Took second place with my Silk Green Cooper...well, an "Award of Excellence".

 

Nice show today... somewhere around 350 cars and probably 40-50 minis/MINIS (will have to count from photos, but we had a good showing)

Have a few pics that might be worth posting soon.

 

Excellent....

 

Nice job with the Award of Excellence Jeff!!!

I was impressed with the car and enjoyed meeting and sitting under the tree chatting with everyone.

 

Thanks, Doug...I DO like my Cooper, LOL. It was great meeting you and your kids yesterday...hope to see you there next year, too.

I really like the bonnet striping on your MCS and around the MINI emblem...it's distinctive, and I enjoy seeing stuff like that that sets MINIs apart from the OEM striping. And, the blacked out chrome was just enough, too, without becoming overbearing, IMHO.

Yeah, we could not have asked for a better tree for shade, nor a nicer day yesterday, even though it got a tad hot later on. It was a true MINI tree, as, except for the older lady with her golden Lab, everyone else under the tree was a MINI owner.

 

Jeff~Congrats!! I know you had a lot of people looking at your car and asking questions!! With the Silk Green and all the special touches, I thought you would take home first for sure! Which MINI won first?

 

Just wanted to say it was really nice seeing everyone yesterday!! We got to see some familiar faces and meet some new ones!! Great turn out of MINI/Minis! They might have to save another row for all of us next year!

Lots and lots of great British cars to look at!! We enjoyed seeing some of those rare ones that you don't get to see all the time!

 

The guy who won had that new BRG MCS with the white OEM stripes and silver balloon spoke [they look like silver sausages] OEM wheels that came in at the last minute.

 

Well I guess one just can't compete with sausage wheels. Mmmmm sausage.....



Last minute eh, maybe he's a short order cook. Heck at least he was there to win & didn't phone it in.

Good story about that, I'll tell you next time I see you.

 

It was a great day for a show - cool and sunny, with a zillion cool cars to wander around and look at. Wish more people from the Columbus group could have been there, but the morning caravan, while small, was a great time. Thanks to Douglas H and jpigg for making the trip over!!

 

Well I am glad you won "the Award of Excellence", we will call it that and not second place!!
I will have to download my pictures and look through them I don't even remember that car or the sausage wheels

 

Oh wait on second thought I do remember those sausage wheels............



We were thinking about getting those wheels but after seeing them in person changed our mind.

(Sorry I loved the description of the wheels, and couldn't resist. )

 

Doug~Just wondering if you were able to get to your door handles? Everything looked great on Saturday! You did a really good job! You will have to keep us posted on the door handles when you get to them! After we got back from walking around to see all the cars you guys were gone, so I was guessing you had left to go visit with your MIL! Hope you had a nice time!

 

The guy with the sausage wheels was the BRG next to Robb's. It had 2 car seats in the back. I think everyone voted for it because they were amazed you can fit two carseats in a MINI!!!! Robb and I saw those and just went "YES there is hope for us yet"

 

I wish I could enter my Mini in a show with a dirtiest award. Driving across WV in fog then rain and being on dirt roads has turned my Pepper White into dirty brown. My wheels look black not orange. I think some before and after pics will be in order when I get to wash it (Wednesday night at the earliest)

 

Hey Allen, wash one side of your MINI only. That would be sooo cool looking. I like a car covered in mud from dirt road driving. Rally HO!!!

I love roads like this, Forest road 6 in Shawnee Forest.....



People miss so much by just staying on pavement....

 

Looks kinda like the road we drove on in the Joyce Kilmer National Forest, in NC, when Tim Bosse's Classic Austin Clubman took a thrown-up stone into his radiator and we had to limp back to Fontana on the Cherohalla Skyway...stopping at every scenic turn off to dig thru the trash cans for unfinished bottles of water. We finally found a Mom and Pop filling station just outside Robbinsville and bought a 5 gal. Jerry can for water and were able to fill it and limp back to Fontana. When we left for home, we stopped in Knoxville, at Donna and Dave Kindle's for the loan and installation of a replacement radiator Dave happened to have that would fit, so we could safely make it back to Ohio.

The point of this is that, while out of the way gravel roads are nice to have fun on, ya just never know when big trouble will happen. We were VERY lucky, all the way around.

 

Yep those rocks can hurt for sure. Never follow too close on a gravel road. Most likely that Clubman was hit by a rock thrown up by it's own left front wheel. The rads are on the left side facing into the wheel well.

 

He had just put in a new radiator so at first we thought it was leaking at the neck, but we couldn't get the flow stopped, even with radiator tape packing. When we got to Knoxville and took it off is when we saw the hole, and we also saw that the radiator had cracked [was faulty], so he ended up getting the parts company he had bought it from replacing it for free.

 

So it wasn't the gravel, it was a bad part. Now off to do some more dirt road running.... Rally Ho!!!

Forest road 1....

 

WOW... those roads look GREAT! I'd be worried about how one's paint would fair after a trip on all that gravel. I have enough troubles just driving on the paved roads!

I do have a few pics up on my flickr now from the show. Kinda forgot to take a lot of them though, but you can get an idea of the 350+ cars there.

 

Robb, thanks for sharing your pictures.

The problem with MINI's on dirt roads is ground clearance. If the road has any crown you drag bottom. Truth be told we use our Forester for dirt road running, but will drive the MINI down one if need be.

 

Wish I could have made it. I got roped into helping carry a hot tub around a house.

 

Very sorry I missed it too. It is one of the nicest venues for a car show that I have ever been to. Things conspired against me last weekend.

I missed the sausage wheels too, darn!

 

Hey Kim!!!

I did manage to tape, mask and paint the door handles. They looked great right up to the point I peeled the masking tape. Oooops!!

I ordered the Aethestic Creations door handles but likely will wait 6 wks to get them. I may try the Plastidip again if I have some spare time. I am painting the brake calipers this weekend. Will post pics when completed.

Have a great weekend and go motor.

Doug

PS. I will miss the Tim Hortons this weekend as I am off to witness my Mom's 3RD wedding