FullTiltWard

I arrived in Miami in the wee hours of the morning last Friday. Since then, I've driven the rental car - a Dodge Caliber - an embarrassing number of miles and racked up a scary number of minutes on the new Cingular phone I bought in Miami.....

All in the quest for finding the Kings of the Street.

Some of you might have seen my earlier posts looking for folks in the FL area. Well, I was able to connect with a good assortment of guys thus far in both the Tampa and Jacksonville areas. I have to say, by and large, the guys that do make it out are pretty much uniformly good people - from the 17YO kid with a yen for fast vehicles who volunteered to man one of my video cameras - to the guy on leave for two weeks who is heading back to Afghanistan for another stint of service - to the guy who humped it down 9 hours from Tennessee on no sleep after working a 24 hours shift. It is amazing how people from disparate backgrounds come together and interact so well when sharing a common interest.

In any case, both days I shot some interesting video, which I'm going to have to wade through and edit when I return to BC. Both days also featured the inevitable setbacks, broken parts, AWOL participants, challenging street conditions, etc.

Whatever happens on a given day, we try and make the most of it.

Did I mention it was raining when we were supposed to meet in Tampa - and some guys STILL showed! Got some good stuff, despite the modest turnout and early weather.

The night before we met to run in Jax, I got a laundry list from a knowledgable source of the fastest cars in town and why each of them would not be able to run - mostly broken down - a common hazard when running a 1000HP car. My philosophy is this: the people who show up to play on a given day ARE the Kings of the Street for that day.

On the way up to Tampa, I got two calls from guys who I was planning on meeting the next day - both had run into mechanical issues and would not be able to come out. Something about running a 400 shot on the dyno looking for 900RWHP and lifting a head was mentioned. (He's hoping to join me next weekend after repairing the damage.)

I've come to expect this kind of thing when doing my 'events'. People ask me who is coming out and I reply that honestly, I don't have a clue until the morning of. I take a page from the airlines and try to overbook knowing that some people will just not show. Sadly, there can be a serious gap between reality and what I see/read/hear through the internet.

There are some people who I have great confidence in because they are passionate and excited. I KNOW these people will follow through after I talk to them. I can hear it loud and clear through - even through the occassionally crappy Cingular signal. Others are harder to read.

In any case, I'm still hoping to connect to a good bunch of Miami and Orlando people on the 4th and 5th next weekend. I am easy to reach by email or PM (FullTilt(*at*)gmail.com. I'm always looking for good people with fast or interesting vehicles who like the run them hard.

Get in touch with me if this is your cup of tea.

So, thank you to everyone I've talked to or met up to this point. I hope to meet more good folks later during this trip.

Here are some shots from last weekend's action.

This is as business-like as it gets. I think part of the dashboard bezel is stock.


Can you spot the reason the day ended early for this massive Turbo?


Four miles of bliss.


Four miles of bliss + Anderson kit =


Frankentwelve came out for Halloween.


This thing was just beautiful - a class act all around, though it never works out like I expect.....


Twin speedbumps - I'm hoping the results of this setup are what I want.


Local hot rod hangout with the big domestic guns.


Camera platform - 1397 Busa.


What is Halloween without costumes? Medical help was in attendance.

Pro Stock John

iTrader: (34)

So that's where you have been hiding... jk. Welcome to the site.

StoleIt

iTrader: (3)

How is this FI related? Maybe it should be in the Florida section?

99SS-T

iTrader: (5)

The bike is boosted!!! lol not that u get to see any part of the boostedness. Ya its a word look it up!! lol

John

FullTiltWard

I post this in the FI section because I'm most interested in meeting with the FI guys on this site. Most of the cars that come out to run are boosted one way or another.

red90cobra

iTrader: (36)

anyone notice it said max speed 212

JPMuscle

that did catch my eye for a few seconds lol and then it hit me....(DAMN THATS FAST)



-john

FullTiltWard

Again, that is why I'm interested in the FI forum here. The stockers just don't quite cut it for the stuff I do.

obZidian

iTrader: (2)

..... couldn't you have waited till march to spring this on me?! MIA huh? Well, welcome!! I you want, shot me a PM where you plan to meet and maybe i can show up, conjure up some guns.

Mine would of been nice for the show, 408ci-S88, but your gonna have to wait for me to get here back together again to see it run.

that 'busa, 1397-g16 turbo? Or running a 20G? 400-500rwhp? Thats my next investment.. but without the crazy-stupid power. Cruising with a 6 inch stretch, lowered, 240/300mm single sided-swingarm for me only.

LaterZ!

FullTiltWard

Obzidian,

You have a PM. The orange bike (first cockpit shot) is the big mid 400HP velocity kit.

Got Me SOM

iTrader: (2)

Look me up when you hit Orlando.

Red91vette

iTrader: (3)

Very nice cars and bikes! Too bad I am not into going fast on a bike, I look at that stretch of road and think of how long I can wheelie down it! I need to get another bike, a stunter this time, in the spring! Do you have any vids btw?

FullTiltWard

Got me som, you have a PM.

Red91Vette, you can check http://www.FullTiltLife.com and find something there.