• Got the Contributing Memberships stuff finally worked out and made up a thread as a sort of "How-To" to help people figure out how to participate. So if you need help figuring it out, here's the thread you need to take a look at -> http://www.corvetteflorida.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3581 Thank you, everyone! Rich Z.

road-trip to Garlits' Museum 1/28/07

USA-1

New member
In early October of this year, a group of Corvette-owners gathered at Orlando Speed World Dragway, having a BBQ while running their cars at a Friday evening 'test-n-tune' session:
that event was so well-enjoyed that Forum-members litevette and Red 69 have announced another gathering at OSWD on Sunday, December 3, as part of that track's "Funday-Sunday" program.

With the Holidays just a few weeks after that, and wanting to continue 'keeping-in-touch' over the Winter, we are organizing a road-trip on Sunday January 28, from the Orlando area, to Don "Big Daddy" Garlits' Museum of Drag Racing, near Ocala

http://www.garlits.com/

where some historic drag-racing vehicles have been retsored and are on-display:
with it's huge parking-lot, we can travel caravan-style if we desire, and have ample & safe parking while visiting the Museum.....
if rain is forecasted that day, we can bring our daily-drivers instead.

After our visit, we will probably find a steak-house/rib-joint/pizza-parlor near the Museum for a late-lunch and bench-racing/lie-telling, before heading for home.

We will probably meet near the I-4/Turnpike junction that morning, and be traveling the Florida Turnpike from Orlando to I-75, then North to the Museum, which is located right-off I-75 @ Exit 341:
we can pick-up interested Corvette-owners as we proceed North along the way.

I would think if we can meet @ I-4/Turnpike around 9:00 AM that morning, we should easily arrive at the Museum by 10:30 AM, giving us plenty of time to visit the Museum and it's gift-shop:
this visit isn't 'ONLY' for Corvette-owners from the Orlando-area, as anybody is welcome to join us @ the Museum from other locales in Florida.

Garlits-himself has told me that if we can bring 10-or-more visitors, we will receive a $3-per-person discount upon entering the Museum:
those interested in joining us should please sign-in here, so we can finalize plans and confirm our intentions with Large Father beforehand.
 
Count me in and a buddy of mine from Lake Wales wants in as well...I would be glad to organize a meet up at an I-4 rest stop for those of us coming from the east coast...
 
fuzzy dice said:
...I would be glad to organize a meet up at an I-4 rest stop for those of us coming from the east coast...
..... does a meet at I-4/Turnpike at 9:00 AM sound acceptable/feasible to you, Herr Funk-meister ?
 
This sounds like fun and the weather that time of year is great for a cruise. I have never been to the museum so I look foward to visiting the home of "Big Daddy". Meet up at rest area sounds fine.:thumbsup:
 
You know, the wife and I drive by that place whenever we drive up and down 75 on our way down south from here, but have never stopped in. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to do so.....
 
Rich Z said:
..... have never stopped in. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to do so.....
Rich, Large has some of his earliest dragsters, the front-engined car that blew part of his foot-off, leading him to design the first successful rear-engined car, his 'Side-winder' (transverse motor-mounted ) dragster, some early Funny Cars, and anything you can imagine:
perhaps his most-famous car, Swamp Rat XXX, which performed this 'blow-over' in New Jersey in July '86

Big%20Daddy%20Don%20Garlits%20Blowover.%20Photo%20by%20Mark%20Hovsepian.jpg


is not at the Museum, being on semi-permenant display at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.
:usa_flag:

BERNADETTE and I stopped-off on our way here in Feb '06, but only had 40 minutes before they closed that day, so I am looking forward to 'WALKING' -through this time.
 
Count me in! I'm only about 45 minutes west of Garlit's Museum so I'll just cruise over and meet you all there. :D
 
Sounds like fun! Tampa crew, let's go!

The Garlits museum is Great! We've only been once and drove past a couple of times this year, making me think it's time for a return trip.

Let's see if we can't get some of the Tampa and Pinellas crew to drive up together. Where's Jim Kill? :toetap05:
 
2 more... Guess we'll meet ya's there.

