I'm posting to pass along a question / offer / suggestion for one or more future British V8 meets. The question came via e-mail from dedicated Triumph TR8 enthusiast Michael Perkins. Mike wrote:
QuoteI have been chatting with Tim Lanocha President of Triumph Wedge Owners Association (TWOA) and he has mentioned trying to get some other groups involved with The Roadster Factory Show. A few years back the events, costs, and attendance had dropped and so the show is only a small portion of what it was. I don't know if you have ever been to one, but it was fun in the day. Tim has some thoughts about getting another club involved with reviving the meet. I know you are kind of running things so maybe you can pass around the question or get some feed back of a British V8 national meet along with a National TWOA meet at Roadster Factory Summer Party?
For the record, I responded as follows:
QuoteThanks for getting in touch! I'd very much like to attend the TRF Summer Party, and I've certainly been meaning to get out and meet more Triumph folks in person. (I've never been in touch with Tim or with Roadster Factory – and I feel bad about not introducing myself one way or another.)
You asked if we might coordinate our meets...
The "British V8 2009" meet is already scheduled for Raleigh North Carolina in May, and "British V8 2010" is being planned for Indianapolis. As far as I know, the location of "British V8 2011" is still "TBD", although some people have been lobbying for having the meet west of the Mississippi.
I personally have almost nothing to do with scheduling the annual meets, although I've enjoyed attending four of them now! These last three years, I've been focused on taking notes and photos of whatever happens AT the meets. It's a funny thing, but we're not a "club"... Someone has to volunteer to do the enormous amount of work of planning each meet, and thus the meets have always (so far as I know) happened near a volunteer's home. However, if someone were to lay out a case for coordinating our 2011 meet with the Roadster Factory's Summer Party... maybe people would get excited about that fine idea!
I'll post your question in our message board's "pub" section and we'll just see what people say...
Background info:
a) The Roadster Factory ("TRF") is located in Armagh, PA. That's where their summer party is held.
b) TRF sells both Triumph and MG parts, but historically they've been more focused on Triumph.
c) The Triumph Wedge Owners Association ("TWOA") includes both TR7 and TR8 enthusiasts.
d) Of course, all TR8's are by definition "British V8s" because they came with V8 engines in the first place.
e) Quite a lot of TR7's have been converted to V6 or V8 power...
My personal opinions:
a) I'd like to do whatever is feasible to make Triumph enthusiasts (including "wedge" owners and modifiers) feel more welcome and accommodated at British V8 annual meets.
b) As I told Mike, I don't feel that it's my personal role to schedule meets.
c) Pennsylvania is nice and I'd certainly attend the British V8 annual meet
if it were held there.
Please post your comments / ideas / suggestions!p.s. If you want to contact Mike directly, the easiest way is to use our message board software to send a "private message" to UserID "WedgeWorks1".
I think it's a great idea -- let's use the opportunity to more formally invite their group to join us in 09/10 & do the 11 meet there. I wouldn't suggest starting to do all our meets in one place though --- I think attendance would drop off if it were the same place every year. Part of the draw is the different venue/experience each year. But, doing it with them in PA in 11 could broaden the community a bit.
