2022 Hot Rod Power Tour

[TATurbo]

Hello TAC,
 
  I've been wanting to drive the Hot Rod Power Tour (HRPT) for a long time.  I thought I'd share my experience in case it might help anyone else decide if it's worth their vacation time.
The HRPT started in Memphis TN on Monday June 13th.  We left Philly Saturday to take the scenic route from Philly to Nashville via West Virginia and Kentucky.

We spent Sunday exploring Nashville.  Did you know they had a replica of the ancient Greek Parthenon there!? 

Untitled by Tom Sherer

 I didn't.

 I also didn't know that there was a Gibson guitar factory there.  My kid is a bit of a guitar geek. So this killed a lot of time.

HRPT Nashville by Tom Sherer

A bunch of unrelated stuff came up which led to us changing plans and not driving out to Memphis for day 1 of the HRPT.  Instead we spent time visiting family.  The plan was to meet up with the tour when they came to Nashville Tuesday.

At lunchtime Tuesday we headed over to Nashville Speedway to meet up with the tour arriving there from Memphis.  It was cool being able to drive up through the tunnel to the infield where the HRPT venue was set up...

HRPT Nashville by Tom Sherer
Untitled by Tom Sherer

The weather was NOT cool.  It was super hot, and humid. On the way in, sitting in traffic, we saw people in convertibles with beach umbrella's set up in the back seat for shade, many improvised shades, and battery fans in car windows  I wish I would of got pics of the cars in line doing everything possible to stay out of the sun.
Luckily, I had planned ahead and made a set of T-Top shades:

TA T-Top covers by Tom Sherer

TA T-Top covers by Tom Sherer

They helped us stay cool head-to-toe in the blazing sun.

The event set up consisted of a sponsor mid-way:
Untitled by Tom Sherer

Some cool sponsor cars:
Untitled by Tom Sherer

And, a stage.

On the stage, they interviewed Faye Hadley, of All Girls Garage.  It was too hot to hang out to see what else was going on. But I didn't hear any bands or anything like that as we explored.
Mostly we walked around to check out the participant's cars.

Untitled by Tom Sherer

Untitled by Tom Sherer

Untitled by Tom Sherer

The venue was OK.  I liked exploring speedway. And they had sprinklers to walk through and free water. In the shade of the paddocks there were cooler fans which made taking breaks from the heat possible.  We had a decent time.

We hung out until 5, then headed back to my brothers for dinner.  That's when we had our first issue. The TA threw the accessory belt right when we fired it up to leave for the night and head out to Alabama the next morning!

HRPT Nashville by Tom Sherer

The tensioner pulley on the Kwick Performance AC bracket was out of whack:
IMG_5862 by Tom Sherer

This appears to be a design flaw with this setup.  This being the 2nd time the tensioner pulley bearing race will wore uneven after 10,000 miles. Luckily the parts were available locally.  It only took 1.5 Hrs to get the parts and install 'em in my brother's driveway. 

Untitled by Tom Sherer

That night, we installed our official HRPT windshield banner too! I was excited for our first day traveling with the group. The itinerary said the departure for the trip from Nashville to Hoover AL was from Nashville Speedway at 8 AM.

Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

Wednesday morning we arrived back at the speedway a little after 8.  There was nobody there!  The venue was closed. Just a few people hanging out under a shade tree in a track adjacent lot. Asking around about where the HRPT people were, we found a guy from Butler Performance. He was leading a few other Pontiacs to a tour of Butler's facility. Which happened to be along the way to the next venue. So, we cruised with 4 or 5 other Pontiacs to Butler's facility in Lawrenceville.

Untitled by Tom Sherer

HRPT Nashville by Tom Sherer

The Butler facility was impressive and the team there was cool We got a tour of their facility, a T-shirt, some coffee and donuts, and an Iced Tea for the road to boot. Sweet! Thanks Butler!  After that, we headed to the HRPT venue at Hoover AL Met Complex.  More cool cars, more intense heat!

