It’s a good idea to attend other car shows in our area both to support our neighboring clubs and to see if we can steal some good ideas for our show. With that in mind, BMC president, Terry Young in his XK8, new member, Tom Miro, in his ’76 Triumph TR-6, and Russell Whigham in the MINI Cooper S met at Burlington at 7:30 on the morning of October 10 to motor up to Birmingham for The Birmingham Motoring Club’s “Sports Cars At The Summit” (SCATS) at the Summit Shopping Center at the intersection of I-459 and US 280. None of us anticipated winning any awards — just love to see folks who appreciate keeping the cars looking and running like new (see the photos below). In the interest of time, we stuck to the Interstate going up.
Upon our arrival, we were directed to the remaining available parking spaces. Marques were not grouped together — just pick a spot and back in. Next stop was the registration canopy to pick up our entrant packets and goody bags — all very organized. As we strolled up and down the aisles checking out the cars we ran into several familiar faces: Former BMC member, Dave Bundy, and daughter Katrina who now live in the Birmingham area; Scott & Lisa Bradley, who were combining the car show with a shopping trip. We also found some friends with dual membership in the Birmingham and Montgomery clubs: Allen & Ione Williams in their Austin Healey 3000; Carl & Kathy Raymond in their XJS black beauty; and Ruben & Patti Greenwood sans the classic RHD Mini Cooper, LILBRIT.
The cars were mostly ’50s,’60s & ’70s Triumphs, MGs, Austin Healeys, Jaguars, classic Minis, two Morgans, one each of Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, TVR, and Lotus Europa. The rest included lots of Porsches, several exotic Italian beauties, a DeTomaso, three Cobra replicas, a smattering of Japanese cars and a few in the “other” category that included a Volvo P1800, a Corvair Monza and a Citroen 2CV. The Citroen and my MINI were the only cars there with French engines.
Our Montgomery contingent headed back home about 12:30. Terry won a free meal at a nearby burger place, Tom needed to get back early, and I smelled the hickory smoke wafting from the Tin Top BBQ chimney, just 30 miles to the south.
So, what could have been an uncomfortably warm day on the asphalt had the sun been out, turned out to be an almost perfect overcast and breezy day for the car show. I’m glad we went and enjoyed seeing the beautifully restored and preserved cars. I hope we’ll see some of those same cars next Saturday for our show.
Russell