Lance,
The "no wash show" sounds like fun. A few of us have made a practice of
voting for the cars with the most bug guts at Participant Voting shows!
Those cars are definitely driven and the owners aren't spending every
moment from the second they arrive on the field washing & polishing.
This started at a large MG show here in Canada several years ago. Our MG
friends were amazed when some rubber bumper Bs had to be moved a short
distance. They loaded them back on their trailers to move them a span of
50 feet! That's when we decided to "go for the guts"! Then there was the
large Mustang show in Pensacola in 1991. A couple we befriended spent
150 hours detailing the underside of their '67 Stang. They were in a
tizzy the who;e weekend because the "playboy pink" covertible had shown
up in their class, & they always lose the first place to them. To top it
all off, the "gold card judge" said their jack was incorrect & they
would lose points (despite the fact that it came with the car from new).
Now Mustangs, like possibly some mass produced Brits, were cranked out
at such a rate, that any parts that were available were thrown in,
especially at model change time. They caved. Bought a new "correct" jack
from an on-site vendor. After all the angst, they managed to tie for
first with their opponents - and went home renewed. Yup, the quest for
the "silverware" is an obsession, with some! Some put a lot of money
into their cars & need the recognition. Others constantly quest for a
bargain on parts. Others need to build - having assembled the perfect
car, they quickly become bored with the finished product, sell it, and
get another project to work on. These pursuits are all acceptable. But
sometimes, people, fun, interaction, and just the enjoyment of driving
the cars, gets left out of the process. I've heard it said that
sometimes it's best to just call up a couple of enthusiasts, go for a
little ride, & top it off with a beer. There's a lot of merit in that.
The wife & I staged a poker run recently. It was open to all Brits.
Cards were prepared & dropped off to three pubs in 258 sealed envelopes,
one pub was offering discounts, maps & directions were made, the event
was published, and the weather was great. Small club-small draw. Bad
timing, too. The Jags were having a Jag concours, MGs were having a MG
rally, a vendor was holding a parts sale, etc. A lot of competing
interests. We had 2 members & 2 guests play. Four did make a game of it,
but I wonder if it would have been a lot easier ( and with a greater fun
factor ) if the same four cars & us just went for a little drive & a
beer! The Triumph folk attempted a poker run at a later date & it was
cancelled for lack of interest. (It's all relative. Four cars for us is
a go, for others: a total disaster! If we get six or so of our local
people out for something, it's a great turn-out). Perhaps the LBCs
aren't into the card thing, unlike rod clubs? Or was there a big show on
somewhere else?
Gee, I hope the shows of the future don't all become trailered events,
either due to legislation or the quest for museum perfection! Your group
sounds like you still have a sense of humour, amid all the seriousness &
rivalry these days. Wanna swap newsletters? Ours is still photocopied,
with articles, & no paid advertising (members get a free biz card
inserted)! Save me cold one, Lance. Maybe I'll come down for the ride!
I get the feeling we would be welcome there.
-Fred Kuzyk
MSCCC
LanceKL@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 97-07-30 21:55:26 EDT, msccc@sympatico.ca (Fred Kuzyk)
> writes:
>
> << Remember the days when clubs were small (or there weren't any for your
> particular segment) and enthusiasts (sports car, British, racing,
> whatever) got together for some fun? Remember when someone would invite
> members, or friends, enthusiasts, guests to their home for a get
> together? The days before big events, trophies, registration fees, and
> "Fortune 500" budgets were needed to get people to come out & come
> together? The days before: glossy newsletters (you were lucky to have a
> sporadic, single page!), >>
>
> There are still clubs like that
> Mog south is an example
>
> We drive our cars to our get togethers.....We have the no wash car show.
> "We grab a beer and go look to see what other members have done to their
> cars. The events are social and the cars bring us together.....no one waxes
> the bottom of their cars we would much rather see a bug covered car that has
> driven 200 miles to the meet than any trailered car!!!
>
> Lance Lipscomb
> Mog South
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