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

1 Clean WS6

Detailing Rottweiler
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!!! :D



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 :cool:



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



G91a.jpg




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



G92a.jpg




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.



G93a.jpg
 
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. :up:



BTW, you might want to edit/remove that picture with your phone number on it. The admin won't like it.
 
An '02 Trans Am after Poorboy's PwC and some Natty's (this car won an award)...



G94a.jpg




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....



G95a.jpg




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



G96a.jpg




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



G97a.jpg
 
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!!!
 
Now this was another highlight of the show....STREET RACING...Gathering style. :cool:





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



G99a.jpg




Girls can drag race too!!



G910a.jpg




Staged and lined up at the tree....



G911a.jpg




Heating up the slicks in the burnout box...



G912a.jpg
 
The vendor who was set-up next to me beautiful '02 35th SS...



G913a.jpg




Chevy's B4C promo car...



G914a.jpg




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



G919a.jpg




The beast and a Cobalt SS...



G920a.jpg
 
Aurora40 will like this... An LT5 stuffed into a third gen...



G921a.jpg




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...



G922a.jpg






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



G98a.jpg




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



G917a.jpg




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



G915a.jpg
 
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.
 
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! :bigups:
 
Mike, you were right.....I should not have missed this one. Awesome...a fbody haven!!!!



A lot of inspiration happened there!!! Excellent!
 
Fantastic post Mike, some outstanding looking cars, some superb details, thanks for documenting and showing pics of what looked like a couple of days of hard work great cars, and great fun. :bow
 
Very, very :cool:



Looked like such a blast. It's neat that you met up with some of the fellas from Autopia.



Glad you guys had a great time :xyxthumbs



Thanks for the pics. That Vette is simply jaw dropping.
 
THANKS all for the kind words!! I look forward to this event every year. It's like a 3 day party centered around cars...a utopia for this Autopian!! ;)



pigeonbus full time since 2001.



Bob that is actually a GM owned vehicle. I'm not sure of all the details but that was definitely done in-house. As an aside...the actual car that the motor was in was UGLY!!



Zane and Lester I know it is a bit of a hike for you both but believe me when I say it is worth it. There was a couple who drove their f-bod from California to the show this year!!



Lee I can't wait to see the pics. I didn't get a chance to walk the lot until Sunday!!



tdekany I charged my normal rates for the work. Products and process differed from car to car. Some wash/wax, some wash/polish/wax and some wash/clay/polish/wax.
 
Back
Top