Midway Car Cruise June 5th

We finally made it to the World Famous Midway Bar & Grill car cruise.  I can not remember making it there at all last year.  It's held every other Wednesday during the summer months.  So this was the first time that our Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang was there.  Mike drove the General Lee & I drove the Saleen Mustang.  We questioned taking the Mustang there since it's all cleaned & detailed to go to the All-Ford Nationals in Carlisle this weekend, but I wanted to get it out & drive it.  It's too fun a car to just sit in the garage looking clean.

We got to the cruise a little late & was told at first that there was no room at the cruise.  However they made room for the Saleen Mustang & the General Lee.  The guys that run the cruise are great.  We really appreciated them making room for us.  The minute we pull in, people start coming up to the Saleen.  Most people think it is a Boss 302 because of the stickers on the side.  Most do not realize what it truly is which is way I have a sign on the car explaining that it is a Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang.  But the first person up to look at the car actually knew what it was.  Very nice to talk to someone who knows the car. 

And of course, the General Lee is the star of the car cruise.  So many people taking pictures of it & surrounding it.

It was a perfect evening for a car cruise, not too hot & not cold at all.  Walked around & enjoyed all the nice Hot Rods that were there.  They have a very nice set up at the cruise.  Different food to choose from.  Pizza, hot dogs, & Italian Sausage sandwiches were the most popular.

I hope that we can make it to another car cruise at the World Famous Midway Bar & Grill.  We've always enjoyed the cruises there.  Great cars, great people, & great atmosphere.  One of the best cruises around.

For more pictures of the car cruise find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/2FastCars?ref=hl

Next blog will be on the All-Ford Nationals in Carlisle, PA

The General Lee



My all time favorite tv show growing up was the Dukes of Hazzard.  I loved to watch the Duke boys tear up the road of Hazzard County in their General Lee.  It was the coolest car on tv back then & still to this day.  And now, we own a General Lee of our own.  Pretty cool!

The Dukes of Hazzard debuted on CBS-Tv in January 1979 & ran for seven seasons.  During the seven seasons, the real star of the show continued to be the General Lee.  The General Lee was the Duke boys race car, a 1969 Dodge Charger.  It was hemi orange with a Confederate flag on the roof & the number 01 on the side.  The license plate was CNH 320. The original General Lee on the show had a 440-cubic inch big block engine along with the famous Dixie horn.



As they were writing the script for the Dukes of Hazzard, they were going to call the Duke boys race car Traveller, which is the name of General Robert E. Lee’s horse.  “Do you realized how few people in America would know that?” Madleker asked.  “Let’s just name it General Lee.”  And that is how the General Lee got its name.

But can you imagine the General Lee as a Pontiac Firebird or a Ford Mustang?  The first choose considered for the General Lee was the Pontiac Firebird.  But since the Firebird had been used before in the movie, Smokey and the Bandit, along with other tv shows, they vetoed that.  Then the Ford Mustang was considered.  The Mustang was cool enough, but not very big & wouldn’t work as a stock car.  So the Dodge Charger was chosen.  Back in 1969 the Dodge Charger entered 54 NASCAR races & won 22 of them so it was the perfect stock car.  And in my opinion, I just can’t picture another car being the General Lee.  It was the perfect choice.

And how about that horn?  The Dixie horn.  Did you know that the horn was added by accident.  The folks of the Dukes of Hazzard heard the horn as they drove down a Georgia highway from a car going the opposite way.  So they turned around & followed the car.  They offered the driver $300 for the horn & that horn was placed into the General Lee.



How did the General Lee become part of the Duke family?  In episode #129 Happy Birthday General Lee, they explained how the General Lee was born.  The Duke boys wanted to race in the Hazzard Road Race Championship & they needed a race car.  So they went to the Chickasaw County junkyard & found a black 1969 beat up Dodge Charger, that had just been used in a bank robbery.  They bought it & took it to Cooter’s garage.  With help from Cooter, Uncle Jesse, & Daisy they made the beat up Charger into the General Lee.  They welded the doors shut like all race cars & painted it orange with a Confederate Flag & the number 01 on the side.  Any idea why the color orange?  It was the only color of paint that Cooter had in his garage.  And who named the General Lee?  Uncle Jesse was the one who suggested General Lee. 

