Update: Dave and Norbert are approaching Cleveland. They're doing just fine. John is making slower progress on his own as he is towing the 328. All promised to take a lot of pics.
Update after the concourse: Dave won the only platinum in the Boxer class. John won silver with his 328. Mike E. won with his car (didn't catch which one) and the Henderson's won each with the F40 and the 333Sp. Weather is nice, but thunderstorms are rolling in. Now it is time for the driving part of those qualifying for the Coppa. Good luck Dave!
Pardon me, I'm so bad with names, yes the Harrison's. Yes, Mike E. did indeed go. As an update: Dave also passed the driving test and won the Coppa Bella award! The rally ended up in a nice winery and for the track they changed the rules a bit: Now they offered a touring session for $ 20. That one really kills me, I wasn't willing to upgrade my car for mega bucks into racing shape (I would have had to buy a new set of tires for instance), but touring the track for just 20 bucks would have been incentive enough for me to go there. I wish they would have offered that option right from the start.
Sheesh, Davey is putting us all to shame with that Boxer! I say we ban him, lest Norbert can bring him back to Earth! Grand Poobah, there's always next year for you..................
Okay, just got home and I need to let you folks in on a few things. On the drive out to Corning, Dave and Norbert couldn't catch a Chev. + 328. I was in NY about 60 minutes before they were. Although, I was taking the senic route up towards Buffalo because I missed the I-86 exit. No big deal, only a 1 hour side trip. Took lots of photos, but on the trip back to Chicago I left the camera in NY along with the 328 keys. I didn't realize it until I was well into Ohio. Glad to have that second key set. Photos to come as soon as I get the camera sent to me. In all, it was a fantastic time. Great weather, people and cars. Lots to see from classic to the new top end cars.
Hello Everyone: Please check back for some of the photos we were able to take. We will post them as soon as we can. We were up before 6:00 A.M. EST for the drive back to Chicago. After our return last night, we had to make a run to O'Hare at 4:30 A.M. this morning too. We have to put out a few "fires" this moring because of our being gone. Norbert
Hi Everyone, Just finished detailing the Boxer after the return trip and took a break to cool off. This was a great trip, and wished we had more of you join us. It was truely a great experience. Norbert & I returned safely last night around 8 PM without a "hitch". The best news of all is the FCA Annual Meet 2008 will be held next July in Toronto, Canada. The trip to Corning NY was about 700 miles each way. Both Norbert's 308 GTS QV and my Boxer drove without any issues there and back. The cars required less pit stops than we did if you know what I mean! We met John Sparapany at a rest stop in Indiana about 6:30 AM last Tuesday, had coffee and talked for a while. John got a head start and arrived in NY faster than we did (we must have smaller bladders than he has!). There were many speed traps along the way. Norbert and I arrived at the Raddison-Corning about 7:00 PM. The following day Norbert and I used the FCA supplied wash station at the hotel to detail the Boxer for the concours to be held the next day. I had used electrical tape to reduce road chips on the front spoiler for the drive. I had pre-tested the tape, but I guess didn't test it well enough as it pulled some semi-gloss black paint with the tape. We even used a hair dryer to soften the adhesive, but it didn't work. I brought 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper, a sanding block, primer, and matching black laquer with me so we went to work and had a presentable finish on the spoiler in only a few hours. Norbert was a really big help preping the car. He really has a sharp eye for detail. He spotted little paint chips that I missed with the touch-up paint. On Thursday we moved the Boxer to the competition area on Corning's Market Street. Corning reminds me a bit of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin with brick paver sidewalks, and small shops. The town residents seemed happy to host the event. I heard numbers of 175 cars were on display. A 308 with a wing sat on "display only". I immediatly thought of Andreas. Just before the judging began, Norbert & I spotted three Pirelli girls walking down Market Street. I had the front lid open on the Boxer and aked them to stand in front of it and took a reflected bounced shot. Five total Boxers showed up. Two 365BB's and three 512BBI's. One of the 365 BB's had a fresh restoration. I am scratching