Tampa Bay Area Mini Meets!!

DAlastDON

Member
Apr 6, 2014
5,550
Kentucky
AFB=Air Force Base

Looks like an auto craft shop similar to what is on fort knox but smaller. Bring the parts, vehicle, shop safety card, and a person with military ID. They got all the tools you will need.
 
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Blckshdw

Original poster
Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
Yep, pretty much. We go to MacDill, all the way at the south end of Dale Mabry. Due to budget cuts over the years, they've shortened the hours, they're only open Thursday Friday and Saturday now.

And the upkeep on equipment is lacking. Several of the lifts don't work, many of the air hoses leak and/or don't latch properly. I borrowed an angle grinder, and the on button was stuck, so as soon as the air hose was connected, it was full speed. :eek:

Having the lift is a life saver though, that's for sure. :yes:
 

LouisTB

Member
Apr 12, 2016
120
Tampa, FL
Yep, pretty much. We go to MacDill, all the way at the south end of Dale Mabry. Due to budget cuts over the years, they've shortened the hours, they're only open Thursday Friday and Saturday now.

And the upkeep on equipment is lacking. Several of the lifts don't work, many of the air hoses leak and/or don't latch properly. I borrowed an angle grinder, and the on button was stuck, so as soon as the air hose was connected, it was full speed. :eek:

Having the lift is a life saver though, that's for sure. :yes:
Oh cool I had no idea :smile:. That'll be perfect for when I do my trans flush. When do you guys usually go?
 

DAlastDON

Member
Apr 6, 2014
5,550
Kentucky
Yep, pretty much. We go to MacDill, all the way at the south end of Dale Mabry. Due to budget cuts over the years, they've shortened the hours, they're only open Thursday Friday and Saturday now.

And the upkeep on equipment is lacking. Several of the lifts don't work, many of the air hoses leak and/or don't latch properly. I borrowed an angle grinder, and the on button was stuck, so as soon as the air hose was connected, it was full speed. :eek:

Having the lift is a life saver though, that's for sure. :yes:

Cutting where they think they can seems to be the new trend across all branches. Last year they started closing all gates at 1800hrs and on weekends except for one that is open 24hrs. The six story hospital on post shut its ER and Trauma units down last week. Turning them into nothing more than a clinic that can serve 60 people a day they say. All emergencies will goto surrounding hospitals. The psychiatric units are still fully intact to help returning soldiers.
 

Blckshdw

Original poster
Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
Well, apparently it's about that time again, as I've been getting texts about a fall meet like we usually do annually. I've heard from some members who are no longer active on the forum with date conflicts for the next few months, so hopefully everyone that's still here that wants to participate don't have issues this far in advance.

WHEN:
  • The weekend of October 15/16 (haven't settled on which day just yet, but this seems to be a weekend without conflicts at this point)
  • Noon time, like always.
WHERE:

This park has a lot of shaded parking, so we can hang out by the trucks, chit chat about mods, work, family, whatever, for as long as we want to. The weather should also be a lot cooler than the meet in May, so we're not baking in the sun if we happen to wander out of the shade like we seemed to do plenty of times at the last meet :bonk:

Depending on how many people we get confirmed to come, maybe we'll get a shelter. But I'm thinking we'll meet at the park, hang out for a few hours, then leave to get something to eat. Maybe do our caravan to the drive on part of Clearwater beach to hang out there for a bit, and then call it a day.

Anyway, let's try to get a list going of who's in, and who might be interested, and we can make adjustments as necessary from there. I'm getting old, can't remember all our FL members anymore :redface:

1) blkshdw (Carlton)
2) JimmyJam (Jimmy)
3) kurupt (Carlos)
4) saze (Caesar) - Maybe

@MRRSM @HeavyChevy4200 @Steveinfl @hrddrv @LouisTB @hockeyman @Decembersend @DJones @wehowardjr @eutechnyx @24v 4.2 @Mike w @triz @markmc
 

LouisTB

Member
Apr 12, 2016
120
Tampa, FL
Well, apparently it's about that time again, as I've been getting texts about a fall meet like we usually do annually. I've heard from some members who are no longer active on the forum with date conflicts for the next few months, so hopefully everyone that's still here that wants to participate don't have issues this far in advance.