I haven't attended the RF Summer Party, but a very close friend of mine here in KC went to it a few years ago in his TR8 and did not give the event a raving review. As I remember he said it was very expensive (they charged extra for so many things that most shows include in the registration fee). Steve's been to shows all across the country in both his MG Midget and TR8 so has a lot of experience to draw on. Based on his experience I can't see how coordinating with the RFSP would be of any real benefit to the British V8 group except perhaps to attract some TR8 or modified 7 owners. Judging from the cars covered in the photo section of the newsletter, TR7 and 8 owners don't seem to have the same attraction for the British V8 group as the TR6 or Spitfire guys. Perhaps it's a similar situation to that of the RV8/MGBV8 group, too factory to feel at home with a bunch of hot rods. All in all I can't see a big plus for the tie. "The preceding was just an opinion of the writer and does not reflect represent the British V8 organization or newsletter"
Bill Young
Bill brings up a valid point. While I don't think there's anyone that attended any of the British V8 meets including the last ones who would say they didn't get their money's worth and more, yet we've seen the costs inch upwards bit by bit. This year's event may well have been the costliest one yet and attendance was down significantly. I'm not saying that was the reason for it, (I went and took my family you know) still with the increase in gas prices I know good and well the cost made it more difficult for more than a few of our compatriots to make it. To me this is a disturbing trend. Historically MGB and Triumph owners have chosen a different financial strata than say, your typical Ferrari owner and I'd hate to see us increase costs to the point that we're only meeting with the well heeled in our group. I think the diversity of seeing what can be done on a budget enriches all of us. To be honest, I'd rather see us all camping in a field than excluding someone because they can't raise the motel fees. Fact is, we'd all have just as good of a time doing it.
So I'm against raising costs if it can be avoided. If the TRF folks can accommodate that request I'm all for a joint meet.
Jim
It might be fun to coordinate a meet with Don Watson and the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix he posted pictures of yesterday. Or maybe TWOA could hold their event in Raleigh next May, or Indy the next year... something like that. It seems that this group would have more in common with a car owners' group than with a vendor party. I certainly would like to see more doorstops.
Nothing against TRF or their Summer Party. I have heard it was a good time. But, as Bill said, it is expensive, and that is one of the reasons I have never made the effort to go. Jim and I even briefly talked about going this year.
I wasn't aware of some of those perspectives on the RF summer party (expensive, less open "feeling", etc.). I think the thing that's the most valuable about the British V8 meet is that it's just a group of Britsh hot rodders getting together, sharing stories, driving, etc. I wouldn't want to lose that.
Just my opinion....
...but....
I feel that we need to be careful in "attaching" or "aligning" the British V8 meet with a meet that incorporates an existing (or for that matter, even a new) event that encompasses "non-spurious" British cars.
I've attended almost all of the MG V8/British V8 meets since 1999. (I missed 2007.) We are a very unique group of individuals who are seldom understood and sometimes accepted even less by the general LBC community. Very few of our "guys" are into collecting "hardware" (trophies); something that is big with popular vote LBC shows. Heck...we have never even had a "car show" per se...let alone popular voting. As Rob states in his post of 8/1/08...."<snip> the thing that's the most valuable about the British V8 meet is that it's just a group of Britsh hot rodders getting together, sharing stories, driving, etc. I wouldn't want to lose that."
Well you know what...I don't want to lose that, either! And it would and will happen if British V8 is combined/coordinated with another event. Our events are designed with our attendees needs (tech sessions) and wants (track days, dynos, etc) in mind. Throw our 50 some-odd (pun intended) attendees into a group of 100 or more LBC enthusiasts and we WILL lose the autonomy that we have carved out for ourselves.
To "latch onto" an event purely to provide a venue for our gathering is wrong.
Before I ramble on too much....I'll quit without adding even more words to ponder.
Passionately submitted....
FWIW - YOMV - and other Standard Disclaimers.
rick
Rick stated the case as well as i think it can be presented. our group tends to be independent and do things their way. we have enough structure in the group to accomplish amazing meets as evidenced by past events. no one ridicules others work and ideas since most of us have been there also. there are some amazing conversions and will be many more. let's keep our unique group together and continue doing it our way!
I agree with Rick and Kelly. Let's not lose the unique situation that our group has. I have never been associated with an assortment of people and personalities that get along so well together. I can't wait for next years event in Durham.
Well said Rick, Kelly and Paul. I completely agree with you guys. Let's not lose the uniqueness of this group. I personally have always liked the welcoming, accepting, sharing cameraderie of this group. I have found that a "group" can grow too big and become something different than it started out. I think people can attend any other show if they want to, there's certainly lots out there.........but there isn't another like this one! I think the group can continue to develop but let's decide what "the group" wants. Let's be careful with it.
