ChowdaQ XII

Have I talked about ChowdaQ here? I don't see that I have, at least not in the last few years.

I started driving a diesel Mercedes full time back in the winter of 2003, that was my '83 240D "Hammie" that I bought in New Jersey and drove home. Thats a story in itself. Anyway to keep that car on the road I joined the email discussion list on MBZ.org. Back then our main parts supplier was Rusty and at some point Rusty held a customer appreciation BBQ that got nicknamed the RustyQ. Its worth noting that we often referred to Rusty as "Q" in homage to the character in the 007 films as Rusty was the man with the stuff. There were then a bunch of other BBQs, IowaQ, the OkieQ and probably some more I don't recall.

All that was far away from me in New England so I decided we should hold a Q. After much discussion it got nicknamed ChowdaQ. The first ChowdaQ was set for the fall of 2005 or so, I don't recall exactly. The plan was to get together in a park near my apartment and have burgers and whatnot. As is typical for me I really hadn't prepared and the day dawned rainy and gross so I shot of a quick note to cancel and we headed out for breakfast. I didn't spare it another thought but 2 guys did, separately and without seeing each other, show up. Fred, who ended up being a great friend, drove out from near Boston and another guy who never forgave me, came from Connecticut.

Anyway the idea of ChowdaQ then languished for a few years until I met Dwight. I'd taken a welding class in RI and he came out and took my friend and I to lunch. I think it was then that we rehashed the idea of ChowdaQ and without Dwight it certainly wouldn't happen. The first "modern" ChowdaQ was in 2008 and I've always referred to it as ChowdaQ I. The original abortive attempt gets the title of ChowdaQ 0, "the ChowdaQ that wasn't".

The MBZ email list is long gone, with Okiebenz taking over but the ChowdaQ lives on, "The last of the MBZ Qs."
September 2019 was our twelfth annual ChowdaQ. These days we've got a pattern pretty well established and a pretty good attendee list with some really cool cars. The site is Goddard State park in Warwick, RI. Robert Goddard was the father of modern rocketry, the park is the old family estate. Its a great place for a picnic.

I haven't had a Mercedes since we got Angie's Golf. This year my Jetta came incognito. Somehow I ended up with a whole bunch of MB hubcaps...

I think a lot of people come just for the food. Karen makes the Chowda. This is RI chowda, made with clear broth. I always take a picture so Wilton on the email

I cook in the dutch ovens with my old Coleman 413E, this year I did pork tenderloin, I watch the sales at the grocery store all summer for this. I aim for the meat to cook a minimum of 3 hours to ensure its nice and tender.

The last couple years we've done quahogs. If all you've ever had before at steamer clams these are so much better its crazy. These are "little neck" clams so they don't have the big neck like steamer clams do. They're buttery all by themselves and delightful when dipped in butter. 2019 was windy so Roy used his VW camp mobile as a wind break and we taught him how to cook quahogs.
Mary brings a ton of fruit and Fred brings salad so theres always something for everybody.

Kari is a potter and makes prizes that we give out.

At the end we pass around a hubcap for donations which, in the last couple years has paid for everything.

Anyway, if the good lord is willing and the creek don't rise you'll see us back in September for ChowdaQ XIII.

Whoops!

Didn't mean to neglect posting for so long, things have been busy.
Since my last posting Angie and I camped at Burlingame State campground in RI, that was the same weekend as the annual "ChowdaQ" Mercedes enthusiasts gathering. I took the 202 and the AGM 2572 with us and they worked out great.

We had more light than anybody...
We stayed in a yurt which was okay but nothing I'd write home about

When they say "rustic" they mean it, theres the yurt, the platform its on, the door and nothing else... The quarter operated showers nearby were warm and relatively clean... Apparently the cabins in the park have actual bunks and are more comfortable.

The ChowdaQ was great, as usual the weather was lousy but we had a good group: 6 cars

6 cars and about 10 people, about the same as last year. I did burgers, dogs and sausages on the grill with peppers, onions, mushrooms and bacon fried up on my Coleman 413E which worked out really well.
We took the 190D down because the throttle was sticky on the 240D, that turned out to be the throttle shock. I wish we'd been able to take the 240D its got more space, we were pretty well crammed into the 190D...

Anyway, first snow of the winter was today!

*2025 Update* the Photobucket implosion made the pictures here not show up, I've moved them over to Google and added a bunch more to the post.

ChowdaQ

Went to the first occasional ChowdaQ in Warwick, RI last weekend.
The ChowdaQ name comes from the form, other Mercedes enthusiast gatherings have names like IowaQ, OkieQ and RustyQ. In fact Rusty is the one that gave rise to the form with his yearly customer appreciation barbeque.
I'd tried to arrange one of these a few years ago and failed miserably. Dwight did a much better job and I got to be the grill master.
We had 9 people and 6 cars which is a pretty good turnout for our first year I think. I'm not sure we could have handled any more people from a food perspective as the grills at the park were not what I'd have hoped for. Next year we'll be sure to haul along a proper charcoal grill.
Undaunted we spent several hours looking at each other's cars and swapping lies. Some even swapped parts, Fred brought me a new blower motor switch and a seatbelt warning buzzer. Dwight gave me a replacement wheel center cap to fix the one that got blown out with a failed wheel bearing a couple weeks ago.
Goddard Park where we held the event is a really nice place and I wish the weather had been a bit better, we'd have spent some time wandering around. Angie and I got a hotel room for the night so we didn't have to drive home right away. Next year I'll consider a hotel for both nights so we can get an earlier start. Its a solid 2 hour drive from our house to the park and it'd be nice to be able to start cooking sooner.

Busy times

Apparently the Chineese have a saying, "may you live in interesting times" which basically says may you be so busy you're screwed...

The hood for the 240D is done, 10 coats of paint (or was it 9?) and the hoodpad is installed. I really need to do another coat on the underside, I painted it some just for continuity and it kind of looks worse than before. Another coat (brushed on with a foam brush) and it should be fine, doesn't take long to do anyway.

It'll be awhile before I get it installed since its really a 2 or 3 person job. This weekend is the Chowda fest MB gathering in RI so I won't be able to do it. Maybe Angie will have some time to help me this week, doubt it. I'd rather get another guy to help but I'm not sure if thats gonna happen either...
I still haven't gotten the rear brake parts yet, I'll need to email Rusty....