Untitled by Tom Sherer
Untitled by Tom Sherer

We had our first encounter with a casualty here. Dump truck vs. Camaro.  If I remember correctly, the dump truck backed into this poor Camaro. 
Untitled by Tom Sherer

The venue was not great.   it was all black-top.  Unlike the Nashville speedway, there was nowhere to cool down or find shade.  And nothing interesting to do.     
Untitled by Tom Sherer

Everything else was the same as the prior day.  Right down to Fay Hadley getting interviewed on the main stage (Sigh)..  We hung out for a couple of hours checking out some more participants' cars.
 
I spotted this very original '81 Turbo TA...

Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

And, this IROC done up in the vintage IROC livery.  I'm surprised I haven't seen one done like this before.  I don't like IROCs.  But I deem this one cool.

Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

We hung out for a couple of hours, then headed to the nearby hotel in Hoover AL.
This was our first evening bunking at the same hotel as many of the other HRPT people.   Lots of nice cars in the lot:

HRPT Nashville by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

Throughout the evening I ran into a couple of small groups of guys hanging out in the lot and tending to their rides.
 
Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

Unfortunately, I think I saw that the sweet Convertible 1st Gen in the group above got rear ended the next day. Casualty #2. 

I heard from a couple of HRPT Vets that (so far) the '22 HRPT was 'off' compared to prior years. Things were less organized,  the venues were not very good, and the official routes were mostly Interstate driving.  They did say that in prior years there was a team with a Power tour bus that lead the official departure.  But, those guys hadn't looked for it on this trip.   

Armed with some new unofficial information that there -is- normally an 'official' group departure,  I was excited to ride to FLA the next morning in a big convoy of classics. 

Thursday morning I got up extra early to wipe the car down...
Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

We arrived at the prior day's venue at 7:30 for an 8:00 departure.   There we found...
Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

Nothing.  Same as the prior day, there was just a few cars hanging out wondering where the 'official' departure group was hiding. 

We snapped a couple of pictures...
Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

Then headed out with a group of about 25 cars.    This would be the closest I'd come to traveling with a big HRPT convoy...
Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

The trip from Hoover AL to Pensacola FL was almost completely Interstate.  At least we were in with a nice size group.  And, we crossed paths with several similarly sized groups of classics along the way.  Gas & bathroom stops were also way better than a regular road trip.  It was a decent day.
HRPT FLa by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

But...
 I was disappointed when we arrived at the venue. The Pensacola fair grounds. Too much concrete and not enough shade or area's to cool down from the heat. The midway and entertainment on stage were the same as the prior days.  We parked off to the side in order to set up our (now umbrella equipped) chairs over on the grass to watch the cars roll by:

 Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr
HRPT FLa by Tom Sherer, on Flickr
Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr
Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

We didn't stay long.  We hit the hotel, cleaned up, and headed to check out the Gulf...This was my first visit to the gulf coast.  Cruising Pensacola Beach was a good time...

HRPT FLa by Tom Sherer, on Flickr
Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr
HRPT FLa by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

The hotel that evening was another decent car show. But it was quiet. 
Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr
Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

I felt safe with the TA parked with the herd.  But, not everyone felt the same way...
Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

This guy wasn't the only person to chain his car to a pole. Word was that on night one in Memphis 2 Hellcats were stolen and a couple of cars were broken into.  I was happy to have missed Memphis. I heard nothing good about it.

OK - Last day...Pensacola FL to Atlanta GA...Still no organized group departure.  A lot of interstate miles were followed by a few miles of backroads.  This was the best venue though. Atlanta Motor Speedway.  There was drag racing and a drive on the speedway itself.  Plus places to cool off!
Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr
Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr
Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr
Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr
 
All in all a good day, but we had to split out a little early. Our accommodations that night were at a Motel in a little town in NC, close to the "Tail of the Dragon", US 129.
HRPT Atl Dragon by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

The trip home on Saturday started with a ride on the "Tail's" 318 curves in 11 Miles...
HRPT Atl Dragon by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

HRPT Atl Dragon by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

...with a bunch of Honda Civics!

