Classic Velocity

It is often said that the best part of any vintage iron gathering are the personal interactions. It’s about the cars, but it’s really about the people. That was certainly evidenced by the 2nd Non-Annual Classic Velocity Rallye. There was some doubt as to whether there would be diversity among the participating cars. The weather was lousy right up until the day before, people managed to make it at the last minute, while others had to drop out at the last minute. The core of regulars could be counted on, and they brought others along. We almost had a couple of Mercedes and a couple of VWs to expand the German Marques, but perhaps next time. Kevin did wear his Mercedes shirt and hat, but he left his car in Georgia, so that does not really count. We also need to recruit some more Opel and Audi members next time. In the end we had the following make models represented with more than one example in several cases:

BMW 2800 CS, BMW 2002, BMW 530i, BMW M3, BMW M5, Porsche 356, Porsche 912, Porsche 911, Triumph TR4.

We went for a nice drive around northeast PA. We had a few instances where the tail of the group missed a turn, but we regrouped each time and completed the 4+ hour drive with no mechanical failures and no car left behind. The honor of British cars was upheld by the Triumph. Most of the crew returned to base for some grub and bench racing. With the cars parked, the conversations, and much laughter continued for many hours. Pizzas were ordered as night fell and the revelry continued.

Connections were made, future gatherings promised, solutions to pesky problems offered, little known facts revealed, lies amplified, epic tales recanted, marital problems solved, barn-finds hinted at, ethanol-free gas locations uncovered, 100 rear-wheel hp bolt-ons unmasked, trivia magnified, oil viscosity de-clarified, a lot of beer consumed, secret driving roads unsecreted, how to put a Superbird rear wing on your Dodge Neon, when to wear a scarf in a classic car explained, my burn scar is better than yours competitions, why the new Challenger is better than the new Camaro, who didn’t own a VW Beetle?, household items BMW should make, would Lincoln have driven a Lincoln?, new marital problems created, potato vodka, vehicles Porsche should not make, why Tom won’t fix the Alfa, the best places to hide an old car from your spouse, the best places to hide an old spouse, why diesel is preferred in Europe, the toxicity of bat guano, where do classic Audi people hang out?, turbo charging an electric car,  how to run a lap of the old course at Watkins Glen faster than Moss, the percentage of VDO clocks in working condition, speedometer calibration conspiracies, commuting in a Bugatti Veyron, better driving through drinking, why we all need a 356, the ingredients of NY style pizza, shortest vehicle-ownership stories. I may have missed five or six…. Dozen.

It’s about the people.