First Motor Expo

[BIG Shaun]

I was invited at the last minute to attend the dyno comp at the first Motor Expo starting in Adelaide.
Although I was not interested in dyno queen activities only drag racing, I agreed for all my sponsors sake as I thought it would be good for them......and to the fact that they had no high powered cars entered to promote the event.

I was met at the gate by a man of the GRAEME RUTGERS the organiser of the event.
He snuck me through the gates which soon became obvious to me that was against the rules and he was only out to earn self recognision.
I was given the red carpet treatment right through till my car was dynoed.

It soon came to my attention that the dyno being used was something yanked out of some local suburban garage in Adelaide. I considered this very unprofessional.

Unfortunate after the car was strapped down it was brought to my attention by the Dyno Dynamics team, going through their check list that my blower belt had no teeth on it, which must have been torn off on the last run at the drags the day before.
Even though the blower belt only had 5 teeth left on a 1.6m long belt we gave it a whirl any way.

1st attempt the car was not strapped properly and it slipped forward on the dyno, they aborted the run with a figure of 560 RWHP.
They then strapped the car down tighter.
This time the car broke the strap clean in half, once again the run was aborted.
They gathered up some more straps and strapped the car once again.
This time the car ran a figure of 681 RWHP not bad considering there was nearly 0 assistance from the blower and the car was badly strapped.

The car was then taken off the dyno.
I then spoke to GRAEME RUTGERS about my blower belt and said that I have a brand new belt at home and if it was alright I would go home and get it so we could give it another power run so I could show what the car was truely capable of.
As this would also have been in his best interest to help promote his show.
But this GRAEME RUTGERS just turned on me like a viscous dog and argued a few words and yelled "NO".
I had personally done nothing wrong. As a result I left the hall with a sick feeling in my stomach. I had given up my day for this man, plus expenses eg. trailer hire etc.


"I WAS USED"

As a result I have been put off entering any more dyno comps.

[VX SS]

http://www.ls1.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=39576

I thought you were taking the blame Martin lol

But the link is gooone.


As a matter of interest Shaun what boost would you normally run and what were you expecting

[Martin_D]

Yeah all my fault! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Go to any of these expo things, always is :)

[keen]

Big Shaun, thats pretty disapointing dude , Shits me up the wall when you go out of your way to accomadate someone and there rude to you, at least your not locked up and him in hospital.Still impresive figures all the same.

[Plan B]

Is this the Old Ford V's Holden Show?

[BIG Shaun]

http://www.ls1.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=39576

I thought you were taking the blame Martin lol

But the link is gooone.


As a matter of interest Shaun what boost would you normally run and what were you expecting
we have seen this car make 707rwhp whilst aborting the power run at just over 5000rpm at 15psi boost,full exhuast,filter,pump fuel etc

the car was set up with no exhuast,race fuel,race tune and the limiter set at 7300rpm.
taking in consideration the car weighs nearly 4000lb and can run 145mph in 400m ONE WOULD EXPECT AT LEAST 800+rwhp

[RhysB]

Is this the Old Ford V's Holden Show?

That Graeme bloke is the old Holden vs Ford promoter/ organiser yeah. I think hes now revamped it, now called it AME Show- Deadset, he was so disorganised last year here in Brissy; He couldnt find his own ass with both hands!
Your car sounds off the hook thou Shaun - hope your not put off mate for future shows.

[Plan B]

Well, you could always ask for a letter of apology Shaun. I framed mine…. It’s a classic! That is, a “classic reminder” of how this man operates! ;)

[Phonsy]

Hey Shaun
Good to meet you on the weekend mate.
Your car sounds strong and was pretty impressive making the HP it did with less teeth on the blower belt than my grandma has.
Put a new belt on and go and run 150mph.

Cheers Phonsy

[GTS215i]

That Graeme bloke is the old Holden vs Ford promoter/ organiser yeah. I think hes now revamped it, now called it AME Show- Deadset, he was so disorganised last year here in Brissy; He couldnt find his own ass with both hands!
Your car sounds off the hook thou Shaun - hope your not put off mate for future shows.

Surprise, surprise this man has caused more headaches. Ive only dealt with Graeme through the recent HSV Nationals, and all i can say is im not surprised. His handling of the entire event was a joke and it was very obvious that all he was interested in was making money.
I could list a page of issues along with many others who entered the Nationals. Interstate clubs including his own SA HSV club were pissed off and if it wasn't for the help of the vic hsv club the event would of been a shambles.
Sorry to hear that you had similar issues shaun, im sure plenty of others feel the same as you after putting in so much effort and offering there time.

[BIG Shaun]

Hey Shaun
Good to meet you on the weekend mate.
Your car sounds strong and was pretty impressive making the HP it did with less teeth on the blower belt than my grandma has.
Put a new belt on and go and run 150mph.

Cheers Phonsy
thanks Phonsy
know dought 150mph is possible aspecially with the help of my new RIP SHIFTER mate i was blown away at the differance it made on gear changes down the 1/4 on the week end

sorry i didn't get a chance to talk more at the show YOU COMMING TO ADELAIDE FOR WINTER LS1 EVENT.