WHEN:
  • The weekend of October 15/16 (haven't settled on which day just yet, but this seems to be a weekend without conflicts at this point)
  • Noon time, like always.
WHERE:

This park has a lot of shaded parking, so we can hang out by the trucks, chit chat about mods, work, family, whatever, for as long as we want to. The weather should also be a lot cooler than the meet in May, so we're not baking in the sun if we happen to wander out of the shade like we seemed to do plenty of times at the last meet :bonk:

Depending on how many people we get confirmed to come, maybe we'll get a shelter. But I'm thinking we'll meet at the park, hang out for a few hours, then leave to get something to eat. Maybe do our caravan to the drive on part of Clearwater beach to hang out there for a bit, and then call it a day.

Anyway, let's try to get a list going of who's in, and who might be interested, and we can make adjustments as necessary from there. I'm getting old, can't remember all our FL members anymore :redface:

1) blkshdw (Carlton)
2) JimmyJam (Jimmy)
3) kurupt (Carlos)
4) saze (Caesar) - Maybe

@MRRSM @HeavyChevy4200 @Steveinfl @hrddrv @LouisTB @hockeyman @Decembersend @DJones @wehowardjr @eutechnyx @24v 4.2 @Mike w @triz @markmc
I'm down for Sunday
 

Decembersend

Member
Dec 3, 2011
316
Saturday sounds good to me

1) blkshdw (Carlton)
2) JimmyJam (Jimmy)
3) kurupt (Carlos)
4) saze (Caesar) - Maybe
5) Decembersend (David)
 
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LouisTB

Member
Apr 12, 2016
120
Tampa, FL
I'm can only do Sunday since I can't take Saturdays off work I'd love to be there but if the majority wants Saturday I understand :smile:


1) blkshdw (Carlton)
2) JimmyJam (Jimmy)
3) kurupt (Carlos)
4) saze (Caesar) - Maybe
5) Decembersend (David)
6) LouisTB (Louis)
 
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Blckshdw

Original poster
Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
:bump: plus some updates

1) blkshdw (Carlton)
2) JimmyJam (Jimmy)
3) kurupt (Carlos)
4) Decembersend (David)
5) LouisTB (Louis)
6) eutechnyx (Ken) - Maybe
7) DJones (David)
 

Blckshdw

Original poster
Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
:bump: T-3 Weeks!!

:confused: Is it weird that most of the attendees don't even post here anymore? :blinkhuh: :bonk:
 

Blckshdw

Original poster
Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
You're the only person that's spoken up with a conflict, so we'll do Sunday, at noon. I don't think we'll need to get a pavilion, although there is one that doesn't need a reservation, it's first come, first served.

Everyone on the list has my number, so I can text which pavilion number we'll be near once I find a good spot. Looking at the satellite, almost the entire park is shaded, so baking in the sun won't be an issue like last time :thumbsup:
 

hockeyman

Member
Aug 26, 2012
726
I'm definitely out due to a fishing trip I'm trying to organize somewhere in mid October. Trying to get few friends together for a trip to the Keys for a day or two, and so far, we're not exactly sure of what date works for all of us...yet. Don't want to commit to a Tampa meet and then spooge-out on 'ya.
 

Blckshdw

Original poster
Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
Got a text from @DJones to see if I wanted to make a junk yard run today. Hadn't gone scavenging for parts in a while and the weather is nicer, so why not. While we roamed around and checked out the GMTs, we came across and Ascender. We thought about grabbing the tails, to recycle to a Voy driving member...

20161001_095525.jpg


... until we got around to the other side. :duh: Moving on!

20161001_095535.jpg


Came across a TB with tan and black interior, thought about grabbing some of the black panel pieces for myself, and probably should have, but they were pretty moldy. And this place doesn't have buckets of wheel barrows, you have to be able to carry everything by hand :no:

20161001_100400.jpg


I did find some stuff I needed. Both of my windshield wiper fluid hoses broke off and needed to be replaced, so I grabbed 2. I know Carlos needs the same for his XUV, so snagged a couple for him too. Also decided to grab a spare headlight control switch, that has the light over the dimmer knob, in case anyone wanted one for modding.

20161001_122703.jpg


As for David, he needed a rack to resolve his steering issue.

20161001_111941.jpg


He did most of the work, I just supervised.

