British V8 Meets celebrate creativity and individuality. These four MGB roadsters illustrate the point:
Mikel Moor's (Buick 300), Bill Yobi's (Olds 215), Carl Floyd's (Buick 215), & Pete and Sue Mantell's (Ford 302)...
British V8 Meet 2007 - Overview and Social Functions
as published in British V8 Newsletter, Volume XV Issue 2, September 2007by: Curtis Jacobson
This is the kind of article I don't know how to write. I don't have a clue. So, I've selected a bunch of photos and just sort of thrown down some words that you should ignore... unless you're curious what people are doing in the photos.
Parking Lot Parties It wouldn't be a British V8 meet without unstructured time for socializing and inspecting some of the coolest hot-rod cars anywhere! Cold beverages don't hurt either. Our parking lot parties are generously sponsored by key vendors to the hobby. Fast Cars Inc. and Advance Auto Wire teamed-up to sponsor the Thursday night pizza party and D&D Fabrications sponsored the Friday night parking lot party...
As if it weren't enough to organize and host this year's British V8 Meet, Kurt Schley and Sue Hunter thought "Hey! Why don't we tie-the-knot that weekend too?" (Actually the idea was suggested facetiously by Carl Floyd on an internet message board...)
So, our Saturday night parking lot party / wedding reception had a particularly celebratory feel.
If you were new to our hobby, you might be tempted to think it's all about big engines.
Nope! Every aspect of our cars are fair game for creative self-expression. From the
selection of basic components, to engineering and testing, to the crafting of
unique hand made parts, these cars are personalized. So, when we meet in a parking
lot we have a LOT to talk about.
Mark Lagrou, Steve Ward, & Bill Jacobson with Ray Bencar's supercharged, nitrous-injected Austin-Healey 3000
Our biggest party was Saturday night, when we celebrated Kurt and Sue's wedding!
foreground: Don Coleman's (Rover), Joe Schafer's (Ford), Mikel Moor's (Buick) and Steve Carrick's (Ford)
Paul and Mary Schils' (Buick), Ray Bencar's (Chevrolet), Jim Stuart's (Rover) and Bill Oliver's (Buick)
Curtis Jacobson prepares to test drive Ken Hiebert's TR6, while Bill Jacobson admires Ted Lathrop's TR6
Half the Fun is Getting There!
Have you ever participated in a rally? A big part of the fun is seeing cars in
their element - driving!
At British V8 Meets we don't hesitate to get in our cars and go places. Like a time-speed-distance rally, some folks do manage to get lost and other folks straggle in inexplicably late. Everyone seems to enjoy the fun of just "getting there".
Mike Maloney, and Al Wulf in the distance, caravan to Nelson Ledges
Dinner at the Winery
The Northeast corner of Ohio, like parts of upstate New York, is wine country.
Vineyards add interesting texture to the rolling hills. On Friday night, some of
us enjoyed a spirited drive through those hills to find our dinner. The local wine
was greatly enjoyed (in moderation of course) and I heard rave reviews about the
seafood. As dinner wound down, live entertainment started cranking up.
You know, another thing I really like about British V8 meets is the wide diversity of our participants. We seems to get more diverse every night at dinner time! Jim Blackwood posted some thoughts related to this: "Before the meet I told my brother that if he didn't go, then ten years on he'd attend one and ask why he hadn't gone ten years earlier. It was with great regret that he went home before the winery dinner party. The meet will be on his calender for next year." Jim continued: "This year saw us making great strides in providing for the women's enjoyment and entertainment, and I think that's important. Personally I enjoy having my wife and son at these meets. It makes for a good family outing. That we have different interests is a given. How well we can plan for that remains to be seen, but more involvement (by spouses and families) in the planning stage results in a better overall meet."
Jim's brother Dan brought a very nice stock (inline four cylinder) TR4A to the meet. I didn't miss the opportunity to get some "before" pictures of it. Seriously, everyone who wants to come is invited, no matter what engine powers their car or what kind of car they drive. At dinner Saturday I enjoyed a great conversation with Max Fulton and Emily Turner. Max mentioned that they've now brought a stock (inline four cylinder) MGB to eight of our eleven British V8 meets. Cool!
