Interest in getting together for "something" in the next few months?
 

I noticed in my year-old moving to Cali thread there's been a bit of recent talk about getting together for a meet so I thought I'd start a new thread where we can throw around ideas and gauge interest, etc.

Things I'm curious to see:

Who's still around and checking in on these forums on a semi-regular basis?

Did you happen to see this, but would be better kept in the loop by another method? (Facebook, email, etc???)

Are you interested in getting together with other SVX owners in California (and beyond?)?

Do you have ideas for getting together? It's a big state and some of us are pretty far removed from each other. It's hard to justify meeting up in a parking lot for a couple hours. ;)

Re: Interest in getting together for "something" in the next few months?
 

I'll start with a few random thoughts....

I try to check in here often, but really it ends up about twice a month or so. And sometimes I'll get sucked into something interested in the main "Babble" section and forget to check down here in the regional forums...

However, I am also used to there not being much going on down here. If there was more active talk in the regional forums (like meet planning), I would probably be more apt to check in more.

As far as getting together, a lot of you know my history and how I was very involved in coordinating things up in the Pacific Northwest for 10 years. I'd love to do more of that, but as I said, it seems where I'm at now folks are a lot more spread out. In our heyday up in Washington, we had 8-10 enthusiastic "members" within a 30 mile radius of the Seattle area that we could pretty much count on attending everything we planned. With this core group, we had 5 or 6 events a year (even in fall/winter in the NW) and other folks would drop in from farther out places (Canada, NorCal, even UT) knowing there would be a lot of SVXes and good folks there for sure. I had the advantage of being able to put events together right in my backyard, being able to pre-run driving tours 3 or 4 times to perfect them, knowing it wasn't too far to drive for our core group, and in turn attracting folks from hundreds of miles away once they knew there was a "10 or more SVX guarantee". Or something like that. :D

But now I'm located 2 hours from the next closest SVX that has posted in the last year (at least in this regional forum). So that's where I struggle with how to go about getting people together.

Or if people even want to get together. :lol:

Re: Interest in getting together for "something" in the next few months?
 

Crash_Bandit here. Lurking on a regular basis, posting once in a while.

Here is best for me. Although this subforum gets so little traffic it probably gets overlooked by a lot of locals.

Absolutely. Really look forward to meeting anyone and learning more about this hobby (3 years ago a car was an appliance to me, not a hobby).

As I partly joked on another thread, Redding, CA might make for a good spot. Fairly central location on the west coast. Perfect name compared to the big east coast meetup. I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few good drives in the area. Thunderhill Raceway is about an hours drive away if we ever choose to involve some track time. Lake Shasta and the spectacular Castle Crags are just to the north for picnic opportunities. The longer distance arrivals can take the scenic coastal routes on Hwy 1/101 then take Hwy 36 inland if they have the time. Heck, they could even meetup and caravan in and really distract everyone else on the road.

As a smaller option, a Sac/Bay Area meet would be good too. Something that can be done as a day trip for anyone in the central part of the state. For me that would be a better option until a job opens up and I have a chance to finish up my 92 project car (sooooo close...).

And as a quick personal intro. I bought my first SVX about 3 years ago and quickly understood that if I wanted to keep my cost of ownership down I'd have to learn to work on it. But I'd never done anything beyond an oil change and couldn't risk learning all of this on my only car. So last year I bit the bullet and picked up a project 92 that seemed to come with all the spare parts to make it nice again. After stripping it out to clean several years of rodent nests (ugghh, the smell:barf:) and a dead engine, it's nearly there. So this hobby is still new to me.

Re: Interest in getting together for "something" in the next few months?
 

I agree about the little traffic part. In our heyday up in the Northwest I mentioned, I had folks pretty "trained" to visit the Northwest subforum often and it pretty much did the job for keeping everyone informed. The trick I guess is getting everyone used to the idea that something might actually be posted here so they come back regularly. Or just get everyone on board with an email list or something (another method that worked well in the NW).

Case in point, this thread has been up for over a week and we are the only two posting in it. :D


I love this idea. Especially as you've expanded on it and actually give a strong case for it. :) There is actually a lot of potential there for an all-West Coast meetup. Of course before something like that was pursued, some research would have to be done to see what, if any, demand is there. If no one from the NW was willing to come down, it wouldn't make much sense for all of us, especially the SoCal folks, to drive all the way up there. :lol:

Definitely! I'd like to start there too. It sounds like there are a few folks up in this central area that are interested in getting together soon. I'm hoping something can come of this. :)



P.S. - We have very similar stories as far as making cars a hobby and working on them. I've had my SVX 13 years, but like you, it is the car that inspired me to start doing more than just oil changes and also what got me into the whole club/hobby thing. :cool:

Re: Interest in getting together for "something" in the next few months?
 

Well, until we can figure out the interest in a greater west coast meetup, I'm thinking just something smaller to get more of us to know each other. Start with a small meet & greet somewhere in the Sac or outer bay area to pull a few more people in. I think if we picked something far enough out, there will be more people able to plan (and find out about) attending. Pre-October was suggested, so maybe later in Sept when the weather starts to cool off around here?

I'd love to get to meet some more of the nearby owners and swap stories (or parts). Even if it is just for an afternoon.

Any good areas that anyone else can suggest? Preferably inexpensive as I am job hunting and generally all around broke. Maybe a park somewhere out in the delta or Mt Diablo area? I don't know either region at all but it is fairly central and scenic.

Re: Interest in getting together for "something" in the next few months?
 

Hey there guys!
I haven't been on recently, but I'd be up for a CA meet. I"m in the LA area.
I'll check in more often to see what you guys come up with! :D

Re: Interest in getting together for "something" in the next few months?
 

Yes I agree. One step at a time. :)

I'm still relatively new around here and haven't been must east of the bay yet (I love the coast :lol:). Went camping out on the delta a month ago but I know it's a huge area. Just looked up Mt. Diablo and it sounds intriguing, it sounds like there is even a windy road that goes up near the top for great views, etc.


But I'm definitely leaning towards something fairly simple like that, within a couple hours for us up in the central area, so we can meet up and spend a lot of time comparing notes and getting to know each other.

Not to say our friends to the south couldn't come up and join us too if they were up for a longer drive. ;)

Re: Interest in getting together for "something" in the next few months?
 

Those areas are a little far for me to go. Hope all goes well there. :)

Re: Interest in getting together for "something" in the next few months?
 

I'm down!! As long as its before end of oct I could probably swing it :)