RENO CARS & COFFEE: AUGUST 21

RENO, NV (August 21)— On this late summer day Reno Cars & Coffee had its second meet of the month. While the turnout had a good variety of cars the numbers the count was down a bit from the last meet.

 Wasn’t really a Corvette row but a couple of them were the front engine variety. Not far away were two versions of the rear engine models. 

One of the more unusual cars was a small black 1947 Morris 8 Series E. It’s a labor of love for owner Dan Gates to bring this car to what it looks like today. 

“It was a shell with glass there was no frame, no nothing when I got it. The fenders are original as it came with that,” he said. “The only thing I didn’t make on this car was a gas tank, a friend made that for me, because I don’t know how to weld aluminum yet.” 

He did alter the body a bit and has put a new motor in it as well as a roll cage and racing seats with 5-point harnesses. 

“The only thing they did to the body was they cut the rear wheel wells out because they wanted to make it a 60’s style Gasser, which if fine but I don’t like tires sticking out of the wheel wells. 

“So I made my own wheel wells and the seats fit the gasser style in the way I built it. I don’t have a straight axle, I have a coil overs in the front. I’ve raced at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and it’s an 11.0 car and I backed it up with an 11.0.” 

There was also a visiting Lambo. Unfortunately this time it was the only exotic that showed up.  

Another more ordinary vehicle that shows up for many of the meets is a large Dodge van owned by Ed Hughes. It may look ordinary bit it isn’t and he’s left it unpainted on purpose. 

“It’s a 1997 Dodge V2500 and it’s been very modified in Dojivan style. If you don’t know what a Dojivan is think of a Japanese guy saying Dodge Van,” Hughes said.

“That whole culture over there started because we have a lot of military bases over there. They ship the vans there for use but they don’t want to ship them back to the states so they sold them to the local guys.  

“The local guys were motorcycle racers used them to transport the motorcycles to the track. Then you got 40 guys with the same type of vehicle then they’d say, ‘hey you want to run that thing?’ And one thing leads to another.”  

These vans came with a choice of three motors and Hughes found one that was equipped with the largest engine. While he’s put a new exhaust in it there are a host of modifications that are largely unseen. 

“Suspension is where it’s really involved. Had to do an axel flip on the rear where you actually put the axel on top of leaf spring. Then you’ve got to make room in the frame so you “C” notch the frame so the axel doesn’t hit the frame.  

“Then you have to cut a hole in the floor so the differential doesn’t hit the floor so I used a Dodge Ram differential cover for it,” he said. 

He then credited Chris Padgett, who owns Ayers Muffler Brank & Alignment in Sparks. Hughes said he is a genius.  

“The front suspension was much more complicated as they are first generation Dodge Dakota drop spindles,” he said. “You have to flip them side by side to make it work because the tie rod ends in a Dakota are behind the spindle and in the van they are in front of the spindle.  

“That puts the tie rod in a much higher position that a factory dodge and you can’t use the tie rods so we use Heim Joints in there. Then you have to modified the control arms and get them out of the way a little bit.” 

Next of course are the brakes as the control arms and caliper mounts had to be modified. He added that Padgett used part of a Ford front end to make a splitter for the bottom edge of the van’s front end. And he gave another shout out to Ayers Muffler Brake and Alignment. 

“It’s very involved and it if wasn’t for Chris it wouldn’t have happen,” he said. 

When asked about the handling Hughes got a huge smile and said, “Amazing, absolutely amazing. I keep up with cars like going up Mt. Rose. They’re looking in their mirrors going, “how is this giant van possibly staying on my tail. That being said it’s still a van so it as good as a modern day car, perhaps.” 

A little later two motorcycles came to the meet. The first was a decked out Harley ridden by Jorge Ramos. A little later his wife Christina brought their Dodge Hellcat to the meet.  

