road racing, the K-cars saving Chrysler, and where the automotive market is heading today. I wish I had recorded the conversations or at least gotten a couple photos of the group, but it was just one of those moments where you had to sit back, relax, and absorb what's going on.

Photos from Wednesday - http://s1127.photobucket.com/user/muumuu101/library/Spring%20Fling%202016/Wednesday

Thursday:

So, after waking up to vibrating water pipers from the motel room next door after a restless night of sleep on the floor, it was back to the track! As morning was upon us, the cars and trailers started rolling in getting prepared for some racing.



At 8:30 am we had a driver's meeting where Tim and the track instructors gave safety guidelines and expectations as to what the day may look like. Shortly after, the groups split off. People familiar with the event were allowed to prep their cars while the noobs had to sit through a very informative driver's training. The great thing about Willow Spring's driver's meeting was that it was based on DRIVING... not "how do I go around a racetrack?" They taught us mental notes and driving techniques that could be applied to our everyday lives... you know, like dodging traffic and entering on-ramps sort of stuff. Ok, kidding, their main point was that each wheel has friction circles and as you drive their constantly changing. Depending on how you maneuver your car, will determine how much grip your tires will have and how quickly you will swing around a corner. If you're like me, who was actually paying attention during that part of the lecture, you would have disregarded everything you learned by braking in the middle of a sweeping turn, spinning 270 degrees around into a ditch, covering the exterior and interior of your car in dirt, nearly pulling off your bumper, getting rocks stuck in your tires, and leaving 3 of your 4 front plastic wheel-well molding inserts at the end of Turn 2 and Turn 4. Let's just say I had some technical difficulties and quick repairs that ended my day of racing. Regardless, I had an amazing time. Road Racing was just like Autocrossing, but so much more relaxing. There aren't many opportunities where you'll be put in a situation where you can drive your four-banger 110 mph down the straight away.



And not only that, but watching all of the Mopars going down the track was an amazing spectacle as well. Sam Posey's Challenger made an appearance and to see that thing race in its domain was amazing. Hearing it's exhaust as it rumbled the concrete beneath your feet with the fresh smell of race gas was a memory I'll remember for a while. Add in the fact that there were a pair of dueling Wing Cars fighting over who's going to be the first one to enter Turn 1! Now that is something you don't get to see every day. Despite all that, seeing all of the old cars at the track made you think that this may have been the feeling people had when watching the Trans Am races 40+ years ago.





However, if road racing isn't for you or you don't want to be like me and destroy your car, there were still other ways to have some fun. At lunch, there was a segue into head's up drag racing. We're not talking about going off the Christmas tree when it turns from yellow to green. We're talking about head's up drag racing off of the drop of the hands. Old school... or what I would assume is "Old school" because I'm only 24 and never lived that era. I must say, I'm a bit of a corner's guy, but I can appreciate some good racing. Mopars and "others" battled it out eliminating each other one-by-one finally getting to the final showdown. The last race had a 2015 Hellcat up against a convertible A-body Barracuda. Don't let that little guy fool you, he was packing a 408 stroker and some drag radials. So, at the drop of the hands, the Barracuda gets the hole shot as the Hellcat is spinning the tires all the way through first and second gear. As the cars are roaring down straight black-top the Hellcat is whining and thundering its way ready to pounce on its fishy prey not too far ahead. The finish line was a photo finish as both competitors thought they had won that race. As the judge explained it, the finish line was about 12 inches wide. At the start of the white line, the Barracuda was ahead by about 1/4 of a quarter panel and at the end of the finish line the two cars were neck-and-neck. Victory goes to the A-body! Representing the little guys! Sorry for the bias...



If drag racing wasn't enough for you. Everyone also got the opportunity to run some parade laps. This allowed driver's to run around the track at 55 mph or less and drive along with passengers. It was a nice way to break up the day and have the experience of running a race track at a considerably less risky situation.

All together, this track day was a success and I must say, I look forward to doing it again next time, hopefully with the Dart.

Pictures from Thursday - http://s1127.photobucket.com/user/muumuu101/library/Spring%20Fling%202016/Thursday

Friday:

So, after spending a night scotch taping my bumper back onto my car, I headed back to Van Nuys to go on the Malibu Cruise. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. Even though I've lived in Southern California all my life, I've never traveled through the local canyons. Just like the Thursday Track day, Friday started off at Woodley Park with a driver's meeting held by Justin, (MoparJ). Everyone huddled up to hear the instructions and expectations of the cruise. It was important that everyone stayed as close together as possible as this year they had their largest group of cars. 67 cars in total made it! That's incredible! As my friend Steve (68HemiB) said it, "That's not a cruise, that's a parade!"