Cheers!
Martyn
It sounds to me like we're all in perfect agreement about maintaining the unique nature of our meets!
But for a moment, please consider that British V8 2006 was scheduled immediately before and in close proximity to "MG2006". Our meet was in Townsend TN and the 1000+ car annual MG show was just down the road in Gatlinburg TN a few days later. Folks like Robert & Susan Milner - who drove in all the way from California! - were able to combine purposes and participate in both events.
Moderator Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It sounds to me like we're all in perfect
> agreement about maintaining the unique nature of
> our meets!
>
> But for a moment, please consider that British V8
> 2006 was scheduled immediately before and in close
> proximity to "MG2006". Our meet was in Townsend TN
> and the 1000+ car annual MG show was just down the
> road in Gatlinburg TN a few days later. Folks like
> Robert & Susan Milner - who drove in all the way
> from California! - were able to combine purposes
> and participate in both events.
I am well aware of that...in fact I lobbied very hard to get the V8 meet scheduled for that date so that both events could be attended...
But....these were SEPARATE events....and autonomy and freedom was retained.
:)
Cool. I expect that probably closes the matter for now. I've drafted a quick follow-up note to Mike.
QuoteHi Mike,
Following up... there's been some interesting discussion on our message board.
(You can review it here: http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?10,4232 ).
The basic drift seems to be that TWOA members are certainly very warmly invited and welcome to participate at our British V8 meets, but there's little interest within British V8 ranks for combining or making our meet simultaneous to an event like The Roadster Factory's summer party. I guess that leaves open the possibility we might one day schedule a meet back-to-back and in the same vicinity... but not "combined" per se. I do, of course, wish TRF success in reviving the summer party's grandeur.
Very warm regards,
Curtis
I remember attending the 1998 V8 Meet in Annapolis and I seem to recall attending the NAMGBR 98 show in Frederick on the way down. I'm thinking that was the time that the host of the TV show "My Classic Car" (the guy with the handlebar moustache) featured the V8s on his show and drove Mike's car! I'm also thinking that "time flies"!!!!!!!!....and the memory becomes less clear. Thanks goodness for photos and videos. Thanks again Curtis for this amazing website that documents our activites so well. Also, some of us attended the University Motors Summer Party in 2004 while we partied across the road at the Excel Inn for the 2004 British V8 Meet in Grand Rapids.
FWIW - I also agree with Rick, Kelly, Paul & Martyn.
We ARE a unique bunch.
Just take your Modified/Converted V8/V6/I4/I6 to any regular LBC event.
You'll get the cold shoulder/nose in the air feeling from 85% of the attendees.
We are the (if you parden) "Bastards of the Bunch".
A cross between British Car Enthusiast and Hot Rodder.
Just my 2 cents.........
Cheers
Pete
I would like to correct Pete Mantell statement, Pete you said the following
"You'll get the cold shoulder/nose in the air feeling from 85% of the attendees." I wouol like to se the record straight by saying that your staement is incorrect, those people would love for us to stay away, far away, the % is more like 99.9% I have experienced that % and I keep going for more cold shoulders and wet noses every time I get, I REALLY ENJOY DOIN IT TO THEM.
I, in the other hand I totally agree with Kelly. HOORAH !!!! We are a unique bunch no just the cars.
You're correct Bill. I guess it depends on events. 99.9% is probably more accurate.
Pete, I was just.....well laughing. In Ca. this holds true.
:)
FWIW Seems we agree on the unique nature and diversity of our group. Now we really need to attract some younger people to keep the group growing & going. Many of us are "Old Hot Rodders" and have been around the block several times. Without new people and fresh ideas, we will become stagnant and not grow our membership. How do you guys and girls suggest we position ourselves to attract quality new members or devotees? We really need to get some young "Blood" within our ranks. Never mind the "Grim Reaper," he all ways collects his share.