Wow! My best estimate is that seventy-five people came out for the winery dinner.
left-to-right and facing camera: Jack Renaud (MGB), Dave Massey (TR8), & Jeb Blanchard (MGA)
Patty and Al Wulf, and their new friend Tony Andrews.
Incidentally, Patty & Al drove their MGB-V8 4250 miles round-trip to attend!
front: Anne and Barrie Robinson. rear: Matthew, Edith, and Jim Blackwood.
Mark Lagrou, Steve Ward, & Bill Jacobson with Ray Bencar's supercharged, nitrous-injected Austin-Healey 3000
Our biggest party was Saturday night, when we celebrated Kurt and Sue's wedding!
foreground: Don Coleman's (Rover), Joe Schafer's (Ford), Mikel Moor's (Buick) and Steve Carrick's (Ford)
Paul and Mary Schils' (Buick), Ray Bencar's (Chevrolet), Jim Stuart's (Rover) and Bill Oliver's (Buick)
Curtis Jacobson prepares to test drive Ken Hiebert's TR6, while Bill Jacobson admires Ted Lathrop's TR6
At British V8 Meets we don't hesitate to get in our cars and go places. Like a time-speed-distance rally, some folks do manage to get lost and other folks straggle in inexplicably late. Everyone seems to enjoy the fun of just "getting there".
Mike Maloney, and Al Wulf in the distance, caravan to Nelson Ledges
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Enjoying this article? Our magazine is funded through the generous support of sponsors like: Mantell Motorsport "Where the Spirit of Driving has a Home!" (Pete Mantell specializes in Ford-based MGB-V8 conversions/parts and powder coating.) |
You know, another thing I really like about British V8 meets is the wide diversity of our participants. We seems to get more diverse every night at dinner time! Jim Blackwood posted some thoughts related to this: "Before the meet I told my brother that if he didn't go, then ten years on he'd attend one and ask why he hadn't gone ten years earlier. It was with great regret that he went home before the winery dinner party. The meet will be on his calender for next year." Jim continued: "This year saw us making great strides in providing for the women's enjoyment and entertainment, and I think that's important. Personally I enjoy having my wife and son at these meets. It makes for a good family outing. That we have different interests is a given. How well we can plan for that remains to be seen, but more involvement (by spouses and families) in the planning stage results in a better overall meet."
Jim's brother Dan brought a very nice stock (inline four cylinder) TR4A to the meet. I didn't miss the opportunity to get some "before" pictures of it. Seriously, everyone who wants to come is invited, no matter what engine powers their car or what kind of car they drive. At dinner Saturday I enjoyed a great conversation with Max Fulton and Emily Turner. Max mentioned that they've now brought a stock (inline four cylinder) MGB to eight of our eleven British V8 meets. Cool!
Wow! My best estimate is that seventy-five people came out for the winery dinner.
left-to-right and facing camera: Jack Renaud (MGB), Dave Massey (TR8), & Jeb Blanchard (MGA)
Patty and Al Wulf, and their new friend Tony Andrews.
Incidentally, Patty & Al drove their MGB-V8 4250 miles round-trip to attend!
front: Anne and Barrie Robinson. rear: Matthew, Edith, and Jim Blackwood.
The Final Banquet... featuring Sue and Kurt's Wedding!!!
If the winery dinner party was a big success, then the Saturday night banquet
was a BIG HUGE DYNA-MEGA-WHOPPING SUCCESS!
The crowd was bigger. The tables were bigger. The food was wonderful.
We heard very exciting things about planning already underway for British V8 2008,
and...
Oh! We celebrated the wedding of two of our very favorite people.
Disclaimer: This page was researched and written by Curtis Jacobson. Views expressed
are those of the author, and are provided without warrantee or guarantee. Apply at your
own risk.
Photos by Curtis Jacobson, except the fifth and sixth photos from the top which are by Ken Hiebert and are used by permission, for the British V8 Newsletter. All rights reserved.
Oh! We celebrated the wedding of two of our very favorite people.
Photos by Curtis Jacobson, except the fifth and sixth photos from the top which are by Ken Hiebert and are used by permission, for the British V8 Newsletter. All rights reserved.