Lucky for me, I was not Mopar-less for this leg of the weekend. Luckily, Dennis Harris (aka DennisH) got in touch with me a couple weeks before the cruise and asked me to be his navigator for the day. Now talk about a stand-up guy. And Dennis doesn't just drive any old Mopar, he drives a Sunfire Yellow '69 Dodge Coronet R/T. Personally, I have a soft spot for Sunfire Yellow as I used to have a slanty post-car '68 Dart in that color, but this thing was a Riot! Talk about having every bell and whistle needed for a road trip. We're talking about a 5-speed transmission, ice cold A/C, power windows, a suspension that absorbs all the bumps and cracks in the road, comfortable seats, and no squeaks or rattles. You can't forget opening exhaust tips in a tunnel while going Wide Open Throttle. That's a must! I completely understand why he'd rather drive this than his '09 Challenger. Did I forget to mention that Dennis was a cool dude too?



So, off we go onto Highway 101 heading North to the canyons. Daily commuters were looking left and right, honking their horns, taking pictures, and giving thumbs ups to the spectacle they saw on that freeway. Miles long of pure Moparness rumbling along the busy LA roads of Southern California. When we exited and stopped to regroup everyone, the line of Mopars was incredible. There were so many colors. It was like dying and going to heaven, if heaven were filled with Skittles... Lots and lots of skittles.





Running through the canyons was one of those times where you just needed to absorb the moment. Unfortunately I didn't get many photos but there's nothing like taking a car through windy roads and having beautiful scenery on all four corners.



About halfway through our cruise, the whole gang stopped at the Rock Store. The Rock Store is like a little biker cafe that has awesome oatmeal cookies and a nice divey feel to it. It was very cool seeing all of the cars parked on this small, but busy stretch of road and it was a nice break from driving for a little bit. Even Kenny Wayne Shepherd showed up with his kids in his pro-touring General Lee. Unfortunately, not caught on camera, but a Hellcat ended up driving into a small ditch. While everyone was shocked at the sight of seeing a Hellcat nose down with one back wheel three feet in the air, we were all just as shocked to see it use all of its 707 horsepower to rocket the vehicle backwards and onto all 4's again. Luckily, it seems like no damage was done to the Hellcat and yet another memory will be locked into the internal memory album.







So, not too far up the road was "The Charm of the Snake." This stretch of road is actually a pretty well known road for motorcycle and car enthusiasts alike for its winding corners. From an aerial view, yes, it does look a little snaky. Again, it was fun to drive up, but seeing all of the cars in one local was another spectacle to see. At the top of the Vista point we took another break and it was another good time to catch up with everyone, meet new people, and make fun of some of the motorcyclist who were compelled to speed and do multiple wheelies next to all of the awesome Mopars. What were they trying to prove? I don't know, but no one was really interested in seeing a motorcyclist fall and potentially damage someone else's vehicle. The line of the day was, "Why don't you just take a handful of pills to end it all?!" And don't get me wrong, I'm not a motorcyclist hater, just be responsible on the road and courteous to other people's property.

Friday Cont:



Unfortunately, for the group, there was an accident up ahead causing us to change route. Although, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing as all of the routes were pretty scenic. We went on our way from our Vista point and headed to the beach. The weather was perfect in Southern California. Clear skies, blue oceans, and 70 degree weather. You can't ask for much more. After reaching our final destination, Dennis and I decided it would be best to go back through the canyons to get lunch near the Picture Car Warehouse as we wanted to get a decent parking spot when the doors opened.





After a nice lunch at Applebee's we finally made it to the Picture Car Warehouse. What an awesome place and you can really tell the owner is a true Mopar Nut. Lots of Mopar memorabilia in the main lobby as well as a few cars and an old Gen I Hemi. When 5:00 hit, the owner let us run free through his lot. Cars everywhere! Some are from movies and commercials that may be recognizeable and others were awaiting being built. Lots of cool Mopars around too. Now I know where all the 4-door B Bodies went. They must have had 10-20 on this lot alone. Most were being converted into taxi's or patrol vehicles. Another cool vehicle was a '69 Notchback Barracuda. What was once a slanty now sports an RB Big Block, 8 3/4 rear end, a 4-speed, and disc brakes up front. I definitely wouldn't mind one of those. Also hiding beneath the ashes was a '70 Dodge Charger shell begging to be restored to its former glory, though no VIN or Fender Tag was found, and an actual '70 or '71 Barracuda convertible. Talk about rare cars that any of us would like to own.









After hanging out with everyone, I decided to hitch-hike a ride from Greg (Frankenduster) and his brother-in-law Jeff. We decided to head back to Woodley Park to grab a jacket from my car only to find out my car was locked in the gates. Instead of trying to figure out a bright idea of getting it out, like driving over the curb, we decided to head to Bob's Big Boy in Burbank. Again, this is another location I've been wanting to go to but never had the chance. Lots of characters with a wide variety of cars. We ended up talking with a guy with a Rat Rodded '40 Dodge Coupe/Pickup/Thing. Let's just say he went to Woodstock in '69 so he was definitely fun to talk to. Lots of little details to his car. One was his rotating air filter assembly with beer bottles of all the years Harley Davison made beer. Another was his small anvil bolted down to the back of his bed. You can't forget his chopped roof with a front windshield that was only about 6 inches tall. Again, another fun night and great times. Event Staff ended up being at the park at 10:30 PM to open the gate in case you were wondering if I ever got my car out. Although, not really a cool or funny end to a good story, part of me kind of wish I went off-roading and drove over the curve into the main road. The other part of me didn't want to hurt my car any longer.