If I am reading this correctly, then I agree. So tell me if I am wrong:
The British V8 Meets should be separate from multi-day other clubs national or local gatherings but can be placed back-to-back with other events. Yes?
-BMC.
BMC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If I am reading this correctly, then I agree. So
> tell me if I am wrong:
>
> The British V8 Meets should be separate from
> multi-day other clubs national or local gatherings
> but can be placed back-to-back with other events.
> Yes?
>
> -BMC.
Yes.
kstevusa Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> FWIW Seems we agree on the unique nature and
> diversity of our group. Now we really need to
> attract some younger people to keep the group
> growing & going. Many of us are "Old Hot
> Rodders" and have been around the block several
> times. Without new people and fresh ideas, we
> will become stagnant and not grow our membership.
> How do you guys and girls suggest we position
> ourselves to attract quality new members or
> devotees? We really need to get some young
> "Blood" within our ranks. Never mind the
> "Grim Reaper," he all ways collects his share.
Wow, re-reading this helps me further. My plan was to post three separate posts on this basic subject.
If the group would like to bring the event to MN in '11 or '12, Jeff and I were looking into growing this locally, having more people accept this type of event and people who are converting their cars by having One event that will allow the local British car clubs or local street cars in for half day. This would be something like an autocross/drag race to allow us to strut our stuff while making that portion of the event large enough to get something close to a full track day- with the general public assisting in the costs whereas we get the benefits of the track for more hours than anyone else with those drags at the end or whatever. This cuts our cost down lots, opens us up for a short time to the public to have access to our rides and gives us more acceptance on a national level at a national event.
Most multi-day exclusive events (lets admit we are being exclusive here) are usually open to the public for a car show with free attendance. In this case, I am suggesting a track or autocross course could be opened to paying and non-paying. Run with us ($) or come in and accept us and maybe even pick up members along the way.
Finally, for this posting: For the britishv8.org to thrive, it needs to continue to expand to a more broad base. This has to be done in one of a few ways:
1-Add more types of cars such as LS1 powered Porsches and German, French, Italian, Ukrainian and Japanese cars
2-Start promoting more exotic factory cars.
3-Broaden the acceptance within the British Automotive Enthusiast Community.
Choices #1 & 2 I believe are mistakes as we would be buried in cars that most of us may like but don't have as much interest in.
Number three would be something that most of the current sponsors would be interested in, and I believe most of the individuals who are regular postings as well. :)
PLEASE: Correct me or redirect me if I am wrong. I have a grow or die attitude in this case which is not always accepted.
-BMC.
I am with Pete and Bill on this one, but that number of acceptance has grown.
My name is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I love the Dr. Jekyll crowd and they are almost never the same as us- the Hyde group. I am a portion of both. I have my very original cars and my conversions.
What is sometimes considered the tweed hat crowd- completely original do not accept us but the cold shoulder I got years ago when i even considered placing a 1275 engine in a Bugeye has now gone. Look at Moss for goodness sakes, they realized that the crowd has changed: Moss sells superchargers, AC units, Cup holders, cruise control, race parts to a limited degree and even chrome plated wire wheels.
People, including myself have moved more away from complete originality because our daily drivers are so much nicer that our LBCs are just not as comfortable (Did I actually even think this- I must not be very tough anymore!)
My thought is that the acceptance level is still extremely low but getting better. Finally, I think all of us have come to more of acceptance level (or at least I have as well as a few others) of different cars.
Hey, even though Triumphs are only half as good, I am starting to like them. (Just Joking!)
Time will change all.
-BMC.
Over the last 10 years, I would say that this hobby & business has grown much more than people realize.
The British V8 Meets for example, seem to have grown by at least 10% each year.
That growth is huge! Especially for cars that were built at least 28 years ago or much more.
Curtis has done an awesome job on this website, with amazing content.
This has helped enormously to the hobby & growth.
With MG kits available for Rover V8, GM V6 and soon for the Ford 302 install, many LBC's & owners are just waiting for more power & reliability.
