Of Roundels and Republics: The Friends of Steve McQueen Car and Motorcycle Show was held on Sunday, June 7th on the beautiful, historic grounds of Boys Republic’s 200-acre facility. It was the culmination of a three-day fund-raising event. Since 1907, the Boys Republic in Chino Hills has served as a consistent reminder to the community that youth, no matter how challenged, can overcome great obstacles and achieve unimagined success. No former student proved this to be true better than Steve McQueen, a 1946 alumnus of Boys Republic. He started as a troubled youth and ended as a 20th-century icon.
McQueen had a very rough childhood and got sideways with the law at a young age. He credited Boy”s Republic, as well as his time as a Marine, for turning his life around. As a movie star he made generous donations to Boys Republic, and his family has continued to support the organization since his death in 1980.
I had never heard of the show, or the organization, but when my good friend and AHASC club secretary, Monica Lago-Kaytis, asked if I was interested in showing one of my cars, I was all in. Her bad luck was my good fortune, as her Sprite was still in the shop waiting for parts after clutch problems at San Diego Healey Week.
So, she and her husband Clay, would be taking his 1960 BT7, and I could take the Sprite’s spot.
It was my lucky day.
I have two Bugeye Sprites... One, a little race car with 100 horsepower, a 5 speed and 4-wheel disc brakes, and the other, my “project car” now sitting in many pieces in my garage. I also have two Big Healeys, a 1960 100-6 BN6, and a 1967 BJ8. After looking at the drive, I decided the Sprite was not the best choice for 120 miles of L.A. freeway driving. The BJ8’s sports convertible touring comfort was definitely the way to go.
(Don’t tell Greg Aden!) The BJ8 had a great run on the San Diego trip and looked fantastic sporting that Healey Week roundel on the passenger side door.
Which brings us to the heartbreak of the roundel. I decided that it was time to remove that handsome sticker from my car before the show.
In the process, it removed the paint from my door. A lot of paint. A depressing amount of paint. My blemished BJ8 was not going to any shows looking like that. It was going to the body shop. So once again, I turned to my trusty 100-6, sitting patiently, wiped down, aimed out and ready to go. My wife says I have a Healey problem. Four Healeys? No problem! Overcast and cool, the early morning three freeway run to meet Monica and Clay was uneventful. I followed them to the La Canada United Artists theater, where we met AHASC Healey Motor News editor Tim McNiff in his 1963 BJ7, and off we went. Thirty- three miles and another three freeways later we exited onto the rural road leading to the Boys Republic campus. What a beautiful transition. We had left the rat race behind. Green pastures on the left, mature trees on the right, and hundreds of tall feather flags on either side of the road greeted us as we cruised up to the security gate. Once inside, we snaked our way through the campus buildings and down the fire road leading to the baseball and football fields where the 680 entrants were staged. Bruce Steele, with his immaculate 1960 BN7 tri carb conversion rally car and his friend with his classic Austin A40 pickup were already parked on the grass, so we took our spots to complete the Healey row.
This show was easily the most diverse I have attended. In addition to the usual suspects, from the ranks of American muscle to exotics and over the top mods (a 1959 Fiat 1100 with a 5.3 LS motor?), there were dozens of vintage motorcycles, five vintage airplanes, drag boats, classic Airstream trailers and GMC motor homes, farm tractors, early 1900’s pump engines, a WWII Army encampment complete with soldiers in battle fatigues displaying their weapons and equipment, a Cal Fire helicopter fly-in and display and an informative narrated tram ride around the entire complex. There was also a myriad of vendors, a silent auction, and the best food truck assortment I have ever seen. Roscoe’s, a popular Chino Hills family-owned deli, restaurant and sports bar was extremely popular with their large beef hot dog, two beef ribs, beans, potato salad, corn on the cob, chips, large cookie, and a drink meal for just $15! There were no Healeys in the winner’s circle this day.
But given that this event was established and run by the (Porsche) 356 Club of Southern California, it wasn’t surprising they were the center of attention. That really didn’t matter to me though. What I noticed was, as I relaxed with my Healey buddies next to our cars, a steady stream of admirers, young and old, stopped to ask questions, tell stories, or just point and smile at our British heavy metal. These cars make people smile.
After the awards were handed out and the speeches were spoken, we hopped in our Healeys and headed home. In the end, over 11,000 people attended a great show today. I was glad to be one of them with my Healey friends.
The four Healeys in attendance were, AHASC editor Tim Mcniff in his MK2, Madam Secretary Monica and her man Clay in the gorgeous maroon over black 1960 BT7, me in my 1959 100-6 BN6, and Bruce Steele’s 1960 3000 beautiful tri carb rally replica.