Rotortuner hit on what I was going to say. With the monthly meets it is easy to get complacent, i.e. I am busy this week so I will just hit the next one. Plus there are multiple monthly meets: Tacos7, Izzy's, and now we are trying to start some for Bellevue area. With something going on every week, it is hard to get a great turn out. Plus throw in all the other events such as track days, autocross, import car shows, drifting, etc. all crammed into a few months in the summer and it gets hectic fast.

The other problem as other people pointed out is these cars are just getting old and new ones aren't coming out. Each year there are less on the road and it gets harder to keep them on the road.

I think organizing a few major events each year will be successful. The swap meet is one, others could be a drive, an autocross day, or some other BBQ thing. Events where stuff is actually going on I think will appeal a lot more, people will be a lot more interested if there is something to do rather than just chat in a parking lot and eat at a place they might not even care for.

 

I remember those 7 meets...my 7 is still in WA..but im not

 

ya del taco and izzy's kinda suck as far as the food situation. tech talk is what im talking about. i go to a 7 meet and alot of the guys arent in their 7s so i assume they dont have one and cant relate to what the hell im talkin about. usually when i show up to izzy's its just talkin about this and that for a half hour then every one goes inside to eat. i wanna get down and dirty and talk about projects and toss some ideas out. for instance. body work. most people with 7s have some kind of plan to do body work. lets pick each others brains so we can keep these things on the road and out of the junk yards.

 

I'm liking that idea. I prefer the Eastside meeting location, even Federal Way is ok now and then. But I usually work 60+hr weeks and even this Sat's Rx8 bbq I'm going to be working all day then heading down after I clean up and switch rides.

A drive with just 7's and 8's would be nice this summer. Make for some great pics.

 

The Empire and the Republic... lol

 

Tim when did you get so old. You're gonna be 30 before we can have a drink in public together.... legally haha.

 

ahahahaha No joke, Jordashian. It comes with buying a "mid-life crisis" car such as an FD and a soccer mom daily such as the Volvo V70R You'll grow up really fast that way

 

I mean atleast it's something to look forward to, Soccer Mom meets instead of RX7 meets?

 

whats everyones work schedule look like? something to base a good time and day for. i work 6-4:30pm and have sunday wednesday and thursdays off

 

monday - friday 11-8 :-(

 

I think sundays are free on most peoples schedules, afternoon-evenings. It would be great to coordinate with a tuning shop/garage or people's homes to hold the meets. Tech sessions and hands on different projects would interest and benefit everyone. I'm sure we could all use each other's different skills to help with our projects. We could sit down and watch engine rebuild videos and pound back a few brews, at the least. I think it would be fun.

 

where have you all been?

 

working kettlman or I would have been there for the build. a few tear down and rebuild bbq's is a great idea, shop talk for the rotary guys is awesome. Lets build on this one, we are a dieing breed of cars that only the owner can love and enjoy the s*it out of driving, no one else gives a hoot...........next meet???

 

car meets in winter/fall =fail summer meets is where its at imo.

 

I like this idea, we shud hav meets at well known rx7 members houses with garage/shops. Help one another with ther projects so we can hav a hands on 'TECH DAY'

Learn some new skills frm one another and hav good time
I got plenty of projects lol so come on ova.

 

I agree and disagree. I disagree because I've been to the RPNW monthly meet in Portland several times and they don't have this problem. It's in the same place, at the same time, on the same day every single month and still they manage to get people to come out. How? They manage to make it more interesting than pretty much any meet I've been to in the Seattle area. It's not just a "Hey come shoot the **** and talk about RX7's, although they find time to do that too. It's because they usually have some sort of goal in mind. Whether it's planning a day at the track, planning a picnic, or (my favorite) planning the Blake Qualley/Oregon Coast Rally. The point is even the monthly meets are centered around a bigger event that the members can look forward to.

I do agree that weekly is way overkill and monthly meets that have no REAL point are nearly as bad. Interest is the key. If you don’t have that element then people will just continue to blow them off. I think that's why Lloyd's BBQ is so popular. First off, Lloyd is such a great guy it's a pleasure, and I think everyone will agree, that just being around him is fun. BUT, he also knows ALOT about rotaries (or just about any other automotive or mechanical topic for that matter), and he's always willing to share the wealth with anybody who will ask. Same goes for many of the other people who show up to his BBQ. I’ve learned more about RX7’s at his meets than any other single place I can think of and everyone that has been to one of the previous BBQ’s knows the turnout is going to be good.