We have a proven recipe that will keep growing for many years to come & we need to be careful not to spoil the mix, but keep it fresh too!
Cheers
Pete
Scheduling and locating the British V8 annual meet to be in the general area and time frame of a national event for some Marque isn't a bad idea. Some of our members would benefit from the reduced travel as they would normally attend both events and certaily those members who are also in business would benefit by the additional exposure, but we need to keep our event completely seperate from the others. We can probably do more to promote interest in our hobby by attending other events as individules and wearing appropriate attire such as British V8 or Roadmaster T shirts which might be conversation starters (and conversion starters as well). I'm a new kid on the block as far as the British V8 group goes, but I recognize the uniqueness of they group and don't want to see that lost. I've attended a lot of different meets over the years, both in British cars and Street Rods and nothing starts to compare with the fun experience I had in Wisconsin this year. I want to come back again and bring the Midget. I probably wouldn't consider driving the Midget to a national MG event, but I would to the British V8 meet, and I hope I can make the trip to North Carolina next year.
A lowly Triumph was the inspiration for one of the more radical MGB conversions here, that being Jim's Blown V8 with the big wing on the back. He was used to smoking all the B's around with his freshly rebuilt 4 banger, until we got my TR4A running. When he struggled to keep up getting on the interstate, the solution was American V8 power!
This leads me to conclude, Brian, that it is not the stock Triumphs that are half as good..; )
Jim's car always has a crowd around it at any regular British Car Day, but never gets voted in as a crowd favorite.... go figure.
Dan B Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jim's car always has a crowd around it at any
> regular British Car Day, but never gets voted in
> as a crowd favorite.... go figure.
No need to figure...the purist's do not appreciate nor understand the effort and dollars that go into any conversion.
If it "ain't like it left the factory it shouldn't be recognized" mentality dominates popular vote LBC gatherings.
Yet a stock Ford Model A is only worth about 20 percent of a Hot Rod A.....
That's true --- now what do we need to do to make the same happen w/hot rodded LBC's?
We're just getting started, wait until some cars like Terry's or Dan's start hitting the market and you'll see some price setting take place which will drag the rest of them up a bit. Right now there really haven't been enough high end cars hit the market to establish a price or "wish list" like there have been hot rodded model A's
Get some British V8s featured in a film like American Graffitti and they'll really take off. I saw the street rod market take a pretty good step right after that movie came out. It's all about establishing a base price reference and getting the demand up.
We have all felt the frustration of the purists resentment to modified british cars....10 years ago it used to really PO me...today I do not care...and I think this line of thinking stems from the fact that our group IS the one gathering momentum...in 2006 I posted on our local groups board (MGCC SWOhio) about our v8 meet being held in conjunction with the national meet in Townsend...I got one lousy response (weak) from a club with over 100 memebers...but guess what, this year one of our MGCCSWO members (a TC owner with a hubris :-) attitude) converted his mgb to V6 power...HOLY SMOKE!!! And to top it off, I got first in the mgb/mgc Gt class with my sebring V8 car at our annual meet Saturday...now that is progress from the attitudes several years back...I don't care about the award...but gaining the respect of the show and shine crowd shows that there is some gradual progress towards understanding the V8/V6 hobby...
just my opinion....
QuoteAnd to top it off, I got first in the mgb/mgc Gt class with my sebring V8 car
Well deserved, no doubt!!!
Photos of that handsome automobile (http://www.britishv8.org/MG/MikeMaloney2.htm) - 17 new snapshots from British V8 2008
(I'm STILL waiting on the "How It Was Done" write-up, Mike!)
Mike, your car looks great... not sure what you did to be able to delete the scoop on the hood, but I like it way better the way it is now. What else did you change on it?