In episode #2, Daisy’s song, the first hood slide across the General Lee took place.  That hood slide was a mistake & was not in the original script.  Tom Wopat, Luke Duke, tripped, hit the fender & his foot slipped out from under him & across the hood he went.  And as he slid across the hood, he opened a four-inch gash on his arm.  But the hood slide was born & became part of the show.

 

The General Lee was able to jump anything.  But it required some modifications.  They had a steel box that would carry a varying amount of weight depending on the length of the jump that was welded into the back of the General Lee to help balance it during the jumps.

The General Lee that was driven by the Duke boys was a “first unit” car.  But the “second unit” cars were the ones used for the jumps and other stunts.  The “second unit” cars required extensive modification to keep the stunt drivers safe. 

The highest jump that the General Lee ever did was on the episode #85 The New Dukes & the car was equipped with nitrous oxide.  The longest jump was over a large gully that was used in several episodes, including “Happy Birthday General Lee”.

While none of the cast of the Dukes of Hazzard ever jumped the General Lee,  but they did perform some of the other stunts like the take-offs, spins & stops.

Owning a General Lee is a childhood dream come true.  Everyone wants a picture with the General Lee.  And it brings smiles to everyone who sees it & remembers the tv show The Dukes of Hazzard.  So in the words of the Dukes, “Keep it between the ditches!”

 

Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/#!/2FastCars for more pictures & information.

PONY TRAIL DRIVE FALL 2012

Sitting here & I can not believe how cold & damp it is.  This past weekend was gorgeous!  The perfect weekend for a cruise looking at the leaves changing colors.  And that is exactly what our Mustang Club did.  Several Mustangs & their owners got together for an 85 mile drive.

After a little bit of a rough start at home, our General Lee which was blocking the Mustang didn't want to start, we headed out to meet our Mustang Club for the Pony Trail.  It was an absolutely wonderful time.  We took our Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang & my dad drove his Saleen Mustang.  There were about 14 Mustangs in all.  It must have been quit a sight to see all these Mustangs cruising along together.  We saw several people stop & stare as we all drove by. 

As we drove along though, I couldn't help but wish that my dad had his co-pilot with him.  My mom, who passed away a little over a year ago, would have loved the cruise & the beautiful weather.  She loved that Saleen Mustang. 

We had left around 10 in the morning for the cruise & finished around 1ish that afternoon.  We made one pit stop along the way, which was good since we had the kids with us.  We also stopped along the roads a few times to make sure that we didn't lose anyone.  After the wonderful cruise, we had a great lunch at a restaurant called Pizzazz.  The service was a little slow because they only had one waitress but she was great.  She really did the best that she could.  And the food was excellent.

So as I sit here watching the changing weather, I wonder if that will be the last time that we have the Mustang out.  I certainly hope not.  I would love to take it out a few more times before old man winter comes. 

To see more pictures from our Mustang club's Pony Trail, please go to our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/2FastCars?ref=hl

General Lee Buzz

This past weekend was beautiful so we decided to take our Parnelli Jones Saleen & General Lee to a local park to get pictures taken of them.  We have a lot of great pictures of the Saleen, but none that were really nice of the General Lee. 

I am continually amazed at the response the General Lee receives.  We pulled into the park & parked both cars together on a grassy area.  As soon as we pulled in, people began to flock over to the cars.  Most of them were drawn to the General Lee.  But how cool is it to see both of these cars together!

Everyone started taking pictures of our General Lee & of course, they all wanted their pictures taken with the General Lee.  Everyone was great as they looked at the cars.  They all asked if they could get pictures with the cars.  The people around here are great!  It was a while before we could actually take the pictures that we wanted, but we did finally get some great pictures of the General Lee by itself & with both cars together.

To see more pictures, please go to our Facebook page  http://www.facebook.com/#!/2FastCars

As always I am amazed at how much people love the General Lee.  It is an iconic car & will forever remind people of their youth.

Now we just need to find a way to get the Saleen, General Lee, & the Viper to this park so we can get some great pictures of all three of them.  Any volunteers to drive one?  LOL!

Moon Township Volunteer Fire Department Car Cruise

Every year around the end of August is one of the largest car cruises in our area.  This year there was easily over a thousand cars that were there this year.  This cruise also offers a burn-out pit for the ones that would like to do burn-outs with their cars.  But I don't believe it was too popular this year as we didn't hear or see any burn-outs.