20161001_111732.jpg


After getting that done, we made a quick run to get some PS fluid, fired it up, cranked the wheel from lock to lock a few times, and checked for any leaks. Nope, good. Then went for a spin around the block. Steering wheel was quite a few degrees off center, so an alignment is in his future for sure.
 

LouisTB

Member
Apr 12, 2016
120
Tampa, FL
You'll have to let me know where that place is. I'm looking for a new headlight mounting panel and really don't want to pay $60 for one online :/.
 

Blckshdw

Original poster
Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
You'll have to let me know where that place is. I'm looking for a new headlight mounting panel and really don't want to pay $60 for one online :/.

I usually go to any of the 3 LKQ yards around the bay area. This one was Ace AA auto, on the east side of town near 40th street and I4.
 

xavierny25

Member
Mar 16, 2014
6,323
Staten Island, N.Y
we came across and Ascender. We thought about grabbing the tails, to recycle to a Voy driving member...

20161001_095525.jpg


... until we got around to the other side. :duh: Moving on!

I would of thrown my money at you if you did find a good set. I've been looking high and low for a set of those. I'm not having any luck up here in the tri state area.
 

Sparky

Member
Dec 4, 2011
12,927
Should have still grabbed the one good light!
 

Blckshdw

Original poster
Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
It shouldn't. Not only will we have another week to go, but it's gonna stay on the other side of the state. If it does that loop and come back across the state like some models are predicting, it's supposed to stay in south FL and be pretty weak, so we should be fine. Some folks have gone radio silent on me, which is the case with every meet. Mini update... :frown:

1) blkshdw (Carlton)
2) JimmyJam (Jimmy)
3) kurupt (Carlos) Maybe not
4) LouisTB (Louis)
5) DJones (David)
 

Blckshdw

Original poster
Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
One more week to go people. Picked out what looks like a good meeting spot. There aren't any shelters near it, but there are trees, and it's sorta close to the water, good spot to chill. When you come in the entrance, head south on the main road down to the big bend, marked in red. There's a bunch of parking spots, so we should be able to park together.

Phillippe Park.jpg
 

Blckshdw

Original poster
Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
This was one of our smaller/shorter meets, but still a good time. Jimmy brought some drinks and ribs for us to snack on, while some ants got curious and tried to snack on us a few times. The weather was nice, some clouds, nice breeze.

After just over 3 hours, it started to sprinkle a bit, so we all packed up and headed home. Of course, it's not an official meet without pics right?

@Blckshdw @DJones @LouisTB @jimmyjam

20161016_151517.jpg


20161016_151551.jpg


Hopefully next time we can get more of our local members to come hang out.
wish.gif
 

triz

Member
Apr 22, 2013
746
Hey,

Sorry for not making it out. I haven't got on the board in a while. My phone is still out and I wont have one till the end of the month. My little ones B'day was also this Sunday. I'll shoot you a PM with my work cell.
 

Blckshdw

Original poster
Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
:eek: It's been damn near 2 years already since the last meet? :sadcry:

As posted in other threads, @xavierny25 will be in town next Friday on the 31st for a day trip from his vacation. I'm gonna take the day off so we can hit the beach, cuz why not? :biggrin: :cool: That evening, we're thinking of having a mini meet, to have dinner with any members who are free and interested. Time and location will depend on who all wants to join us, and where they are located.

I've sent out some feelers to some of our offline bay area members, and have JimmyJam and Kurupt on board, so that's 4 of us, not including significant others who are welcome to join. If anyone else is interested, please post up so we can show our brother some love! :thumbsup:

GMTs won't be the focus this time around as the tranny in JimmyJam's SS is blown, and the head gasket on Kurupt's XUV is blown. :frown:
 

Blckshdw

Original poster
Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
Since the red tide stayed at bay, we were able to enjoy ourselves at the beach for about 5 hours, until the afternoon rain showers made an appearance.

20180831_163714_1535768091248.jpeg

Forgot it was Friday, instead of Saturday, so we ran smack into Friday evening rush hour traffic PLUS rain, so that really sucked. Managed to find a nice sports bar in the middle of all residents, and close to the highway, to make the drive back to Orlando nice and easy.

20180831_203022_1535768058939.jpeg20180831_201745_1535768020462.jpeg

Pictured: @jimmyjam, @kurupt, @Blckshdw, @xavierny25 :thumbsup:
 

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