Thanks Rob...that former hood with the extra clearance scoop always bugged me too...a little too much boy racer for me...but it was required because of the way the 4.3 90* V6 sat up so high (never did the logical surgery on the front crossmember) The reason why I now have a normal "C" hood is that last year the V6 came out and a 3.9L rover V8 was installed...I had an original aluminum "C" hood that I purchased from Tony Giordano in Carlisle about 10 years ago...so it was repaired and installed...
Cheers
mike
(This is in reply to Kelly's previous post on page 1) I don't know if it's a local phenomena or not, but here in the KC area we have several "cruises" hosted by different businesses or towns throughout the summer months. Most of the cars attending are street rods or muscle cars, but I'm sure our cars would be more than welcome. I attended one cruise and was warmly received and a lot of questions were asked by some younger people. As the cost of a muscle car or street rod project body goes up getting into a British V8 becomes pretty cost effective for the younger person and might be more attractive to them. If there are such cruises in your area try to attend one and get some reaction. If we all managed to attend at least one a year it would really get the message out pretty well.
Getting more youngsters into the group is a really good idea and we can't rely just on kids and grandkids. Maybe something like arranging to take the some of the cars to a local school for a display to the Jr/Sr high kids. All they see are the new cars, most have never even heard of our LBC's, and maybe one in a million has any idea they can be such a potent package. I say, let's see if we can get a regular tour of classroom visits going. Do they still teach autobody classes? That might be a good place to start, though we'd probably reach more of them at the regular schools.
Jim
We have a "Cruise-in" here at the local shopping center every Friday night, with 200-300 cars in attendance. I took my GT a couple of weeks ago and got a real good response. Even the youngsters were impressed. I'm going again tonight.
Jon (LS1 Porsche 924) told me that he met up with the minnesota sports compact group meeting/drive a few nights ago. There are probably a few of these in every State. I guess they are quite friendly and accept his Chevy powered German car. That may be a decent crowd to show your cars off too since they don't mind running the non-main stream, or at least less main stream stuff.
-BMC.
How about an east and west meet? I'm thinking it might help improve attendance, as it would allow those who have limited vacation time (read younger workers) to go. They could pick the closest event, and maybe use just a week's vacation for the whole trip. Would be cheaper too, which also helps attract more people.
Maybe have one event in early summer, the other one in the late summer. To spread them out for those who can do both!
Dan B Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A lowly Triumph was the inspiration for one of the
> more radical MGB conversions here, that being
> Jim's Blown V8 with the big wing on the back. He
> was used to smoking all the B's around with his
> freshly rebuilt 4 banger, until we got my TR4A
> running. When he struggled to keep up getting on
> the interstate, the solution was American V8
> power!
So true. In fact it was a stock rebuild with only some minor performance tuning but I was the only one who was willing to wind it up to 7 grand and that turned out to be a big advantage. I even took the occasional Mustang II between redlights on the Huntington boulevards. Then Dan got the mighty TR 4-banger going and though I could still smoke him in the corners he happily returned the favor in the straights. And I'm thinking, Holy Cow, it's not even a TR6! Something clearly had to be done.
Now this was back in the days of our initial infatuation with LBC's. These cars gave us a sort of freedom that American iron couldn't match. They were cheap to buy, cheap to run, small light, agile and sort of like your first ever pair of Converse basketball shoes, all of a sudden you were no longer bound by the same natural laws as everyone else. As abhorrent as it may sound, I found myself engaged in a local game of gas cap trading. The only thing I can think of is that the supply of gas caps must have dried up. Then someone left theirs on the bumper and lost it. What followed next was like the most mixed up game of musical chairs you ever saw in your life. I'd come out in the morning and my gas cap would be gone. So I'd cruise around and eventually pull up behind a parked MGB and suddenly his gas cap would be missing. A few days later it'd be me again. And it's not like we all knew where each other lived either, it was an entirely random affair, never twice in the same place. Oddly enough, when I moved out of the Huntington/Charleston area I never lost another gas cap.
