Sumner and Henry write:
>>
>>Enjoyed meeting you and many other listers. Tom was just kidding about
>>your car..... right?
>Of course he is, and so was I...
>Enjoyed spending some time with you and the other listers as well.
He he...
One of the things I like most about going to these Triumph events is
that folks take what I consider to be the "right attitude" towards
showing their cars. Technically speaking, this wasn't a car show at
all but a "British car gathering". That's what the flyer says.
The reason I plunk down my $10 registration fee is *not* because I
think my $400 Spit with chrome tape on the bumpers is gonna win any
trophies. :-) I register because I want to share the Triumph
experience with other owners. I want to park my car with the other
Spitfires and talk to the other guys and find out what they've been
doing with their cars. I wanna tell stories about bad u-joints and
weak rear springs and techniques for getting oil in the trunions and
have the other guys say: "yeah....I had the same problem...here's what
*I* did about it..." I want to lean over someone's engine and shout
"THRUSTWASHERS!!" while the owner is in earshot. <just kidding!>
But if I don't enter the show and pay my $10, then the folks who run
it might not be able to it again next year. And I'll really miss out.
Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE looking at all the concours examples
of each marque and without them there'd be no show either.
But I have the highest respect for people like Henry, Sumner, Paul
and Keith who are there to support the event no matter what condition
their car is in. I just can't resist teasing them though. :-)
I really felt sorry for Keith...seriously. He had no interest in
winning any trophies. <even though his TR6 is in superb shape>
What happened was that they took him out of the stock TR6 class and
moved him into modified. So he missed out on being with the other TR6
*owners*....get what I mean?
Meanwhile there wasn't ONE stock Spitfire among the nine that
entered...including mine. Yet we were all together. To be fair,
competition in the Spit class isn't quite what it is in the TR classes
so I guess they can be less fussy. :-)
Funny sidebar....About midway though the show I'm off to the picnic
area and I see a couple pull into the parking lot with a very nice
looking green '76 Spit. I strike up a conversation and it turns out
the guy just bought it <paid $3000> and he's all excited about it. He
shows me the new stereo and interior kit he's had installed. The car
is really nice IMHO. I mention to the owner that he can still enter
his car and all the other Spitfires are being shown "over yonder".
He looks at me and his face turns white..."you mean enter THIS CAR?!
Why, I would NEVER!" His face literally twisted up in disgust as he
told me about how appalling bad the condition of the his engine bay
was. We popped the bonnet and it looked fine....a lot like a '76 Spit
engine bay that had actually been driven somewhere.
So now I say to myself :"Oops....I've already given him my name and
now he's gonna go over and see *my* car with the chrome tape bumpers
and the four different shades of pimento red. Hope he's not wearing a
pacemaker." :-)
I'm sorry I missed Bob Dainelson this go round. He posted last week
sometime <if I remember> that the Limerock show was terrific but he
was disappointed in how few Triumphs and Mg's took the field...
perhaps because they were intimidated by the general dollar level that
this show attracts. Too bad.
Just a quick note here to say "thanks" to Don Sforsa who missed the
event this year because he was in the middle of a move. Don, I know
put tremendous effort into this thing and if it's a great show then
he's one reason why. I just wish he was there to tease tho'.....next
year! :-)
Cheers!
Tom O'Malley in Southbridge Massachusetts
'74, '77 Spits
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