SAAC #33 car convention

Quote from GTBullitt

Team Shelby will be there this year as of Aug 8th 2008

Any idea if C.S. will be there?

Thanks to Brian's prompting, I'm pleased to say that I made it to the "SAAC 33" on Sunday. I brought my kar, and displayed it with the "Show and Shine" group. I was surprised at how many people stopped to look at my car. A friend told me one guy even got down on the ground to look at the undercarriage! I'm sorry I wasn't there at the time, and missed his reaction to seeing a genuine FoMoCo exhaust system tucked under there. (I was checking out cars at the time.) More than a few took pictures of my car, paying close attention to the original, unrestored engine. There was absolutely no hint of any of the so-called "Shelby snobbery" that I've heard exists within the ranks.

The weather was just perfect for SAAC 33, with clear blue skies, temperatures in the 80's, and fairly low humidity for all three days. A light breeze made it totally comfortable to be outside. It was great to see some members of this site there, including Bo Sewallius, Francois Fontaine, Mario Messina, Joe Abbatelli, and Brian Walshe. There were at least 4 K code Mustangs spotted besides all of the terrific 289 and 427 Cobras, GT-40's, GT-350's GT-500's, Sunbeam Tigers, Griffiths, Pantera's, "Tribute's", kit cars, and lots of late model Shelby Mustangs and High Performance Fords.

As many already know, the SAAC group doesn't just park the cars and open the hoods. They RUN vintage cars, and run them FAST. The site SAAC chose for this year's convention was the newly opened New Jersey Motorsports Park. This brand new facility sports two road courses, including a 2.5 mile track which showcased a "Powered By Ford" spectacular of vintage racers, as well as late model action for all three days. Meeting up with guys on this site, and seeing (and hearing) so many great cars in action was well worth the drive, and I'm happy to report that SAAC has chosen to make this facility their convention site in the years to come. WOW!