Those were heady days. We ran all the back roads like madmen, and in our spare time took in the local autocrosses where we wowed the crowd and occasionally scared them too! Ourselves as well, I'll never ever get the image out of my mind of a hub spinner lying in the wake of Dan's record attempt, shortly to be followed by a wheel passing him on the outside! Likewise doing "The Wave" over the windshield of his TR-4A! (You simply *must* have him tell you that story.)
I considered many upgrade paths before settling on the Buick 215, none of which were going to be easy or cheap. And at a cost of around $2500 there's no doubt I could have rebuilt a stock motor for less. I could have also cut that down some if I'd really wanted to, but by spreading it out I was able to afford it. Believe it or not, I even considered that horrible little Chevy 60* 2.8L V6 (Gasp!). However I ultimately wanted 300 hp and felt that would be asking too much of that engine, likewise the Mazda rotary, so the Buick got the nod, simply because I'd seen one in a Florida dealership a few years earlier and knew it could be done.
But the point I guess is that the youngsters don't know what they're missing. I'm not sure how to tell them either, but I've begun to put a note on my windshield with this site's web address. The more curious will look it up. Some proportion of those will like what they see well enough to join us. I think the key is to give them a clear path to follow.
Maybe we should make up some bumper stickers with the site address?
Jim
MG four six eight Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How about an east and west meet? I'm thinking it
> might help improve attendance, as it would allow
> those who have limited vacation time (read younger
> workers) to go. They could pick the closest event,
> and maybe use just a week's vacation for the whole
> trip. Would be cheaper too, which also helps
> attract more people.
> Maybe have one event in early summer, the other
> one in the late summer. To spread them out for
> those who can do both!
Sounds good to me!
Bill,
Positive and negative.
Currently, this group is too small for an E meets W. Division would not be good for this.
Dividing this may make us grow to the point where things become easier. Growing is positive to a degree and negative to a degree with anyone. Vendors always want to see large groups and can actually serve better because they can get their (our) products out to more people to make the engineering and advertising pay off and design better products. They (we) can also spend more money to sponsor events. Growing can also be negative because you have to cover more types of people and cars which a tight nit group does not always enjoy. My autocross community has mushroomed in ways that is neat to see the baby grow up, but no longer has that close feel.
FWIW,
-BMC.
The sticker idea: I would check with someone who makes stickers and see if he can do them for inside of glass. As long as its not noticed as I am driving down the street and only when someone walks up to the car, I would be willing to have something like that on our car. I don't want to get rid of the pup appearance you know.
-BMC.
I'm WAY late in weighing in on this, but I'm in full agreement with Rick's contingent...
In fact, so much so that I intentionally avoided joining the 2009 V8 meet with the "local" club's meet (in May.)
I'd thought of doing it-- figured it would be so neat to overwhelm this little local show with our riproaring contingent of 40+ V8's.... And it would also help draw people to this "local" show (not a National show, like TRF's) Thought it was something to do, fill up some time, etc....
But.... then I started planning this meet and thinking about OTHER V8 meets in the past where we may have been present in the area during other "Car Shows". Well, what did we do during those shows? Sit around and dust the cars? No! We tossed our keys at one another and started blitzing up and down the street! (Or started FIXING them, rather than just "complain" about fixing them!)
The V8 meet is for those of us with a particular bent, and that has a special commeraderie that cannot be altered (and should not!) While I agree we should always pull in more new blood, I think we can let them "come to Us" rather than the other way around.
I will inform the local club that the V8ers will be in town, but it's up to them to make the effort-- those few I know that talk about converting-- to come to Us. (And as the meet is on weekdays, it will take an effort...)
Thankfully, our schedule is already overflowing with possible activities that I'll have to delete some! I would so thoroughly regret if I'd taken up precious "meet" time with just one more <bleeping> car show! :-)
Because the annual British V8 is NOT a "Car Show". It is a MEET.
I look forward to meeting more of you next year, so please come down!
Max Fulton
Event Organizer
British V8 2009
June 7-10