my head trying to figure out why it didn't score. Over restored? Very possible. With the concours completed with a Platino, my BBI qualified for the Coppa Bella Macchina competition. This competition involves a far higher level of detail and requires the car meet a 100% check of all electrical/mechanical/drivability tests. The car must function just as it did leaving the factory. If a light bulb is burned out for example, you have an hour to fix it before judging can resume otherwise the car is disqualified. The BBI's were fitted with factory installed Pioneer cassette radios. The judge wanted to make sure mine was working. I was lucky that I took a cassette tape with me. None the less the Boxer was blessed with the famed "Coppa Bella Macchina" award. The following days were filled with a rally, a dinner at the Corning Glass Museum, and track events at Watkins Glen. Norbert and I elected to do the touring event at the track which was offered by the track not the FCA. For $25 you get four laps. Speed is pace car regulated. They said 45 MPH, but it was faster than that. I found if I falled back behind the car ahead of me I could hit 100 MPH in short sprints. The event was filled with numerious suprises. The awards dinner was held in a hanger at a war birds museum, an excellent venue. As we drove up I could see a B-26 sitting on the flight line. I have never seen a B-26 before, so I had a really good look at it. I called my Dad on the cell, since he was a Flight Captain on a B-26 during WWII. The museum allowed me to sign his name in their Veteran's log in his behalf. Hopefully Norbert will post some of his pictures as well. I hope to see everyone at the Monroe Street event. See you there. Dave Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here are a few of the shots we took on the drive to Corning. Will upload more photos in several more posts during the next days. Dave and I met at 5:30A.M. on Tuesday morning at the Shell Station at Harlem Ave and the Kennedy Expressway. (John claims he never drove more than 70 MPH, but when we arrived at the hotel in Corning, he was still cleaning animal parts from his grill and also what appeared to be one of those battery operated tail lights from an Amish buggy.) Norbert Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
That shot looks like a glitch in the Matrix, with the black cat walking by. With the black cat walking by.
That's it! I give up. This guy wins hands down. Zehnder would be proud. PS: What happened to that 360's paintjob? The Italian flag reminds me of the 308 noodler, but this is worse.
That 360 (CS) had a little panel "re-arrangement" at the track and was completely repainted. The owner had classic coach do the custom airbrush work. It actually looks pretty cool in person.
Hmm. Maybe it's the angle, but it looks very strange. I can live with the Italian flag, but why that black front with the CS stripe?
Dave an I were up early and were the first car at the prefered wash station behind the hotel. Dave washed the Boxer and than we saw that the Sun was going to be on any car in this area sortly so we moved it to the secondary wash station area so Dave could complete any external touch up needed. I cleaned under the front and rear bonnets. We began at approximately 9:00 A.M. and were sort of done at 3:00 P.M., athough we didn't stop until near 5:00P.M. Please remember this car was ready to be judged when it left Chicago. It didn't rain on the drive out so all we were doing were cosmetics because of the drive to Corning plus the re-spray in the front because of the tape problem. (Guys if you are serious about winning you have to try and have everything perfect.) Norbert Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
We were up very early for the Concours on Thursday. I know that Dave was confident that he had a great car. The first shot is dusk the night before with the cars giving their own "play of lights" before night fell behind the hotel. The next shot is the first that I took on Concours day. I sat the camera on the covered wing of an F40 because the exposure time did not permit a hand-held shot. That is the red from the car cover that you see at the bottom of the photo. The next shots are the first on Market Street before any cars were placed. The cars that arrived for there instruction packets, than the cars that passed Dave's position on the Market Street are shown. The last shot is Jon Shirley arriving to our right with his '57 TR before turning right on Market for his position on the street. Norbert Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Dave, Congratulations!! Your car looks awsome! Great pictures too. See you at the Barrington event. Gene
