I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I suspect you already figured out there will be no monthly meeting again this month. Plus, the annual All British Car Day is postponed.
The monthly meetings will not resume until the stay at home order is lifted and social distancing is relaxed a little. Like most of you, I have no idea when either of these two things will happen, but in the meantime, I’m fine playing by the rules and not tempting fate with a case of the virus.
As for All British Car Day… Best guess is it could be on Labor Day weekend, Sunday, September 6th. Don’t start making plans just yet, but that is the next three day weekend, and far enough in the future when things could be much different as far as social behavior goes. Right now we couldn’t even get a permit to use the park.
The enormity of this pandemic is hard to comprehend. Imagine car clubs around the world in the same boat as us. The shows, rallies, cross-country drives and tech sessions being canceled. On the other hand, the shutdown of business activity is license to work late into the night on car projects that have been put off for years. In other words… no excuse for not having a huge showing whenever the next All British Car Day is held.
On another note… Since I seem to be the self appointed clearing house for all the car stories, 25 to date, I’m also the one receiving feedback from members who have enjoyed reading about the trials and tribulations of fellow owners. I have learned from several reliable sources, there are still some memories being developed for our amusement, but for now, on behalf of everyone, let me thank all of you who have taken the time to write about your adventures.
For me, it has been an opportunity to re-live some of my own, and appreciate the depth of loyalty we have to old British sports cars. It would be so much easier for all of us to drive Toyotas and Hondas, but to go to the extremes some of us have gone over the years, recovering, restoring, and putting up with the endlessly, agonizing issues that haunt us while keeping these things running is truly amazing.
Having been left stranded along side the road more than once, I have come to two conclusions. First, there are car people all over the place willing to go out of their way to help a classic car owner in distress, and second; When the problem is fixed, it is usually something a lot less complicated than originally suspected. For example… Knowing your gas gauge is unreliable, you run out of gas anyway. Then, after blaming the fuel pump, the filters, the timing, the points, the coil, the condenser and the distributor, you decide to put some gas in the tank before driving home with a perfectly running engine. To be humble is a valuable lesson because there are those who have, and there are those who will. Ask me how I know.
We have another month to fill before possibly meeting again, so don’t be shy about sharing more memories. It doesn’t have to be about speed. Just write a story about you and your car. How could that not be entertaining.
Aloha,
Rob