Club Scene – Spring 1994

To paraphrase Monday Night Football, “Are we ready for some meetings”?! The golden Summer of 1994 stretches invitingly ahead of US with a myriad of spectacular events which ate just waiting for us to attend. If you doubt this, take a look at the page opposite, the Moss Motoring Events calendar, and if you can’t find something there which excites you and inspires you to get that car ready and drive to the meet then maybe you should sell you British sports car (preferably through our Classic-fied ad. section!)

However before we highlight some of the treats in store let me iccap on a couple of rather different events late last year. First we take a look back at the “Wings & Wheels” meeting held at the SANTA MONICA AIR MUSEUM. Not only were over 400 British classics displayed on the apron in front of the static warbirds, but another two hundred had to park outside! The organizers were just overwhelmed by the turnout! One of the highlights of the meet was in the air where first a Supermarine Spitfire, then a Hawker Hurricane took off before the assembled throng, Merlin engines and superchargers going full blast, before banking away in the western sunset! Really thrilling stuff!

On the ground parked among the P-47 Thunderbolts, the Bell Airacobras and the unique “Voyager” Round the World record holder aircraft one could glimpse an MG C Type, Morgan three wheelers, Morris Minors, Minis, Rollers and Bentleys and of course scores of MGs, Triumphs Healeys and Jaguars. And best of all they were driven there!

Move ahead a month to last Halloween, in late October where a unique combination of hot air balloons, classic British sports cars and a series of polo matches combined with a wine tasting festival saw us drive, top down, to INDIO IN THE COACHELLA VALLEY. It seems that if you get two sets of enthusiasts together, even though their methods of transport differ immensely, something seems to gel and each admires the other’s way of getting around. Moss organized a “HARE & HOUNDS” BALLOON CHASE where the first car to reach the Moss balloon received a bottle of champagne. Now this was not as easy as it sounds as the pilot of ‘our’ balloon was extremely skillful, and kept dropping down out of sight into the desert, only to reappear a mile or so away, rising majestically above the skyline! The winner of the car show display received a trip in the balloon as a prize, over three hours of just drifting across the dramatic landscape. This was really a different kind of show, although the wine may have colored our impressions’.

So What’s Ahead?

Well we only have space here to mention a few of the major meetings taking place in ’94. Got a TR2/3? Then head across to HARRISBURG, PA FOR THE TRIUMPH REGISTER OF AMERICA’S NATIONAL EVENT, or if you own any Triumph in the East try and make the VINTAGE TRIUMPH REGISTER CONVENTION IN ASHEVILLE .N.C while way out West you will be welcomed at TRIUMPHEST 94 IN SAN DIEGO later in the year.

Healey enthusiasts will not wish to miss CONCLAVE ’94 IN ATLANTA the premier event for the big bangers, although you might also like to try the WEST COAST HEALEY MEET IN VENTURA during which we will welcome attendees to our Goleta facility for a day out with Moss!

MGB and other octagonal enthusiasts will be welcomed in the Nation’s Capital, WASH1NGTON.D.C during June for the annual convention of the NORTH AMERICAN MGB REGISTER, while the MGC’S WILL BE IN TORONTO and the A’S IN WINSTON-SALEM, NC. The square rigger MG events will be held in such diverse locations as Arkansas, Calgary and Syracuse but all cars will be welcomed at ALL the meetings mentioned! A full listing appears on the opposite page but do please make a resolution to get out there and drive your car to one of these great gatherings arranged for your pleasure!

by Ken Smith