Asked about his bike Ramos said,  “I’m on my baby an 02 Road King. It’s on bags on with an air ride right now. It’s 107, all custom paint that want to say took about 20 hours.  And the sound system has 10 speakers.” 

Asked about the car he said, “Then we have the Hellcat, a 6-speed manual. Done a few things to it, got headers, has a tune on it and is close to 800 horsepower. I did a Dyno in California where it came from.” 

Asked about the Hellcat his wife Christina said,  “It’s great. I’m a speed demon as my parent both raced in Mexico, drag racing so I love it.” 

Next meet will be this coming Sunday, August 28 when Sparks Cars & Coffee has their second meet of the month. Starts at 10 a.m. and the location is on Disc Drive by the Starbucks.    

ANNOUNCEMENT:

• Years ago there was a Moto Mouth Mini Team. Well to honor the late Bob Cavakis, who created the original, the team is being reborn. So if you have a young rider that competes in Motocross please check the requirements and sign them up. 

OTHER RACING NEWS:

• The South Steak ‘N Shake will have another cruise in on Tuesday evening. Runs from 5 to 7:30 with music and prizes.  

Its located right off the freeway at 470 South Meadows Parkway. There are only two more of these cruise ins left. 

• Wednesday is when the Sparks A&W has another cruise in. Times are from 5 until 9 p.m. and a D.J. will provide the music. Location is across the street from Reed High School.  

• Just as a head’s up this coming Friday is the summer’s final cruise-in at Summit Racing Equipment in Sparks. Gets rolling around 5 p.m. and it’s located at 960 East Glendale. 

• One more early heads up for you Corvette and Camaro fans. There is the “Western Invasion,” coming to the Silver State Pavilion at the Grand Sierra. Dates are from Thursday through Sunday, should be a great show. 

• Teresa’s Garage Radio Show is on the air from 2 until 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. In northwest Nevada, it can be heard over the air at 1060 AM. 

There is also a Podcast at amm.streamon.fm or it can be seen live on Face Book. The show is focused on all things automotive, trends, new developments and trivia. 

SPONSOR LIST: 

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We now have five very appreciated sponsors supporting this site. Please patronize them as they support your sport and help nvracingnews continue. And let them know you heard about them through this site.  

• One of our sponsors is General Transmission and Power Train Specialists owned by former motorcycle racer Pete Attashian. The shop is located at 2515 Sutro Street in Reno, a few blocks below Hug High School. 

The shop services older and new transmissions and now has a section for high performance units and those used in towing. Phone number is 775-786-5888 and the shop’s website is www.generaltransmissionreno.com.  

Two of our sponsors are first class motorcycle shops located in Reno. 

• Our first sponsor is Reno Motorsports (RMS). Not only do they have about anything a rider might want or need and the store also has a full service shop. 

Their location is at 964 Terminal Way, by the intersection with Mill Street. Store’s phone number is 775-322-1499 and the site is, www.rms-renomotorsports.com. 

• The next shop is Moto-Source located at 3180 Mill Street. Once again they are a full service shop plus the showroom has about any thing a rider might need or want. 

The phone number is 775-856-3855 and the website is, www.moto-source.com. 

• Concours Body Shop, located at 250 Telegraph Street in Reno, is another sponsor. The shop does quality collision repair for cars and trucks. 

Owner Brian Saul is a car enthusiast himself and is committed to continuing the shop’s reputation of quality work. Phone number is 775-329-4557 and the website is, www.concoursbodyshop.net. 

• Hungry, want a great place to eat, then try PJ&CO for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and it’s a great place to watch your favorite sports. Wednesday evenings, starting around 5 p.m. is Bike Night, good time to meet fellow riders and have a great dinner. 

The location is 1590 South Wells Avenue, just north of the round about. Phone number is 775-323-6366 and their website is www.pjandco.net. 

Have a business targeted toward motorsports or car enthusiasts? This site is a great way to expose your services to those communities. Sponsorships are very reasonable and one can contact us either through the comment section of this site or on our Face Book page.