Photos from Friday - http://s1127.photobucket.com/user/muumuu101/library/Spring%20Fling%202016/Friday

Saturday:

Now, Saturday is not a day I am unfamiliar with. I have always come to Saturday's. They're my favorite. I love to walk around the swap even though I don't usually buy anything and it's just awesome hangout time. Plus, I keep my camera around and take pictures of all of the cars. Yes, if your car was in the show field, I have a picture of it. One of my favorite cars for sale that day would probably be a '70 Dodge Charger 500. It had a big block in it and looked fairly complete. Paint and interior were fairly decent. As ridiculous as it is for me to say it, but it was actually reasonably priced in my book. It's shocking to see how Charger's have exponentially gone up in prices over the past 10 years or so.



Remember Bob Tarozzi and Sam Posey's Challenger? Well, they came back for Saturday's festivities. The Challenger was on display next to Bob Tarozzi's booth and all spectators got the opportunity to converse with Bob over the car and his past experiences. Bob was just a book of knowledge. You want to know what was special about the spindles and lower control arms and he'd tell you like he just worked on it yesterday. What an awesome man with great history and he was such a good sport all weekend long. Personally, I picked up one of his autographed books called, "TURK: The Lives I've Lived - A Rebel WITH a Cause."







Another great addition to this show was the Winged Warriors showed up. Another great and informative club that brought about 30 or so winged cars to the show.





Again, it was another great day hanging out, checking out the cars, and spitting jokes with Greg and Jeff. Talk about two guys who were an absolute riot to be around. We would definitely highly recommend the soft-serve ice cream at the Fling too. Just an FYI.

Pictures from Saturday - http://s1127.photobucket.com/user/muumuu101/library/Spring%20Fling%202016/Saturday

Sunday:

Sunday was another great day to end the show. Much like Saturday the swap meet was going and the cars were lined up, spit shined, and looking pretty for the judges. I did my normal rounds of the swap meet, bumped into some more Mopart friends, and decided to continue my comradery with the road racing crowd. Tim (alltime), who is a guy who loves to turn, brought in his cool Henry J gasser with a long-ram 413 in it. You can't forget Rick (71autoxr) and his Hillbourn-Injected Challenger, soon to be featured on Mopar Muscle Magazine. Ironically, I almost bought a vehicle myself. I'm still debating on it, but it might be right along the lines of something I may want to own.









Pictures from Sunday - http://s1127.photobucket.com/user/muumuu101/library/Spring%20Fling%202016/Sunday

Final Thoughts:

For years, I've always told myself that I've wanted to do all 4 days of the Spring Fling. I was lucky enough to do 5 this year. This was definitely an unforgettable experience. I got to hang out with old friends, make new friends, and be around the cars I love the most. It really doesn't get any better than that. I've made a lot of memories and had an awesome time. The CPW crew outdoes themselves every year and we all thank you for your hard work. Like I said, I don't care where you're from, if you have a passion for Mopars, you need to make it to the Fall or Spring Fling at least once in your life.

Good stuff Samy! Are those guys Moparts members in the last two pictures? They look kinda shady.

I did it for 6 years in a row, probably won't be back for a while though. It is an awesome show, but I have been going to the Mopar Nats for 33 years and Carlisle for 30 years, so I am not missing out on much...

Glad yo had a great time. I've been going to on the show for almost 24 years now and make it a mandatory vacation stay. Though I wasn't able to join in the festivities and was mostly sick all weekend, it was great to see old friends and enjoy the show of cars.

I have been many times. Was trying to make this work with my work schedule, but could not . . .maybe fall fling ! I do miss the drive to get there (couple 3 days from Calgary), the whole time there, and then the drive home ! Glad it was another great success !!!

Cheers

Mark

Thanks, Samy!

The Spring Fling has been on my bucket list for quite some time. It's kinda tough to fit it in with everything else I have going on.

Nice.

Thanks for this.

Nice pics thank you

Thank you for filling in the blanks for Friday-Sat. I sat out Sat for Sun and am still not sure if I did the right thing, but yesterday was a gorgeous day with nice cars.

Thanks for all the pictures and great write up Samy.

Great write-up, Samy.

The other two VIPs at SFSF were:
Bill Surber, Chrysler Liaison to Petty Enterprises from 1968- 197?
Tony Richards, Chrysler director of Lamborghini

The shady folk in Samy's final photos are members here.

For the record, the Hellcat doing the three-wheeled ballet across from The Rock Store was not mine.




Photo caption:

Gravel reinforcement of tire bead? Done
Inner fender removal project - 75% complete
Extra credit for artistic HeckCat reflection

Are they to remain nameless?


That's awesome! I mean that in a good way. Someone had a little too much fun.

AWESOME write up Sammi! You could have a backup career writing! Great story for those who can't get here.