Sunday, April 13th the weather in Van Nuys started out overcast for this big show; during the “load-in” process temperatures hovered in the low 60os, just a tad cool. Fortunately, the cloud cover remained until the middle of the morning, allowing some respite from the typical San Fernando Valley furnace.
This year’s sponsor, Moss Motors, provided an incredible level of organization, with the help of Eventbrite. All pre-registered entrants were supplied with a QR code that was scanned by Moss’s beautiful staff, making entry access super-fast. In the blink of the eye Woodley Park was FILLED with little British cars (and quite a few BIG British ones too!) Car manufacturers, almost too many to count, were well represented; including lots of MG’s (mostly MG TD’s although there were a half- dozen MG TC’s), a plethora of Triumphs (including a half-dozen Stags), a baker’s dozen of Sunbeams (mostly Tigers and a few Alpines), a BUNCH of Jaguars (mostly XKE’s, just two XK150’s, even a Jaguar STATION WAGON—or should I say “shooting brake”), a big row of Mini’s (both “original” and “modern” ones, and one was a Riley), some spectacular Nash Metropolitans (most notably a “taxi”), let’s not forget the Lotuses (maybe a half-dozen “Sevens”, a few Elises) and of course AUSTIN HEALEYS.
Other exotic British cars in attendance include Morgans, a couple of Jensen Interceptors, Aston Martins, a Marco, more than a few Land Rovers, a 1952 Alvis, a 1939 Citroen Light 15 that was manufactured in England, a Riley, an HRG, an AC, a Rover, and the ever present Jay Leno brought an ultra-rare Frazer Nash. Surprisingly, there were no AC Cobras.
Rolls Royce was represented by the local Rolls Royce Owner’s Club, and each member’s car displayed a beautiful ribbon touting both the brand and the club. Maybe next year we could do something like that for the Austin Healeys? Accepting that on most Austin Healeys there is no hood ornament from which to hang a ribbon, perhaps instead a simple laminated page could be displayed on our windshields? Food for thought for the next event...
Vendors were a bit less than in previous years, with a count of three. They made up for the diminished population with pretty fantastic inventories of treasures. Car clubs participating in this event included: Southern California MG Club, Central Coast British Car Club, Jaguar Owners Club Los Angeles, Triumph Club of Southern California, Mini Owners of America Los Angeles, Morgan Plus Club, Rolls Royce Owners Club, California Association of Tiger Owners and our own Austin Healey Association of Southern California.
According to the event producer, there were 246 pre- registered vehicles, and although an accurate account wasn’t available, about another three dozen “walk-ins” exhibited. Well over 2,000 visitors gawked and gazed at our “babies”. And the sun came out in all its glory about 11:00 AM, warming our souls and keeping things exciting. Here’s looking forward to next year! Attending in their Bugeyes were: Dan O’Neill, Clark Lewis, Greg Aden, Monica Lago-Kaytis, and Chuck and Barbie Meng. 100-4 drivers included: Phil Caliva, Dan Bleiberg, Corkey Holt, George McHarris, Louie and Bonnie Fisher, and Fred Cohen in his 100M “nasty boy”. Other big Healeys were driven by jack Gies, Tim McNiff, John Hummer, Jim and Sandy Bennett, Russ Thompson, and Greg Cosh. In non- Healeys were Nancy Asahina – MGB and Peter and Janet Hutchings – Jensen Interceptor.
Members visiting the show without classics were: from the Palm Springs area Mike Ovesen and Phillip Bright, from the Camarillo area Charlie Hart and Larry Bryant, locals included Peter Roses, Hema Ratnayake and his son Ravin, and Amanda Cole and husband Art Perez. From Orange County we had Joe Cristerna.