Couple Takes Hot Rod Power Tour

By JOSHUA CHANEY
COSHOCTON

Greg and Sue Catrow describe their recent trip to Florida and back as a 3,000 mile adventure they soon won't forget. The trip was not by plane or ordinary vehicle but in their homemade hot rod.
And they plan to do it again.

The Catrows own a 1931 black Ford hot rod and put it to the test in the 12th Annual Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour from June 3-12.

The hot rod sits on a 1932 frame and is powered by a 1977 Corvette 350 engine with a license plate that reads "DRIVE 'EM." "It rides a little rough and (is) cramped but we still really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun," Greg said of his ride and the trip.

In addition to the 10 days on the tour, the Catrows tacked on an additional 16-hour drive in two days to get to the tour's starting point in Kissimmee, Fla.

The couple decided to run the tour after hearing of the event from fellow hot rodders and friends, Carl and Cindy Roeger. They had taken the tour in previous years, and now they are hooked.

The tour traveled 300 to 500 miles each day, and made stops in different cities including Gainsville, Fla., Perry, Ga., Columbia, S.C., Roanoke, Va., and Harrisburg, Pa., and finished in Englishtown, N.J. Three of the stops included a chance to test the power of each machine at a drag strip.

"We had a drivers' meeting at 9 every morning and went from there," he said.
Catrow said he didn't want to risk breaking his ride at the drag strip but he did end up having small problems despite all the spare parts and tools he brought along.

"On the way home I had a bolt on the trailing arm break and I had to wait for a rollback to come and get us," he said. "It took about three hours to fix. We stopped at 1 (p.m.) and at 4 (p.m.) we were back on the road again."

The tour consisted of thousands of cars including hot rods, muscle cars, and late model performance vehicles.

Each city featured vendors and a car show, where each machine would rest for the night. People in some of the cities lined the sidewalks with lawn chairs and cameras to see all the different cars in the tour.

More cars joined the tour at each city and some cars dropped out, but those who complete the tour, the aka "long haulers," were honored at the end of the event in an awards ceremony.
"There were probably about 2,000 (long haulers)," Greg said.

One thing the Catrows appreciated was the fact that most of the tour led participants on the back roads of each state. Catrow said it was neat to see each state from a view different from what they normally see on the interstate.

"We really enjoyed it (the back roads) because of the sights along the way," he said. "Everybody drives the interstate and knows what is on it and the small towns along the way (on the route we took) had some small diners and things that really made a difference in the trip. Besides sometimes you don't want to run 70 miles an hour."

Among the highlights of the tour, getting to know all the other hot rodders and making new friends were at the top of his list. At the different hotels they stayed in, they got to see many different cars, and meet many new people all with similar interests.

"I like being around the kind of people that are into hot rodding," he said.
The Catrows plan on attending next years tour also along with the Roegers.
"We are both going to run the tour next year," Greg said.

Greg and Sue actually met as hot rodders and currently own six hot rods that they work on together.
"She drove a black '71 Camero SS and I drove a '61 corvette and we passed each other on Main Street a few times before I finally got up the nerve to follow her home one day and ask her out on a date," he said.

"Our dream is to take the old rod out Route 66. We kind of want to run that someday," he said.
As for Greg, he has been around cars all of his life, and has been working at car dealerships since right after high school.

"My dad always loved cars and worked in a dealership back in the '40s and he was always working on a car in the drive," he said. "The old joke is we (hot rodders) have oil in our blood. It's a hobby that we enjoy."

The Catrows have also passed the hobby down to their children. They purchased a "basket-case" 1968 Camero for their daughter Wendy on her 16th birthday, which she still owns and drives today.

"I told her never to get rid of it if she doesn't have to," Catrow said.
Now in her 30s, Wendy and her husband, Mike Moats of Coshocton, met in the same tradition as her parents - as hot rodders.

"They met each other driving their cars too," Catrow said.
Mike owns a 1969 Chevelle, which he has owned since their marriage.
As far as the father hot rodder goes, he drives his Ford everyday in the Summer and even in the colder months.

"I keep insurance on it all year round and on the days when there is no snow on the ground we take it out and drive it. Weather permitting, we take it out all year round even in January and December once a month," Catrow said.

Most of all, he says, he enjoys driving his cars.
"The driving is my favorite part about hot rodding," he said. "It is a cool feeling to drive something that you built."

As far as the saying on Catrow's license plate goes, "DRIVE 'EM" is very literal.
"Some people like to build cars for shows and things and haul them on trailers everywhere," Catrow said. "My wife and I like to 'DRIVE 'EM.'"


Muscle Cars USA Camero Corvette Hot Rod