F-body "Gathering 9" car show pics (56K = instant thermonuclear meltdown)

[1 Clean WS6]

Hello all!!

Well the 9th annual f-body Gathering (www.fbodygathering.com) went off as smooth as silk this year. Beautiful weather (except for Sunday), wonderful people and at least 300+ f-cars in attendance. Once again the show was bigger than it was the year before...as has been the case for the five years I have been attending.

For the past three years I have been one of the sponsors of the event and will set up my rig in the vendor lot to detail f-bod's all weekend. Last year I reached the point where I was having to turn business away because of my workload so this year I brought an assistant...and what better assistant to bring than an Autopian!! My friend Jerry (Blackbird on this forum) was a tremendous help allowing us to knock out 12 cars in the 3 days we were set-up there. Even still business had to be turned away so next year I most likely will bring another hand to help.

A highlight of the weekend for me was hanging out with fellow Autopian's Woody (WS6 7902), Lee (SilverLexus) and Todd (mtodde). Woody and I had met a few time before to talk f-cars (he has a beautiful '02 WS6 and gorgeous '79 TA) but this was the first time I met Lee and Todd...finally being able to put a face with an internet handle!! We talked detailing for several hours and came to the conclusion that we are the normal ones...the non-Autopian's are the ones with problems!!

At the awards ceremony this Sunday I was a VERY happy camper!! Four of the vehicles I detailed won awards including a first in class! Woody's stunning '79 Trans Am (which had a crowd around it all weekend) took first in his class. My girl Lola ("the infamous 1 Clean WS6" as Lee would say)...for the fifth year in a row now...took first in her class!!!

In all it was yet another great Gathering. If you have an f-car (of any generation) I would put this on your list of "must attend" events. Good people, good times and incredible cars...what more in life is there?

Enjoy,
Mike

The rig...set-up and running by Thursday afternoon...



Jerry cleaning his '01 Blackbird before the onslaught of work begins...



Our friend Doug's (who unexpectedly passed this last year) '99 SS hanging out with us (as he always did at the Gathering's) after a wash and NXT paste.

[MongooseGA]

God, you F-Bod guys have the best car shows. There's some serious history in the F-Bod, and it's cool how some guys brin that up in the design of their cars. :

BTW, you might want to edit/remove that picture with your phone number on it. The admin won't like it.

[1 Clean WS6]

An '02 Trans Am after Poorboy's PwC and some Natty's (this car won an award)...



An '89 Turbo Trans Am after a wash and some NXT liquid while the '97 SS (another vehicle that won an award) in the background is getting ready to be Souveran-afied....



No rest for the wicked!! Jerry takes a swig of Heinken as he washes a '99 SS that had just been clayed...



Sunlight...we don't need no stinkin' sunlight!! A line of cars waiting to be done before judging begins...

[Way2SSlow]

Looks like a good time. I've been to one Fbod gathering. It kinda sucks to go there if you dont have an F car though, because you'll leave wanting one. Especially those who have had our eye on an LS1 car since 98. I got another year to wait....insurance is double what I am paying on the pala for an F car. Let's see some Lola pics!!!

[1 Clean WS6]

Now this was another highlight of the show....STREET RACING...Gathering style.


The guy in the right lane clearly has the better reaction time.



Girls can drag race too!!



Staged and lined up at the tree....



Heating up the slicks in the burnout box...

[1 Clean WS6]

The vendor who was set-up next to me beautiful '02 35th SS...



Chevy's B4C promo car...



500hp and 427 cubic inches = no introduction needed...



The beast and a Cobalt SS...

[1 Clean WS6]

Aurora40 will like this... An LT5 stuffed into a third gen...



Believe it or not that is a 2000 Trans Am frame with '88 sheet metal on it. Powered by an LS1 and backed up with a T56. To say that the owner of this car is an artist of a bodyman would be an understatement...




Zaino's Z-2Pro on a 2002 SS....



Woody's '79 TA and Lola showing their wares...



F-car's as far as the eye can see....

[1 Clean WS6]

More f-car's...



And more f-car's....



And this is how I feel today ....

[mtodde]

It was great to meet Mike and talk detailing, but the real treat was watching him detail: Zaino's Z-2Pro on a 2002 SS....

There were a lot of beautiful cars and an abundance of horsepower on display.

[Billfold]

that looks awesome, the guy with the 88 posts up on LS2, and his wife has an awesome SS as well

[pigeonbus]

Wow! That's really cool!

So do you detail full-time? (besides the show?)

[Aurora40]

WOW!! Great picts, and looks like you had a blast! I love those '89 Turbo TA's, and man, how the heck did a guy squeeze the LT5 into an F-body! It's such a tall motor! :