David Mau

I would love to do this as well, and I agree that this would make for an excellent meeting place. The Krispy Kreme is right off the I-5 freeway on the west side and is highly visible. It's basically at the northeast part of the Tacoma Mall parking lot. If you're southbound on I-5 and miss the S 38th St exit (which is a little ways north of the Krispy Kreme), just continue down (honk and wave as you pass by Krispy Kreme, of course) to the S 56th exit and then head north to get there. Having a donut would be a good snack prior to having lunch at Jake's friend's restaurant in Yelm! I think Yelm would be about another 45 minutes or so from the Krispy Kreme. If we meet at the rest area south of Olympia (which is very nice, but I think is also quite a ways - down near the Millersylvania State Park and Scott Lake areas), it would be a backwards trek to Yelm. Things to consider. Dave

I've had mine to 100 quite a few times, and the fastest I've ever taken it is 110. After that I was running out of road... and nerve! A magazine called Car Life tested a '70 SS454 when new back in the day, and it was equipped with a 2.73:1 rearend gear ratio. That test car shifted 1st-2nd at 63mph (5,450rpm), 2nd-3rd at 105mph (5,450rpm), and topped out at 132mph (4,600rpm). Vehicle aerodynamics are a big factor when top speeds get up that high. Dave

Like Dave, I too anticipated seeing Robyn's return to the boards in the near future. A little while ago when I signed on and read this post titled "A Knight has fallen!", I figured what it was about and uttered a quiet, "noooo...". Seeing Robyn's picture and reading through all the replies sure can get to a guy. Robyn will be sorely missed, and I will keep his family in my prayers during this difficult time of loss. Godspeed, Bird. It's been a pleasure. Dave

That's great, Dan. It doesn't matter where we are. Every cry is a song Every song is a prayer And our prayers must be heard Filling the air (Lyrics from the song "Isn't It Amazing" by Hothouse Flowers) You're still in our prayers, Robyn. Hang in there! Dave

Get well soon, Robyn! I will keep you in my prayers as well. Dave

Hi Royce, I've got a non-blower, rally wheel version in progress - as well as a bright red version. I haven't had time to work on them lately, though, so they're not finished yet. I will make some sort of a post when I have other variants available. For now, though, they're all black & blown! Thanks again for your interest. Dave

The Pretenders have a song called "Dragway 42". Shoot some video of yourselves tearing down the track and use it as background music! Dave

Man, no kidding! Either way, you've gotta go, Chris! I could pick you up, too, if necessary. I really appreciate Aaron's offer, but it would be a lot more convenient for me to do it. Personally, I hope everyone that's going from western Washington will be able to caravan down in their Montes to The Dalles together this year. Seeing a half dozen or so on the open road together is so cool! Dave

Thanks, Jake. I've got it. Dave

Rodney, if you've got Dan's e-mail address I'd sure appreciate you forwarding it to me. He ordered one of my 'tooned illustration prints from me at the meet. I had the print made and sent it off to him after being back home. I included a little letter with it, and within a week he e-mailed me to let me know that he thought it was great and that he had received it without any problems. I was going to e-mail him back, but I inadvertently deleted his e-mail (along with a bunch of others) at that time, so I couldn't respond to his message. I'd like to let him know via e-mail that I appreciated getting his message, and also that I'm looking forward to seeing him again at the meet in The Dalles. I'm really glad that he's planning to be there, as well! Thanks, Dave

You're welcome, Kelly - I'm glad you like it! Happy New Year! Dave

You had no reason to feel embarrassed, Rodney. I really enjoyed riding shotgun with you in your 4-speed Monte, and I thought it was a kick in the pants! Mine's just a 40 year-old un-restored Chevy that happens to photograph well. I'm planning to drive it to the meet next summer in The Dalles, but won't be tearing down the track in it. I'd love to try that, but she's old and I can't afford to break her - there's the return trip back home to make, too! Dave

Thanks for your offers of help, Rodney! If I was able to attend, I'll do the write-up for a Western Meet, and I did so for the 2009 meet we had in Polson. I sent it to Rob Peters in late August - thinking that it would soon be in the newsletter as well. I think Ian is the one who handles posting the write-ups and accompanying photos on the website, but I'm not sure. As far as who to send photos to - hopefully someone that is "in the know" about this will chime in here. Thanks again. Dave

Thank you, 427! They are currently only available in shiny black. I've got bright red versions in progress, but they're currently on hold due to other projects that I'm working on at this time that need to be finished. There has also been interest in versions without the blower and with rally wheels. Like the red ones, those are in progress too, but are currently on hold as well. When I have those ready, I will most likely offer a vinyl top option for all of them. That will be a relatively easy addition. These were very time-consuming illustrations to do and I have countless hours into them. Even the white letters on the tires have correct drop-shadows to make them appear raised from the tire sidewall. Both the line drawings and the color-filled areas and "paint" that comprise each of them are very detailed. It's what was necessary in order to achieve all of the correct tone variations and realistic-looking reflections. Thank you for your interest! Dave