So, what's the solution? First, we need to decide if we really want this or not. Do we really want to have an RX7 or Rotary Engine Club or do we just want to sit at home and bitch because there's nothing for us to do? If we want a club then we need to get organized and find some people who are dedicated enough to keep the ball rolling, to come up with new things to keep the interest up. Maybe follow the example of RPNW and concentrate on 2 or 3 big pay-offs throughout the year and use the monthly, or bi-monthly, meetings to make those happen. I also don't think weeknights are the time for these meets. I work in Seattle and live in Marysville/Arlington. The last thing I want to do after working all day is fight traffic all the way from Seattle or Tacoma to my house, just to get in my car and fight traffic back the way I just came from in order to drive to Olympia for a meet, not to mention I couldn't make it there by 7pm anyway. And before anyone spouts off, driving the FD to work is NOT an option because of my job. I propose, if we are going to do this, we make the meetings early Saturday or Sunday afternoon, maybe we could consider a location that is outside the main traffic corridor. Having it earlier on a weekend would also allow us to do a short drive afterwards if we wanted, where 9 or 10pm on a weeknight does not. Maybe we could move the meet to different locations to give everyone a chance to attend. I know I’d be much more willing to drive to Olympia once if I knew the next 2 or 3 meets would be closer to home, traffic or not.

And for anyone who's interested...the Blake Qualley/Oregon Coast Rally is coming up soon. If you haven't been I highly recommend it. It's the most well organized drive I've ever been on. Two days of some SERIOUS twisty's and these guys put alot of effort into the route they use. And you get to spend a night on the Oregon Coast.

 

all good ideas as far as i can see. motivation is key. gotta have something to look forward to. sunday is great day for a drive since most people dont work so theres little traffic in comparison to weekdays. next year the new club track will open here in shelton. i think that would be a day to look forward to since its being built for people like us! when the construction gets closer they should have a date for grand opening. ill keep u all posted.

 

I work Weds-Sun 4pm - 1am. Never going to another RX7 meet again

:foreveralone:

 

i tell you what..... this thread has become useful. you all are coming up with wonderful ideas that have actually been done in the not so far past. both here and on the east side. the big challenge was BURN OUT. we didn't have enough people dedicated to doing the ground work to put meets together. it was pretty much left up to one person. and out of experience i tell you it gets disappointing. kind of funny that when i found this forum eight years ago there was alot of posts like this one. me and codeblue2 said to stop whining and do something about. nobody stepped up, so we did. put together meets, drives, tech days, and bbq's. pretty much had one good event each month. codeblue2 moved to Spokane where she worked on it over there and i kept it going here. when you're the only one putting them together, you get tired of it. kids are growing up, family life changes, and just plane getting burnt from the damn rx7's play a toll. was a fun few years with the mt. st. helens drives, big bbq's, engine builds, apple blossoms, tech days, and just plain lets go drives. we do have a small group that does alot of this together on spur of the moments down here, just not super main steam. my suggestions to you all that are wanting this is to do it. much easier with a few people working together to keep things moving. you gotta work together though. and most important thing to remember............ make up your mind and post it. do not change days and times. once you post it it is in stone. you start changing things, well it mixes people up and discourages them. i can help out a little, but my main goal anymore that takes alot of time it the NW TOYRUN. that i am dedicated to.

 

Allan is right, what was the leadership over here on the eastside burnt out for the same reasons. Please listen to Allan, he knows what he is talking about.

 

 

I see there is a lot of interest in so called "tech days". Personally I think there is pretty much everything on the internet and forums that you could ever want to research but i guess for some that's not enough. So my question is, what kind of tech topics are you guys interested in? I might talk to one of the nw shops and see if they would do a saturday type thing, but what are you guys looking to learn?

CJG

 

Id like to learn better techniques on body work.

 

Well, as soon as I fix my vibration and can drive on the freeway again I'll resume attending meets.

 

I'd love a tech day too. I did my 2nd gen fusebox mod today, next on the list may be removal of the omp (already got my blockoff plate) and I'd love to have some people looking over my shoulder so I don't make a mistake. As for the tech day itself... bodywork/paint prep is in my near future as well. Getting bodykits fitted better than my handiwork