 We arrived early to the cruise so that we could get a spot along the road & in the shade.  We arrived with the General Lee, our Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang, & my Dad's Saleen Mustang.  The cruise was to begin at 11am, but they open the gates at 6am & there is a line to get into the park at that time.  We arrived at 7am & there was still a line, but we managed to find the perfect spot for us.  We parked in the shade & right next to the road.  We were able to watch the cars drive by.  So many beautiful cars.

We did walk around a little bit, but the park is huge & with there being so many cars, we didn't walk around the whole park.  Instead, we decided to sit by the road & watch as the cars drove by.  We did take a break to go to the food vendors & to the playground (to let the kids loose).  The hamburgers they had were huge & excellent.  And the other food that we always recommend when there is the corn on the cob.  They have a nice selection of food to choose from.  Hot dogs for kids, hamburgers, hot sausage sandwiches, french fries, cabbage & noodles, & more.

 All in all, it was a wonderful day.  The only downside was getting up early in order to get a good spot for three cars.  I feel that more & more at the car cruises, it's a competition to get the good spots.  I would like to see them keeping the cruises closed until it actually starts.  But, it was still a great day even though we were all very tired that evening.

To see more pictures, of the car cruise, please go to our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/2FastCars

Talk to you all soon!

Beaver Car Cruise

This past Saturday was one of the nicest car cruises in the area.  It's held in the town of Beaver, PA.  They close down main street & the cars park along the street & in their park.  This year was packed!  A friend of ours let us know that the park was full & that the street was getting filled at 10am.  The cruise officially started at 3pm.  My dad arrived at our house around 2 & we left.  Drove around before we parked on the street quite a ways down as there was no other place to park.  Guess that's what we get for trying to get some neglect yard work done.  LOL!

We took the Parnelli Jones Saleen, the Viper, & my dad drove his Saleen down. This is one of our favorite cruises of the year.  Lots of great people, wonderful food, & lots of great cars!  This year they had around 2,000 cars.  I'm thinking that is a record high for them. The only thing that we wish was different was how they parked the cars on the street.  At the Beaver Falls cruise, they park the cars side by side.  At the Beaver cruise, they parallel park.  They would get more cars into the cruise if they did that. 

After we arrived, we went to get something to eat.  On our way up to the vendors, we ran into Rosco's (Dukes of Hazzard) cop car.  (Never did manage to get a picture of it.)  Made us wish that we had brought the General Lee so we could have gotten the two cars together to get a picture of them together. After we had a nice dinner, we walked around.  This cruise is really nice.  They allow you to pull your cars up into their park & park under the trees & by a gazebo.  Very pretty setting for all these nice cars.

As we sat down by our cars, we watched as people drove their cars up & down the street.  Got to see a '37 Packard & still upset that we did not manage to get a picture of it.  But we did manage to get a picture of two rare cars together.  A Porsche Carrera GT & a Ferrari 458 Italia.  Just absolutely gorgeous cars!

Once again to see more pictures from this great car cruise, please go to our Facebook page,
http://www.facebook.com/dawn.hluben#!/2FastCars

The only other bad thing about this cruise is that means that summer is getting closer to an end.  But until then, we do have a few more great cruises that we are planning to attend.  However, we will be taking a vacation & heading to the beach in a few days.  So until we get back, keep on cruising!

Ford Car Show given by our Mustang Club

This past Sunday was the Ford Car Show that our Mustang club, Tri-County Thoroughbred Corral, held.  All the proceeds from the show go to great causes, Make-A-Wish & Toys For Tots.

The day started off with a lot of fog.  It had rained all day on Saturday.  And some spots on the road where covered with rocks & mud washed down from all the rain.  But once the fog burned off, the weather was perfect.  Sunny & just warm enough without it being too hot. We brought along a jug of ice tea & plenty of snacks for the day.  And the kids brought along lots of toys & books to keep them occupied. 

It was our first time at this car show with our Mustang club.  We had a nice turn out too.  And they didn't just allow Ford models, but there were a few other models also which was really nice to see.  The members cars weren't judged.  We had our own place to park so all the club members Mustangs were lined up.  I believe that there was 27 member cars there. (And the General Lee.) 

We obviously took our Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang & Mike drove the General Lee there.  I must admit, that the more I drive our Mustang, & become more comfortable with it, the more fun I have with it.  It's just a fun car to drive.

