Ford Nationals June 3-5th

[JimNolan]

Guys,
    I'm going to the Ford Nationals again this year. So if you see a red and white 57 with the clubs logo on the windshield, stop and say hi. Jim

[Jerrys Kars]

Where Jim, in the showfield? I'll be in vendor space R20-21. What body style?

[JimNolan]

Jerry,
   Yes, the showfield. It's a 2dr hdtp I'm just hoping they don't park us on the hill again. I'll remember that vender spot R20-21 and make it a point to come by. Jim

[wildhog]

I will be in spots G 62-66 stop and say hi. Tom

[05gt]

I'll have to swing by and introduce myself as well. I won't have my fairlane with me, but it would be nice to see some of your's!

[wildhog]

if you can't bring your car, bring pictures. Tom

[05gt]

Will do!!!

[JimNolan]

See your guys Friday morning at Carlisle. I'm leaving Wed morning and spending the night in Lock Haven. Jim

[Jerrys Kars]

I'll be there Thurs.- Sun. Vendor R20-R21. Look for the 64A Tan and White.

[05gt]

Just got back from the show. had a great time. Was real nice meeting Jim! Great guy and VERY knowledgeable!!! Sorry i didn't get to meet anyone else though. Hope to get my fairlane out there next year, and maybe see some more of you then!

[JimNolan]

Guys,
    Car show was nice, met a lot of great people, answered a lot of questions pertinent to building a driveable 57 Ford. Put 1300 miles on my car and ended up getting an average of 19.8 mpg. It's not as much as I would have liked but I'm running 14" tires this year and most of my speeds were at 65-75 mph.
    I don't think they had as many cars this year. They had a lot of fast Mustangs though. I was doing 70mph on I76 coming back home Sunday and about 12 Classic Mustangs on trailers went around me like I was sitting still.
    Met Mark and his wife. He's young guys and enthused about restoring his 57 Fairlane. Mark, I really enjoyed talking to you. Tried to find Tom but never did. I get out of breath walking a lot and my legs just can't hold up this 270 lbs much longer. I've got to lose weight and quit smoking. I did find parts I needed for my 63 Galaxie though.
    Jeff Kaler had a 57 Custom in the Modified class that was breath taking. The mirrors all around the ground showed a painted undercarriage you could eat off of. He won his class. Second place in the Original class went to Dennis Bialkowski with a 58 Fairlane custom that was drop dead georgous. He had shaved the door handles and had bucket seats as well as a custom rear bumper, 390 engine, C6 tranny and custom bucket seat interior. Beautiful car. Third place went to a 57 4dr Custom that had been restored 11 years ago and owned by the same family. John and Janet Stein were the owners. This car was completely original and looked like it had been restored yesterday. The interior doors or piping hadn't even faded in 11 years. A beautiful car.
   Thursday I went to the Grounds and talked to a couple of the officials about my class designation and they told me to stay in my class. They told me for participant judging my car still represented an original 57 Ford. I told them that if they had a DRIVEN CLASSIC class they would attract a lot more cars to thier show. There's plenty of cars that don't show up because they don't feel thier car can compete against cars that aren't driven but still have extremely nice cars that represent the Original class. I know that if they ever go to professional judging there will be no place for me at that show and I'll just stay home. My car has accumulated 26,300 miles in the last 2 years and with paticipant judging you're reconginized for that accomplishment. All in all it was a good show but it seems to be getting smaller except for Mustangs. Jim