:thumbsup: Looks like we're going to show up as well. We live pretty close (20-30 minutes away), yet we've never been there.?


Ray
 
USA-1 said:
..... does a meet at I-4/Turnpike at 9:00 AM sound acceptable/feasible to you, Herr Funk-meister ?

That sounds fine to me...there is a rest area on the Turnpike called "Turkey Lake Service Plaza" which is only a couple of miles north of I-4 on the Turnpike...might be a good place to hook up...I have a PDF map but can't get it hosted to post here...oh well...
 
Tampa Meeting Place

For those coming from the Tampa/Pinellas area, let's meet at the Hooters/Office Depot in Brandon, just like for the TBV runs. It's 85 miles up I75 from there to the museum. If we leave at around 9 AM, that gets us to the museum between 10 and 10:30, which is about when the Orlando group should arrive.

What say ye?
 
I'm in ya'll. It will be an impressive sight to see these Vettes cruising out together. BTW, when you enter the parking lot at the museum, check out the two strips of rubber where Big Daddy broke out one of the old Swamp Rat's a few years ago and lit 'em up!
 
USA-1 said:
Rich, Large has some of his earliest dragsters, the front-engined car that blew part of his foot-off, leading him to design the first successful rear-engined car, his 'Side-winder' (transverse motor-mounted ) dragster, some early Funny Cars, and anything you can imagine:
perhaps his most-famous car, Swamp Rat XXX, which performed this 'blow-over' in New Jersey in July '86

Big%20Daddy%20Don%20Garlits%20Blowover.%20Photo%20by%20Mark%20Hovsepian.jpg


is not at the Museum, being on semi-permenant display at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.
:usa_flag:
Swamp Rat XXXI IS at the museum (that's the one he crashed in Washington). Not a pretty sight.. XXXII (my favorite of the last three) was on display, but has since been moved to the Scummit store in Ohio. I loved the engineering on it, especially the monopod wing support. It was designed to be "the first to 300MPH", but never made it (finally running 299) before being retired.

As to going... I will be unable to go, but I've been many times already, with the last visit being on the 29th of October. To the guys going, have fun!
 
AdvAutoBob said:
..... Swamp Rat XXXII was on display, but has since been moved to the Summit store in Ohio.
When I lived in Pa. and raced, we'd drive to Summit Racing's original HQ/warehouse, to get our parts direct, but it has been years since I was to their facility, and didn't know that SW-32 had been loaned-out to them.
:thumbsup:
 
Who else is coming?

:wavey: Hey Mekanic, Madn3ss, Jim Kill, 2Vettes, And the rest of ya's Whom we just met at the UCP. Not to mention those on the forum who we've not met. Not coming?:toetap05: Call in sick, whatever it takes.:lmao:

Heck, We're not even a race fans and we're going!

C'mon, we can hang out, do Lunch etc etc...

~Ray
 
Yeah! I will tentatively say we will be there. Hard for me to think that far in advance, though.
 
..... the reason we planned this event for a Sunday was to allow as-many Corvette-owners as-possible the chance to go, as a group, with us:
we are still 9+ weeks-away, and encourage and welcome any Corvette-owners (and friends ) join us.
:thumbsup:
 
Fastmax32168 said:
Hey Lets converge on it from all directions. Anybody want to plan a caravan over there from the East Coast? Im in Daytona.
I'm all in for that. Since the best route for most to take would be up the turnpike to I-75, we could meet up at the Millenia Mall (plenty of parking). It's just off I-4 at the Conroy Road exit. This is strategic because it's not too far off for the people coming up 528 or 408 from Cocoa, Melbourne, and the other cities that way, not too far past the turnpike exit for those coming from Lakeland & Tampa and right on the way for those coming from Daytona, Deltona, Port Orange, etc. Who agrees on this spot?
 
Litevette,
That might work for those from Cocoa and Melbourne, but from Daytona I can be in Ocala in the same length of time it takes to get to the Mall at Millennia. :confused:
Roy
 
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