Just got back today from John Twist's last summer party in
Ada Mich. It was a four day event but we were only able to
be there Fri & Sat. (The middle days) and to put it into one
word it could only be FANTASTIC.
Vendors everywhere Friday in the Hilton parking lot. Food,
dancing, a great Jazz/blues singer and hundreds of mostly
MG's everywhere. There even was a distance rally around
lake Michigan. The winning team did it in about 980 miles or
so. Can you believe it . . . a 1000 mile rally, and I think
14 cars did it. Fantastic.
Sat. brought a 45 mile rally from the hotel to the park
around some of the prettiest countryside you'd ever seen,
including past University motors and past the world
headquarters for Amway which is a complex of buildings
BLOCKS long. (Insert ALL disclaimers here) We got to the
park to join everyone else (driving the ONLY bugeye there)
found vendors everywhere, (I did pick up a nice new Robbins
top for my '58 at a good price), a swap and shop, food,
great 2 scoop ice cream cones with fresh made cones for
$2.50 and worth every cent. tents and what turned out to be
at not too rough a count 600 cars. You'd walk down an isle
look to the left or right and see nothing but MGB's
everywhere! There had to be over a hundred MGA's, more twin
cams than you ever saw. Several MGB-V8's and a LOT of
vendor support for the V8 including a neat display with the
front end of a B cut off, mounted on a frame, standing
upright with a V8 installed. The feature car was the MGC
and 57 of 'em showed up. "T" cars like popcorn and many
many midgets. Also 3 big Healey's, a London Taxi, a
beautiful Lotus Elan 1600, one MMM car, a k-type I think,
one of the nicest TY I've ever seen, which won it's class. A
Morgan, several Triumphs including a Spitfire with a
terrible mottled splotchy paint job with the vanity plate
"SPOT" ..... nice. 3 nice Mini's including a Cooper S (for
sale @$16,900 really!) And last but not least the cutest car
there, my yellow '58 bugeye. A fine fine, make that 3
fine(s), day for LBC gazing.
Dinner/awards banquet brought over 500 people, John Twist
asked for a show of hands by state and there was
representation from MOST states including Texas, Calif.,
Arizona, Hawaii, and one guy, no, make that bloke and his
wife shipped a lovely white MGB over from England JUST for
this event. One family DROVE up from somewhere in the
Midwest I think with no less than FOUR LBC's. Canadian cars
were everywhere. The number one Big Healey stopped running
in the parking lot, the owner is an Aussie who relocated to
Canada and drove this beautiful '63 3000 down to Michigan. I
do think the '63 is the nicest 3000 made, roll up windows,
all the late model chrome, a great covered dash from the
100's (my favorite). I think if I were going to buy a big
Healey it would be a '63 (your opinion might vary) Anyhow, I
help him replace a wire in his distributor, after we pulled
the distributor, after he dropped a screw down in it. (Him,
not me! .. Really) and got a ride for my trouble. Good deal,
nice guy, nice car.
Prizes were awarded to the SIXTH place, awards for
everything! (except they didn't have an award for the cutest
car at the event, Penny and I feel we were robbed,) MGB's
were broken down to the ...nth degree, early b's to 67,
MkII's, (bear with me here, I'm not a B expert) later b" by
their grills, lets see, chrome, recessed, honeycomb, other
b's by how many carb return springs, LE's in a class by them
selves, a couple of classes of MGC's, A's by 1500, 1600,
Coupes, They had a winners class. Awards EVERYWHERE, and
remember, every class down to 6th place. John Twist kept
trying to teach everyone how to, so to speak "build a watch"
and whenever he'd digress, his wife would poke him.
I met no one from the list.
I think it's safe to say, a good time was had by all
I've rambled enough.
George Procyshyn
'58 Bugeye
'51 TD
'55 TF1500 etc.
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