[Ryzz]

Surprise, surprise this man has caused more headaches. Ive only dealt with Graeme through the recent HSV Nationals, and all i can say is im not surprised. His handling of the entire event was a joke and it was very obvious that all he was interested in was making money.
I could list a page of issues along with many others who entered the Nationals. Interstate clubs including his own SA HSV club were pissed off and if it wasn't for the help of the vic hsv club the event would of been a shambles.
Sorry to hear that you had similar issues shaun, im sure plenty of others feel the same as you after putting in so much effort and offering there time.
Im with Ben on this one, Graeme should be banned from organising (i dont know if thats even a fair word to use for what he does) an event again!!!

The HSVNationals was the most DISORGANISED EVENT. Not to mentioned that every entrant agreed to have there car as part of a photo @ lang lang making out the HSV Logo. The next day Graeme charges $10 each for a A3 Size piece of paper, not even a post, and in addition to this, a limit run of them.

Sorry to hear your pain mate, but Grame is not a decent bloke, and it comes as no suprise you got screwed around by him. I hope that potential event organisers see the recent lack of results and take business elsewhere!!!

[hsv BRO]

Interstate clubs including his own SA HSV club were pissed off and if it wasn't for the help of the vic hsv club the event would of been a shambles.

He ISN'T our's!! BRO!, :jester: The clown is more interested in the 70k he can make in a weekend for him and his family.

[Ryzz]

He ISN'T our's!! BRO!, :jester: The clown is more interested in the 70k he can make in a weekend for him and his family.
$70k!!! :eek: Where did you hear that number from, That is insane!!!!

HSVNats 07 is rumored (well what ive been told by the NSW HSVOC) to be @.....wait for it.............

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BATHURST :D :D

[hsv BRO]

$70k!!! :eek: Where did you hear that number from, That is insane!!!!

In the carpark, as people were getting more pissed off :mad: with what was happening!!


HSVNats 07 is rumored (well what ive been told by the NSW HSVOC) to be @.....wait for it.............

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BATHURST :D :D

That would be very cool :cool: SOooo long as we know who is doing it. :lol:

[Bully]

In the carpark, as people were getting more pissed off :mad: with what was happening!!


Yeh & I feel for the guys who got defected by the cops at the gate..... was a little nervous as I drove past 'em, they were doing an ef(?) falcon for too low as I went by

[ROARZ]

Wow! Feeling the love tonight.

Let me count how many other shows are targeted at our sector of the market that are put on inside venues like Jeff's Shed or the Brisbane Convention Centre.... Hmmm... Oh, that is none.

Now, I'm as interested as anyone to see how the move from Holden Vs Ford to AME will go, as being a Holden guy it feels like a shame to be moving away from the two-make format just as it was gaining momentum.

The closest thing we've got to this up here is the Hot Rod and Street Machine spectacular at the RNA Show Grounds, which only had a dyno comp for the first time this year, doesn't have the trade booth coverage that AME has, is spread across many pavilions and is really targeted at the Hot Rod market. The other alternative is AutoSalon, which again is not really targeted at HvF.

We don't really have an alternative to run to if you don't like Graeme's style.

I think the LS1 Drag Nats is AWESOME, and WISH I could get to one one day. Being held interstate obviously increases logistics issues for participants. Powercruise also rocks, again now interstate. Neither of these shows are undercover static displays though, so they are a little different to the AME show.

So here's what I think:

1. Thanks go to Graeme for bothering to put a national show series like this on in the first place. Yes he makes money from it, the silly bugger, what a concept! If you do the math on the time invested, capital invested, and risk assumed, the numbers talked about are not unrealistic. I too make money to look after my family, hopefully that doesn't make me a bad person... :D

2. Yes, I too can think of ways he could improve it, but that is the same for every business venture that exists. Most certainly Shaun should speak with Graeme now that things have passed, and ensure he knows what went down and how you felt. He can only do one of two thing; ignore or learn; either way it's good to directly pass on the feedback. Things certainly did not go "as planned" at the shows I attended last year, but there are many variables in play during the execution of an event this size, and sometimes things get out of hand. A more decentralised management model would do wonders for Graeme during the execution of the show, but I don't think he's grown the business to a point where he is ready for that to happen yet. Hence he tries to do too much himself, and then bad things can happen.

3. Maybe there is some way that as competitors, we could help Graeme out with the show a little more. Given that there is no really good alternative, perhaps investing in assisting Graeme will make it an even better show. Of course it's a profit making venture for Graeme, and of course he should ensure everything is spot on for us, but given that we as a community of enthusiasts also get a lot out of coming together in this type of forum perhaps we could band together and assist as well. I don't know Graeme very well, so I don't know how he'd go about working with us, but maybe there's room for that to happen as we go forward...

Shaun - Sorry to hear of your experience. That's a real shame. Would have LOVED to have seen the results of your ride at full capacity on the dyno!!! Maybe next time...