Riverside Rebels Pikkujoulut 2000 - Joensuu

Before the Christmas of 2000 I was contacted by Kari Sinkkonen on the fact that they were organizing a pre-Christmas party at their "garage" in Joensuu. Along with Juha Makkonen (from Turku) and Raimo Vuorensivu (from Tampere) we decided to take the long train-ride to Joensuu (also Kari Kokkola (AMCCF) took the trip as well, from Helsinki with his daily driver) to go and see what Riverside Rebels were all about. And what a trip it was! We weren't expecting much but what we got was something quite extraordinary, it was a Rambler-party like no other. (For more detail on what happened there, check the next issue of AMCCF club magazine).

After arriving at the train-station we were greeted by a few AMCCF members and Tero Kinnunen's quite cool looking Rebel. After the "smooth" short ride to the "garage" things started getting a bit clearer, these people had really put their mind to this party. I did know they had invited other clubs as well to the party later on that evening, but even if there had been just a few people except AMCCF & Riverside Rebels members the meeting would even then been a great success!

Outside of the garage there was the first pleasant suprise, Ramblers, and lots of them. In Pori (where I live) Ramblers are very seldom seen in the streets even in the summer, but these guys had them in traffic during mid-winter! Quite nice indeed.

The first inline, a Rambler Classic '65 had just been bought by a Riverside Rebels club-member a few days before the party. It was quite original and very nice looking (even if the bumpers had been painted black). Sadly a few months later some japanese kamikaze car totaled one of the front fenders, bumper, and other front-end parts, but no fear, the car was fixed suprisingly fast (thanks to their cache of spare parts). This was one of the cars we used to get around Joensuu.

Next car in line is Rebel Cross-Country '68 232cid owned by Tekokoski Ari (AMCCF). The car really showed it's potential by transporting 10 people around Joensuu. A very cool and admirably well-balanced car.

Next in the (very dark) picture you can make out the '68 Rebel owned by Tero Kinnunen (AMCCF). The car had some pretty cool slight-kustom additions. It also demonstrated how a Rambler doesn't need an exhaust pipe, the car's 232cid was indeed suprisingly quiet even with a exhaust pipe ending just after the tranny.

Along with drivable Ramblers, Riverside Rebels had at least 3 of them in various stages of the word "project". The first one here ('64? Classic) was bought by Kari Sinkkonen's daughter and it'll propably be in driving condition in a couple of years. The second car should need no introductions to Finnish Rambler hobbyists, it's Tero Kinnunen's other Rebel, also known as "liekki" (flame) and "Galaxin rumin auto". (Itseasiassa ei se niin ruma ole, ja kaikenlisäksi 304cid konehuoneessa ja loota alla, auto on kuulemma ajokunnossa vieläkin...)

The "garage" itself was indeed a place to fix cars, but along with it, Riverside Rebels had a quite nice bar "in the garage" as well as a small living quaters and a Sauna (which were both tested out by us of course). As you can tell from the pictures, the atmosphere was GREAT! Along with some ham and traditional Finnish Karjalanpiirakka (a pie with rice-porridge in the middle, quite delicious) and a choice of beverages, the evening was a hit.

Awards were handed out at the party along with Rambler-related Christmas presents. (mine was a NOS 199cid exhaust valve..quite cool!), and here goes the biggest one to Juha Makkonen (AMCCF) for "The Longest trip". He beat me by a few miles, and Juha was such a gentleman to allow everyone at the party to have a few shots of the price. A liter of "RIVERSIDE REBELS" Vodka... ;)

Along with spending time indoors, we found some time to cruise around the town of Joensuu. Here's a pic I found after developing the pictures, as you can tell it's taken in motion during one of our cruising trips to Helge Nygren's garage to see his custom. I just had no idea I had taken this pic.... Must have been the sunspots... hmmm..

For more pics & a detailed description of what happened at the party, check the AMCCF Club magazine issue #2 coming out this spring! (If you're an AMCCF or RR member with more pics of this event, get in touch!)