HRPT Atl Dragon by Tom Sherer

 

[FormTA]

That is really cool! Always wanted to do it but thought that they always left in a huge group. I also would be scared to leave my car without an armed gaurd and rain getting on it (dang water spots on a black car). I don't even take my car to a restaurant for fear of theft or scratches..... Like you, my car has been with me over half my life, she means a lot to me.

[scarebird]

Great pix!   Sorry the event was not better organized.

[b_hill_86]

Thanks for all of the pix and info. Little disappointed that you were disappointed. I’ve wanted to do HRPT for several years now and it’s been through Ohio the last few years I think. Maybe someday but I doubt it so I’ll have to live vicariously through you and it’s like you! I don’t mind parking my car in lots locally but I too would be iffy about leaving my car in a hotel lot over night.

Do you think you’d do it again?

[tajoe]

Wow! Quite the thread, and adventure.Congrats on making it thru "un-scathed". (Unlike the Camaro)
Guess your pro-touring combination has an efficient cooling system. I hear lots of complaints about keeping the 79-81 nose cars from overheating on the hi-ways. But seeing your motor isn't a Pontiac, maybe the LS internal water passaging is a few notches above the ponchos. Even more impressive is running an A/C system in that heat. Something to be said. Well done. Would you do it again, and "will you" do it again?

[TATurbo]

I do intend to run another HRPT.  I'd like to do one with the wife, and complete the whole tour to get a "Long Hauler" plaque.   
Regarding parking my TA away from home...
I'm not entirely uneasy parking at Hotels.  Whenever possible I'll try to make friends with the night manager.  More often than not they've let me park by the front doors.

Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

 I have a GPS Alarm/Tracking device in the car with warning stickers on the windows indicating such.  If the car gets bumped, fires up, physically moves, or if the tracker loses power, it hits my phone.  I also pull the ignition fuses.  I've had it stolen once back in the day...I figure I'll do my best to control what I can.   
The weather is another story...For our very first show with the car, we stayed two nights in Carlisle PA at the Chevrolet/GM Nationals. I came out on the second morning to find my whole car covered with the worst spots I'd ever seen:

Untitled by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

(Zoom in for the full effect!)

The paint was just a couple of months old at the time...It had ever been waxed.  The only protection was some quick detailer we had applied the day before.   I all but freaked out.  I was terrified whatever was in the rain would permanently screw up m brand new paint.  Although we had checked out of the hotel,  I didn't want to leave the stuff on there for another minute.  Let alone the 2-hour drive home.   After trying just water, then detailer to remove the spots I finally found FW1 Cleaner Wax did the trick.  Phew!   When we left we passed a gravel plant right around the block.  I think that put extra dust/dirt in the air that was picked up by a light shower and deposited on my nice new paint job. 


Regarding the cooling system...
I've never had a problem with cooling with any of the setups I've had in this car. (Turbo 4.9, Olds 403, or the current LS1). Right now I have a Cold Case "LS Swap" aluminum radiator/shroud/dual fan "Kit".  The fans are wired so that Fan 1 is the 'low' temp fan (The first fan that is switched on by the ECU when coolant temp gets above somewhere around 200).  Fan 2 is wired so that the AC can turn it on OR the ECU can command it on as the 'High' setting.  (Second fan (or 'High speed' on a dual speed fan) commanded on by the ECU if the Temp continues to rise (above like 210 I think). 
I've had this current set-up idling in traffic with the AC on in 95+ degree weather temps for long periods of time with no problems.   

[Updated71]

Nice pics!  I have the same setup from Kwik but haven't noticed any issues. Does it get noisy indicating failure?

[hakitup]

Looks like fun, I love driving Trans Ams

Tom H

[tajoe]

Tom, concerning the cooling, the issue with that nose isn't idling, but running at hi-way speeds is when the temps seem to creep up. At least with my old one, and other people write in with the same complaint. Mine was an ST-10, with 3.42s in the back, so the Rs were around the 3000+ at 65-70 MPH.  I didn't run the hi-ways too often with it, and it never over-heated, so I didn't dig any deeper. New 4 core brass radiator, .030 over block, stock clutch fan. I'm sure you have an OD behind your LS, so that's gutta help.
Anyway, good to know your only problem was a serpentine pully, and an easy fix. I see the water spots on your hood. Pretty nasty, but will clean-up, without needing a repaint. 

