August 25, 1996
We had a good time at the 1st annual Cops For Tots show put on by LAPD Central Traffic Division. It was a good turnout of NAISSO members, plus there were a couple of non-members, who I think we recruited for membership. I believe we had 11 or 12 impalas there.
All colors were present. One of the rogue Impalas showed up with Goodyear GSC tires on 19" AZEV chrome wheels. It's a nice looking car, but the owner said the tires scrape on the front suspension in tight turns.
The Long Distance Award goes to Keith Lindgren from Charlotte, North Carolina who was in town (without his car). Great to meet you, Keith!
We all checked out the everGreen Performance Cold Air Intake that Kevin Lindsay had added to his car since the last time we saw it. Very, very nice!! We also saw the LUND headlight covers on Ed Monk's car. Also very nice. I think Ed is trying to make his car completely disappear with all the blackout treatment.
All divisions of law enforcement were present including the LAPD, California Highway Patrol, FBI, and even the Army. An LAPD Bell Jet Ranger was there also. It must be a tough job cruising around in one of those, Troy! Frank Halley, Dave Vianu, and I talked to an LAPD SWAT team member and checked out his 9C1. He was a great guy. He showed us the weapons the SWAT teams use (impressive, I must say) and let us poke around under the hood of his car. He wasn't willing to let us borrow his green silicone hoses, however. The army had a Hummer and some other huge vehicle on display. In addition, the CHP had one of their pursuit RS Camaros there.
The show cars were amazing, including a '63 Impala SS 409, which belongs to Dave Vianu's father. The LAPD had a couple of their race cars there, which were very impressive. One was the very first Buick Grand National ever built!! It, like the Impala prototype, has a plaque that reads "Not Licensable." The car had the whole nine yards--wheelie bars, slicks, and a bad to the bone V6 that gets the car through the 1/4 mile in the 10's!
Our cars got lots of notice from the public. Now if we could just keep people from rubbing their fingers down the sides of our cars. None of us won anything as we were lumped into the "Chevy ShowStopper" category with all the trick Bel Airs, old Impalas, etc. (6 hours of polishing and waxing for nothing). But we did win the Club Participation Award and we were thanked by most of the officers there for coming.
Oh, and it's official. The preferred color of the LAPD is--drum roll please--BLACK. Of course, some of the judges pointed out that they would buy one of the "other" colors before they bought black. Why? Because it's so hard to keep a black car looking clean, that's why!
Dave Stonefield
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