I really enjoyed looking at those. Thanks, Jared. Kevin's Coke Machine has been featured in Super Chevy, and now it's going to be in Hot Rod, too? DANG! Dave

This was what Yenko did, and I think that his only special intermediate offering was the '69 427 Yenko Chevelle. Through '69, GM had a policy where they wouldn't install an engine larger than 400 CI into a regular-production intermediate-sized car. So, using the COPO (Central Office Production Order) program, he was able to order the cars with 427s, and then added his additional equipment to complete his "Yenko Super Car" package - (YSC, or, as the acronym logotype appeared on the headrests; "SYC"). For '70, GM threw their "no larger than 400 CI in an intermediate" policy out the window, and gave us the 454-powered Chevelle/El Camino/Monte Carlo and 455-powered Pontiac GTO, 455-powered Olds 442 and 455-powered Buick GS. They were essentially factory-producing in '70 what Don Yenko had done in '69, so I don't think he ever produced any special '70 & newer intermediate-sized cars. Every Yenko Chevelle I've ever seen is a '69 with a 427 in it. I've never seen or heard of a '70 Yenko Chevelle - let alone a Monte Carlo. As far as that red "Yenko-look" Monte Carlo, I'm interested in knowing more about it. It sounds cool, but I would guess that's all it is, though; simply a "Yenko-look" phantom car that was built by an owner as a "what if?" car. I don't think that Yenko ever replaced factory emblems with his Yenko badges, but placed them on the cars in addition to the factory emblems. I seriously doubt he would've replaced the "Monte Carlo" script on the sail panel with his "YENKO" badge, but would have put it down low on the front fender above the rocker panel and also placed one next to the "Monte Carlo" script on the rear - if he had built such a car in the first place. Drag racer Dick Harrell built a '70 Monte Carlo SS454 LS-6 car at his Harrell Performance shop, though! Just my two cents-worth. Dave

Thanks, Vaughn. My goal was to make these the best 'tooned Monte Carlo illustrations ever, and to include every detail I could. I'm glad that you're seeing something new every time you look at them! Dave

That came out great, Vaughn - I'm flattered! Thanks for sharing. You just made my day! And CAPRI - I'll be happy to get whatever FGMCC-related art you'd like printed... as long as Vaughn takes care of the framing! (Just kidding, Vaughn) Dave

Hey, if there's enough interest in variations from the currently-available "black & blown" versions, I'm up for it! Dave

Thanks for the nice compliments, everyone! VAUGHN - Thanks for your personal testimony regarding these, and again for ordering all six versions that are currently available. Keith beat you, so you're my #2 customer! BRUCE - Being as how the club logo was designed with the car looking "original", my goal for these illustrations was to make the car wild! I decided to do them in black because no matter what color anyone's car actually is, I think that we all appreciate a sharp & sinister black Monte - and the print versions are easier to keep clean! I do like your suggestion, though, and am strongly considering making versions available without the blower and with the rally wheels. SCOTT - Yes, there are similarities between these and the 'tooned style I used for the "MONTES ROCK!" t-shirts. Like the club logo, though, the "MONTES ROCK!" illustrations have rally wheels instead of 5-spoke mags. Either way, they're how I feel a 'tooned Monte should look! TONY & TONY - I am considering making other colors available as well, but it will take some time. Because of the high level of detail I wanted these to have, there ended up being close to 1,100 individually-drawn and color-filled components that make up each illustration (it even says something on the detailed brake caliper and the rotor is drilled). There are a lot of objects that make up just the body color in order to get all the subtle color gradations, reflections, highlights and shadows for a realistic appearance - and then that color is reflected in a lot of little detailed areas of the blower and the bumper as well. So at least for the time being, I only have them available in black. Color suggestions (or any other suggestions for that matter) are certainly welcome, and they will be considered. Thanks! Dave

These illustrations have been an on-again, off-again project of mine for a long, long time - and now I'm making prints available for sale. The ad is in the "For Sale/Wanted" forum if you'd like to take a peek, or you can click on this link: 'Tooned Prints I'd like to thank Andreas and Rob for helping me advertise these here. This club is the best! Dave

Creating these was a true labor of love, and I hope that you all like them. Thanks for looking! Dave

You're welcome! When Scott told me what he was planning to do, and asked if I could help with the design, how could I say no? I'm glad to hear that the special commemorative T-shirts were a "hit", too. Dave

Thanks for sharing all those pictures, Jake! And thank you again for the work you and Deb put into the meet - and for taking me along! Wow, Lloyd... 3,540 miles round trip. That must have been a blast! I'm glad you were able to swing by the meet to say "hi" on Saturday and that you made it home again safely. Dave

I'll second that! Dave