[TATurbo]

I suppose I should qualify my statement about the Kwik AC bracket...There's a lot of assumption in my saying it appears to be a design flaw... 
This same issue with the AC Bracket happened to me twice. Once right around 10,000 Miles, then again right around 20,000 miles.  There was no warning of the failure.  Just through the belt one day.  After putting it back on and checking frequently, it would walk forward on the AC pulley before ejecting.  But that's it, no noise or hint of a problem.   

The Kwik performance bracket, in this configuration, uses a larger pulley (PN 38001, 38006) on the GM LS1 Tensioner GM part number 12560344).  A '16mm' spacer is placed behind the 38001 pulley on the tensioner.   My theory is that this pushes the end of the bearing over the edge of the race or whatever you call the surface of the tensioner where the pulley spins.

Here's how the two surfaces looked after it started leaning forward and throwing the belt. It looked similar both times...
On the pulley:
 IMG_6030 by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

And, where it sits on teh tensioner...
IMG_6031 by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

It looks like it wears funny where the pulley would be riding over the front edge there.


   

[Jack]

Great pics, that must have taken you hours to post... thanks for sharing.

[Updated71]

I suppose I should qualify my statement about the Kwik AC bracket...There's a lot of assumption in my saying it appears to be a design flaw... 
This same issue with the AC Bracket happened to me twice. Once right around 10,000 Miles, then again right around 20,000 miles.  There was no warning of the failure.  Just through the belt one day.  After putting it back on and checking frequently, it would walk forward on the AC pulley before ejecting.  But that's it, no noise or hint of a problem.   

The Kwik performance bracket, in this configuration, uses a larger pulley (PN 38001, 38006) on the GM LS1 Tensioner GM part number 12560344).  A '16mm' spacer is placed behind the 38001 pulley on the tensioner.   My theory is that this pushes the end of the bearing over the edge of the race or whatever you call the surface of the tensioner where the pulley spins.

Here's how the two surfaces looked after it started leaning forward and throwing the belt. It looked similar both times...
On the pulley:
 IMG_6030 by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

And, where it sits on teh tensioner...
IMG_6031 by Tom Sherer, on Flickr

It looks like it wears funny where the pulley would be riding over the front edge there.


   

Good to know to keep in mind.  Thank you!

[79merlin]

I want to also say thanks for posting. Great pictures and looked like an all around good time.
I have the same setup with LS1 and Kwik high mount kit. Mine threw the belt the other day. Of course my belt was trashed and it was nice enough to grab and break my MAT sensor plug on its way out. It does not have the same "lean" that yours is showing, but I believe you are right that the tensioner is the weak link in this setup. I decided to switch to the Dirty Dingo based on my experiences and seeing that others are having similar issues. I have looked at KWIK and they changed their setup a bit too. so I suspect these older systems are not great.


Todd

[Mumbles]

This is a wonderful thread!  Thank you for posting this TATurbo.

First off, let me say I LOVE your car!  I have future plans for an LS in my project '79.  Yours has been beautifully done and I'm totally jealous.

Second, I've done Power Tour a number of times.  Never the entire thing, but usually multiple days in a row.  I think the trick to having fun with it is to forget all the vendors, stage show, and other hoopla and simply enjoy the cars.  You get to see so many different vehicles.  Each one of them with their own story and I find that puts a smile on my face.

I think the best venues are the ones with some action.  Whether it be Autocross, Drag Racing, or Dyno Runs, its great seeing these cars doing what they do best.

I know one of my favorite parts is going back to the hotel, knowing it'll be another "Car Show".  This time I get to grab a cold one and stroll thru the parking lot taking it all in.

Lastly, I think the best thing about HRPT is the fact that its a perfect excuse to get out and enjoy your ride.  I can recall a few years ago, my brother-in-law asking me how HRPT 2015 went.  He specifically asked, "What was your favorite car during the whole trip?"  And my answer was, "Mine." 

Again, great post for what looks to have been a great trip.