One trip I’ve always wanted to go on is the Hot Rod Power Tour. Classic cars from all over the nation gather to the midwest and tackle thousands of miles across multiple states. It’s an incredible test of both man and machine because not only are there a ton of road miles, but there is also drag racing, autocross and burnouts! I’ve always enjoy reading the article coverage and watching the YouTube videos from all the attendees of this event, and it spurred on the creation of our own event, The DPV Underpowered Tour(UPT).
The UPT is for the little guy. A much more attainable event (especially if you are in the Pacific Northwest) as it covers about 500 miles in three days with one track day, lots of beautiful scenery, and of course car shows. The first time we put on this event was in 2021, and man was it a great time! The first night of the event we all met up in Dayton, WA for the All Wheels Weekend Cruise which the streets were lined with delicious food truck food, live music, and of course tons of classic cars. Unfortunately, night one we lost a couple rigs due to overheating issues. Alex blew a head gasket in the Big Brown Wagon pulling the Alpowa grade and Ben was having continual overheating issues with a convertible new beetle. I still am convinced an LS swap is the answer for both of those rigs! Aside from that loss, Friday night was a blast cruising, eating great food, and meeting new people in the automotive crowd.
From Dayton we traveled further along highway 12 to Walla Walla, Wa where we stayed Friday night. Saturday morning was filled with pool time for the kids, birthday celebrations, breakfast, and parking lot wrenching. Chris’s beautiful 1970 AMC Rebel Machine developed an exhaust leak but was easily fixed by simply tightening the manifold bolts. My 1969 Chevy Impala had no brake lights, which is definitely an issue in a train of classic cars with questionable braking performance. Luckily, Napa had a switch in stock so we were able to get that fixed up in no time.
After the parking lot repairs, we headed over to the Walla Walla Drag Strip for some 1/8th mile drag racing fun. I had never drag raced before on an actual track so this was quite the learning experience for me! Tech went fairly well, just had to fix up my battery with a ratchet strap because, ya know, no tie down but other than that no problem! We had initially signed up for the time only class, but quickly realized that if we wanted any track time, we would need to to switch to the sportsman class. After making the switch we had to run to get in line for a test pass, it all happened so fast! Being that I had recently installed a line lock on the ol’ Ghetto Glyder, I had to test it out in the burnout box. I locked up the front and let the smoke roll from the one tire fryer. The impala is not quick, especially on an 1/8 mile track with 2.73 gears but it was still a blast running up against Chris’s Rebel Machine. I ended up in the 10s (please forget this was in the 1/8th haha), pretty sure Chris was in the 8s.
We had another in the group who raced for the first time as well in his 302/5 speed swapped galaxy 500 built for the Gambler 500. Not sure if mud tires are the best for drag racing but it was fun to see the galaxy cruise down the track. We each got one more run down the track, I was up against a Pontiac GTO(one of the late models, 2000s) and got a significant head start off the line. I still got beat but it was a good time.
The sun was scorching down on us, probably in the 90s, and after racing the best thing to do on a hot day is pull a big ol’ grade, so that’s exactly what we did. The scenery changed from rolling farm land to the forest covered Blue Mountains. We all made it to the summit without overheating which is incredible given how warm it was when we left the race track! We stopped to stretch our legs, give the kids some snacks and admire the breath taking views of the Blue Mountains. Moving on down the winding mountain highway, the shady spots gave those of us without AC some pleasant relief. I absolutely love having the windows down on my 4 door hardtop, gives it a big open feel and the cool mountain air is amazing.
As we got down the mountain, the road followed a river and eventually through the farmland near Elgin, OR. This area is full of old iron along the highway, projects just waiting for someone to revive them. The route then gained some elevation to the mountain town of Enterprise, OR where we got some delicious burgers (with sweet potato fries!) at Heavenly’s and then got all checked in at the Ponderosa Motel.
While at dinner, we met a couple car guys that invited us to cruise that night. One of them had a sweet Chevy Luv with a small block chevy swapped in, and no hood. We followed him to his place to check out his wheeler projects which included a K5 blazer on 42s and tons as well as an 80s 4runner on 39s, both built to the hilt, mostly for the deep snow that covers the Wallowas each year. After shooting the breeze for a solid hour about wheeling, we went cruising around a loop that connects Enterprise and Joseph, OR under the star filled sky.
Sunday morning we went back into Joseph, OR to get some breakfast and check out the shops. Chris and I ran up to Wallowa Lake in the Impala and the Rebel to do a detailed walk around video of Chris’s Rebel. It is one incredible ride, fully restored, tons of history, and absolutely beautiful. You can check out that video here.
After a great breakfast and video shoot, it was time to hit the road again and so we made our way back into the Blue Mountains, this time North of Enterprise and the scenery does not disappoint! A lot of times you can see elk in this part of the country, so you have to be alert, especially with 50+ year old braking technology. We made sure to stop at Joseph Canyon Viewpoint where it seems you can see mountain tops for miles. From here we winded down the mountain to the Grand Rounde River and crossed it at Bogan’s Oasis, a cool little restaurant/convenience store that is frequented by white water rafters and fisherman in the area. The next section of the route is called the rattlesnake grade. Not only are there rattlesnakes in the area, but also this section of road very well could be the windiest grade I’ve ever pulled. The tires on all our rigs were squealing around the corners as we made our way up to the small farm town of Anatone, WA. The population is so little here that they even post how many animals they have! The trip finished up by descending the curvy switchbacks of the Anatone Grade to Asotin, WA.
This trip was an absolute blast, which is why we are doing it again! That’s right, the DPV Underpowered Tour is going to be an annual event. This year will take place June 3rd-5th, and we’ve got a brand new route picked out. Sometimes, you gotta go big or go home which would be the Hot Rod Pour Tour, and other times you gotta just do the best with what you got, you know, run what ya brung. That’s the DPV Underpowered Tour. If you wanna join us this year, you can sign up here! https://fb.me/e/59Va2YqUh
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Days of Pain and Victory 
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