At the show they had Chinese auction which there were so many great things to win.  Our kids were excited when they won a ZhuZhu Pet boat. And thanks to our kids, Pappy won an oil change an hour away from his home.  LOL!  Everyone had a great time at the show.  It was a fun day with great friends & great cars.  Our kids loved looking at the cars & our son is starting to ask questions about cars which is great.  I hope that our kids continue to love cars.  They are the next generation of car fans. 

To see more pictures from the show, please go to our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/2FastCars 

It's hard to believe that it's August already & summer will be coming to an end.  So in the meantime, we must get our cars out as much as possible between now & winter.  Talk to you soon!

Back to Quaker Steak Car Cruise

Several years ago, before we had kids the local Quaker Steak & Lube had car cruises every Sunday night.  Once some kids started to get rowdy, they shut down the car cruise.  We were disappointed because it was a huge cruise & lots of fun.  Well, just found out that they started back up again every Sunday night.  So we decided to head up there to check it out.

The weather all weekend had been calling for rain every day. So we kept the cars in Friday night & all day Saturday.  It never rained.  So we decided to take a chance & head out to the car cruise on Sunday evening.  It ended up being a beautilful night.  Some dark clouds came, but it never rained.  Perfect night.  Not too hot, but yet hot enough.  But we think that the dark clouds & the threat of rain kept a lot of cars away.  But one nice thing that Quaker Steak does is gives you a coupon for 10% off their food in their restaurant.  So a little while after arriving, we went to eat.  Then back out to enjoy the cars & the company of other people who love cars as much as we do.

Many people when walking past our Mustang think that it's just a Boss 302.  Nope, it's not just a Boss 302.  It's a special edition Saleen.  Steve Saleen & Parnelli Jones designed it after Parnelli Jone's Boss 302 that he raced.  There are only 500 of these cars.  And the funny thing is that there are 4, including ours, in the Pittsburgh area. 

 We are really glad that this car cruise started back up again.  And I think that we'll be back some Sunday soon. 

To see more pictures of the car cruise, please go to our Facebook page,  http://www.facebook.com/#!/2FastCars.

Beaver Vanport Church Car Cruise

This past weekend we didn't attend the Wexford Starlite Car Cruise.  But we did decide to attend a small car cruise at a local church.  We decided to take the Saleen Mustang & the General Lee.

It was a small but nice car cruise. The cars that were there were very nice.  We got to park where a little bit of shade was.  They had a nice set up with food & drinks, along with a nice place to sit under some tents.  And the kids favorite part was that they had cookies there.  So after the kids had their hot dogs, they got to pick out a cookie for $0.25.

To see more pictures, please go to our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/2FastCars.  While looking at our page, please become a fan of our page by clicking "Like". 

After the car cruise, we decided to cruise on over to our local car hop called Jerry's Curb Service.  We parked the General Lee & the Saleen Mustang there, then climbed into the General Lee to place our order & to eat.  We had a steak salad & a chicken salad.  Excellent salads for a very reasonable price.  I also recommend their milkshakes.  Our son & I had them & they are very good.  In fact, I'm kinda in the mood for one now.  Maybe we should take a cruise back on down there for another milkshake.......

Until the next car cruise...........

How we became 2FastCars

I'm sure that a lot of you are wondering why we call ourselves 2FastCars when we actually have three fun cars.  Over a decade ago, we bought our first fun car.  It was actually my anniversary present from my husband.  It was a 1992 Chevy Corvette.  I loved this car!  It was so much fun.  Even though I had always loved cars growing up, it was the car that got me completely hooked on the world of cars & car cruises. 

A few months after we bought this car, my husband found a 1994 Dodge Viper that he wanted.  At first we talked about trading in the Corvette on it, but decided to keep the Corvette & go get the Viper.  Good thing too, as we found out later, that the pedals & seat does not adjust very far & since I am short, I am unable to drive the Viper.  So we ended up with two very fun cars that we took to every car cruise that we could.  We loved opening our garage & seeing these two cars sitting there waiting to come out & play.

So we offically became 2FastCars over a decade ago.  We kept both cars for about 10 years.  Eventually though, I didn't drive the Corvette as often as we were blessed with two kids, a boy & a girl.  When we went to car cruises after they were born, Mike would take either the Corvette or the Viper, though mostly the Viper & I would meet him there driving my Trailblazer.  About two years ago, I started to drive the Corvette again, taking our daughter with me while my husband took our son in his Viper.  The kids loved doing that, but we still wanted a fun car that we could all take together.  So we started looking for another car.  My husband found our General Lee.  So the General Lee came home with us.  So we had three cars.  However there are no seat belts in the back of the General Lee yet so we don't like to put the kids in the General Lee.

So we had three cars, but still not one that we could all go to cruises together in.  We continued our search.  And just last October, we found our 2007 Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang.  Once my husband showed me the car, I knew that was the one I wanted.  So we drove up to Cleveland, Ohio & checked out the car.  We drove our Corvette up there to trade in for the Mustang.  And while I miss the Corvette, I will always love Corvettes, I am very happy that we got the Mustang.  The kids love it & so do we.

So even though we now have three very fun cars now, we started off with two.  We were 2FastCars then, & we are still 2FastCars today.

Pontiac Night at the Wexford Starlite Car Cruise

Another great evening for a car cruise!  We have been so very lucky with the wonderful weather we are having.  Not too hot, not cold & no rain!  We're loving it!  So off we went for another Friday evening at the Wexford Starlite Car Cruise.  Decided to take the Mustang & the General Lee out.  It was the General Lee's first appearance at a car cruise this summer.

It was Pontiac night on Friday night.  Saw lots of GTO's there.  Didn't get much of a chance to walk up the feature row though.  Between eating, the kids wanting to go in the bounce house & talking to people who wanted to know about the General Lee, we didn't get much chance to go down that row.  We did go down a few other rows, just never made it all the way around. 

To see more pictures, please go to our Facebook page, 2FastCars.

I also decided to video as the kids & I walked back to the cars from the food vendors.  It was announced that evening that there were approximately 1500 cars there on Friday night.  It is one of the largest, if not the largest car cruise that is held weekly.

Next week the feature car is the Mustang.  We will defintely be there next week with our Mustang, hopefully we will get there before the feature row is full.  And we are planning on taking the Viper too.  Hope to see your there!

Two Car Cruises in one weekend

Last weekend was a very busy weekend for us.  But we managed to squeeze in two car cruises.  The first one was the Friday night, Wexford Starlite Car Cruise.  This cruise is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, cruise that is held weekly.  As a family, this is a great cruise!  They have a bounce house for the kids, along with face painting.  Our kids love the bounce house.  They look forward to it every week.  They also have a few vendors for the ladies.  And the food is great!  They have a variety of vendors for the food.  My husband has the hot sausage sandwich there every week.  And he loves it!  Our kids love the snow cones & the ice cream that they have.
This past Friday, we took the my husband drove the Viper, with our son as his passenger, while our daughter & I took the Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang.  And my dad met us there with his Saleen Mustang.

As always too there are tons of great looking cars there.  We really do love this cruise.  Every Friday night, they have a different feature car.  Those cars get their own row to park in.  This past week was Ford night, no Mustangs though.  Mustangs have their own feature night which happens to be June 22nd.  And we are planning on being there.  To see more pictures of this car cruise, please check out our FaceBook page, 2FastCars.

On Saturday, we managed to make it to the Happy Days Car Cruise in Beaver Falls, PA.  This is another huge car cruise.  We usually go there all day, but this year, our daughter had her first dance recital so we made it to the car cruise later in the day.  But it was still a great time.  They shut down the main street in Beaver Falls.  Lots of music along the street.  They also have so much food to choose from.  As you walk down the street, all the bars & restaurants are offering food.  There is something there to eat for everyone.  And the cars that are there!  Wow!  Fantastic!  You can also cruise up & down the main street too. So while you sit at your car, you can watch other cars drive by.  This is by far one of the past cruises every year. 

This year because we arrived late, we only took our Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang & my dad joined us with his Saleen Mustang.

Here are just a sample of the cars that were at the Happy Days Car Cruise this year.  To see more pictures, please go to our FaceBook page 2FastCars & while there, become a Fan.

This weekend will found us once again at the Wexford Starlite Car Cruise.  We are taking both the General Lee & the Parnelli Jones Saleen Mustang.  And hoping that my dad will be able to join us with his Saleen Mustang.  Maybe we'll see you there......